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 in the country.

Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle
The Order of the Aztec Eagle (Star)
Awarded by  Mexico
Type	Order
Established	1933; 91 years ago (1933)
Awarded for	Services given to Mexico or to mankind
Status	Currently awarded
Grades	Grand 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,^[1] 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, under 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 under 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	Collar	Japan	1962
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh	Collar	United Kingdom	1964
King Rama IX of Thailand	Collar	Thailand	1972
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom	Collar	United Kingdom	1973
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester	Sash; Sash Special Category	United Kingdom	1974; 2015
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent	Grand Cross	United Kingdom
Emperor Mohammed Reza of Iran	Collar	Imperial State of Iran	1975
King Olav V of Norway	Grand Cross	Norway		^[2]
King Juan Carlos I of Spain	Collar	Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain	Grand Cross	Spain
Emperor Akihito of Japan	Collar	Japan
King Albert II of Belgium	Collar	Belgium		^[3]
King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden	Collar	Sweden	2004
King Mohammed VI of Morocco	Collar	Morocco	2005	^[4]
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark	Collar	Denmark	2008	^[5]
Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark	Sash (2008); Sash Special Category (2016)	Denmark	2008; 2016	^[6]^[7]
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands	Collar	Netherlands	2009	^[8]
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands	Sash	Netherlands	2009	^[9]
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands	Sash	Netherlands	2009	^[10]
Felipe VI of Spain	Sash (1996); Collar (2015)	Spain	1996; 2015	^[11]
Queen Letizia of Spain	Sash (2008); Sash Special Category (2015)	Spain	2008; 2015	^[12]^[13]
King Charles III of the United Kingdom	Sash Special Category	United Kingdom	2015	^[14]
Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom	Sash	United Kingdom	2015	^[14]
Prince Andrew, Duke of York	Sash	United Kingdom	2015	^[14]
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh	Sash	United Kingdom	2015	^[14]
Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester	Sash	United Kingdom	2015	^[14]
Frederik X of Denmark	Sash Special Category	Denmark	2016	^[15]
Queen Mary of Denmark	Sash	Denmark	2016	^[15]
Prince Joachim of Denmark	Sash	Denmark	2016	^[15]
Princess Marie of Denmark	Sash	Denmark	2016	^[15]
Princess Benedikte of Denmark	Sash	Denmark	2016	^[15]
Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	Collar	Kuwait	2016	^[16]
King Salman of Saudi Arabia	Collar	Saudi Arabia	2016	^[17]

Presidents

•   Edvard Beneš – Collar (1935)
•   Dwight David Eisenhower – Collar (1945)
•   Chiang Kai-shek – Collar (1945)
•   Juscelino Kubitschek – Collar
•   Rafael Trujillo – Collar
•   Charles de Gaulle – Collar
•   Josip Broz Tito – Collar (1963)
•   Julius Nyerere – Collar (1975)
•   Todor Zhivkov
•   Lennart Meri – Collar (1995)
•   Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – Collar (2007)
•   Michelle Bachelet – Collar (2007)
•   Nelson Mandela – Sash (2010)
•   Álvaro Colom – Collar (2011)
•   Juan Manuel Santos – Collar (2011)
•   José Mujica – Collar (2014)^[18]
•   Dilma Rousseff – Collar (2015)^[19]
•   Otto Pérez Molina – Collar (2015)
•   Mauricio Macri – Collar (2016)
•   Sergio Mattarella – Collar (2016)
•   Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – Collar (2017)^[20]
•   Pratibha Patil – Sash (2018)
•   Manuel Luis Quezon – Collar

Politicians

•   Edmond Leburton
•   Alexandra Kollontai – Sash (1944)
•   Henry Harley Arnold – Collar (1945)
•   Dr. Jože Brilej – Sash (1950s)
•   Takeo Miki – Sash (1967)
•   Sir Edward Heath (1994)^[21]
•   Bernardo Arévalo (1995)^[22]
•   Yves Ducharme – Venera (2006)^[23]
•   Mark Shurtleff, Utah Attorney General – Plaque (placa) (2006)^[24]
•   Lisa Shoman – Sash (2008)
•   Ted Kennedy – Sash (2008)
•   José Manuel García-Margallo (2015)
•   Benoît Hamon^[25]
•   David Dreier (2017)^[26]

Other

•   Walt Disney (1943)
•   Spencer Atkinson (1946)
•   Norman Borlaug (1970)
•   Nettie Lee Benson (1979)^[27]
•   Nigel Davies (1980)
•   Edward Hidalgo (1