Order of the Aztec Eagle

The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle (Spanish: Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners.

Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle
The Order of the Aztec Eagle (Star)
Awarded by Mexico
TypeOrder
Established1933; 92 years ago (1933)
Awarded forServices given to Mexico or to mankind
StatusCurrently awarded
GradesGrand Cross with Collar
Grand Cross, Special Class
Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Member

Ribbon of the Order of the Aztec Eagle

History

It was created by decree on December 29, 1933, by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to the services given to Mexico or humankind by foreigners. It corresponds to similar distinctions given to Mexican citizens such as the Condecoración Miguel Hidalgo or the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor. It is given by the office of the foreign minister on the instructions of a Council established for this purpose headed by the President. Its naming is partially taken from the Imperial Order of the Mexican Eagle, which was created by Maximilian I of Mexico on January 1, 1865.

Design

There is some design similarity of the order with the coat of arms of Mexico, particularly the golden eagle holding a rattlesnake, which is associated with the Aztec civilization.

Classes

Since 2011

Since the reform of March 2011, the classes are :

  1. Collar ("Collar"), awarded to heads of state;
  2. Sash of Special Category ("Banda en Categoría Especial"), awarded to prime ministers and heads of government, hereditary princes(ses), consorts of heads of state, or to people whose category is tantamount to the previous;
  3. Sash ("Banda"), awarded to government ministers, secretaries, members of royal families, ambassadors, or individuals whose category is tantamount to the previous;
  4. Plaque ("Placa"), awarded to government undersecretaries, plenipotentiary ministers, consuls general, brigadier generals, rear admirals, as well to those whose category is tantamount to the previous;
  5. Venera (a type of insignia), awarded to ad hoc business representatives, colonels and lieutenant colonels, captains of a ship, equivalent servants of embassies in Mexico, as well to those whose category is tantamount to the previous;
  6. Insignia, awarded to ad interim business representatives and other members of diplomatic missions; captain, navy lieutenant, as well to those whose category is tantamount to the previous and to those cases the Council considers pertinent.

All grades except the collar may be awarded, at the Council's discretion, to distinguished foreigners.

Before 2011

Prior to the 2011 reform, the classes were, in descending order:

  1. Collar ("Collar"), awarded to heads of state;
  2. Grand Cross ("Cruz"), awarded to prime ministers and heads of government
  3. Sash ("Banda"), awarded to government ministers, secretaries and ambassadors
  4. Medal ("Medalla"), awarded to government undersecretaries, plenipotentiary ministers, as well to those whose category is tantamount to the previous;
  5. Plaque ("Placa"), awarded to ad hoc business representatives, colonels and lieutenant colonels, captains of a ship, equivalent servants of embassies in Mexico), as well to those whose category is tantamount to the previous;
  6. Venera (a type of insignia), awarded to ad interim business representatives and other members of diplomatic missions;
  7. Insignia proper, awarded at the Council's discretion; and
  8. Honorable Mention ("Mención Honorífica").

Notable recipients

Royalty

Name Class Nationality Year Appointed Reference
Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia Collar Ethiopian Empire 1954
Emperor Hirohito of Japan Japan 1962
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh United Kingdom 1964
King Rama IX of Thailand Thailand 1972
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 1973
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Sash; Sash Special Category 1974; 2015
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent Grand Cross
Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran Collar Iran 1975
King Olav V of Norway Grand Cross Norway
King Juan Carlos I of Spain Collar Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain Grand Cross
Emperor Akihito of Japan Collar Japan
King Albert II of Belgium Belgium
King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden Sweden 2004
Queen Silvia of Sweden Sash
King Mohammed VI of Morocco Collar Morocco 2005
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Denmark 2008
Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark Sash (2008); Sash Special Category (2016) 2008; 2016
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Collar Netherlands 2009
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Sash
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
Felipe VI of Spain Sash (1996); Collar (2015) Spain 1996; 2015
Queen Letizia of Spain Sash (2008); Sash Special Category (2015) 2008; 2015
King Charles III of the United Kingdom Sash Special Category United Kingdom 2015
Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom Sash
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester
Frederik X of Denmark Sash Special Category Denmark 2016
Queen Mary of Denmark Sash
Prince Joachim of Denmark
Princess Marie of Denmark
Princess Benedikte of Denmark
Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Collar Kuwait
King Salman of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia

Presidents

  • Edvard Beneš – Collar (1935)
  • Dwight David Eisenhower – Collar (1945)
  • Chiang Kai-shek – Collar (1945)
  • Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan – Collar (1954)
  • Fulgencio Batista - Collar
  • Juscelino Kubitschek – Collar
  • Rafael Trujillo – Collar
  • Charles de Gaulle – Collar
  • Josip Broz Tito – Collar (1963)
  • Julius Nyerere – Collar (1975)
  • Todor Zhivkov
  • Fidel Castro – Collar (1988)
  • Lennart Meri – Collar (1995)
  • Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – Collar (2007)
  • Michelle Bachelet – Collar (2007)
  • Nelson Mandela – Sash (2010)
  • Álvaro Colom – Collar (2011)
  • Mauricio Funes – Collar (2011)
  • Juan Manuel Santos – Collar (2011)
  • José Mujica – Collar (2014)
  • Dilma Rousseff – Collar (2015)
  • Otto Pérez Molina – Collar (2015)
  • Mauricio Macri – Collar (2016)
  • Sergio Mattarella – Collar (2016)
  • Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – Collar (2017)
  • Pratibha Patil – Sash Special Category (2018)
  • Manuel Luis Quezon – Collar
  • Miguel Díaz-Canel – Collar (2023)

Politicians

  • Johannes Leimena
  • Edmond Leburton
  • Alexandra Kollontai – Sash (1944)
  • Henry Harley Arnold – Collar (1945)
  • Dr. Jože Brilej – Sash (1950s)
  • Takeo Miki – Sash (1967)
  • Sir Edward Heath (1994)
  • Bernardo Arévalo (1995)
  • Yves Ducharme – Venera (2006)
  • Mark Shurtleff, Utah Attorney General – Plaque (placa) (2006)
  • Lisa Shoman – Sash (2008)
  • Ted Kennedy – Sash (2008)
  • José Manuel García-Margallo (2015)
  • Benoît Hamon
  • Eva Perón (1951)
  • David Dreier (2017)
  • Jared Kushner – Sash (2018)
  • Qiu Xiaoqi - Sash (2019)
  • Jean-Yves Le Drian – Sash (2021)
  • Isabel Allende Bussi – Insignia (2023)

Other

  • Walt Disney (1943)
  • Spencer Atkinson (1946)
  • Norman Borlaug (1970)
  • Nettie Lee Benson (1979)
  • Nigel Davies (1980)
  • Edward Hidalgo (1980)
  • Diana Kennedy (1981)
  • Gabriel García Márquez (1982)
  • Claudio Arrau (1982)
  • Plácido Domingo – (1985)
  • W. Michael Mathes (1985)
  • Cesar Chavez (1990)
  • Dr. Donald Winkelmann (1994)
  • Yuri Knorozov (1995)
  • Hector P. Garcia (1998)
  • Satish Gujral – Insignia proper
  • Charles Butt – (2001)
  • Melinda Gates – Insignia proper (2007)
  • Anne d'Harnoncourt – Insignia proper (2007)
  • Rigoberta Menchú – Insignia proper (2010)
  • Mario Vargas Llosa (2011)
  • Amartya Sen (2011)
  • Bono – Insignia proper (2012)
  • Takashi Yamanouchi (2013)
  • Ralph Roeder
  • Lady Susan Hussey (2015)
  • Dolores Huerta (2015)
  • Richard W. Fisher – Badge (2015)
  • Stuart Gulliver (2017)
  • Roderic Ai Camp (2017)
  • Rick Bayless – Insignia (2017)
  • Roberta S. Jacobson (2018)
  • Catherine Bréchignac (2018)
  • Stephen A. Schwarzman – Plaque (2018)
  • Henry Kravis – Plaque (2018)
  • Roberto Riccardi (it) – Plaque (2021)

List by class

Additional sources

  • Mexican Chamber of Deputies
  • Olvera Ayes, David A. "La Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca – Apuntes para su Historia". Cuadernos del Cronista. México, 2011

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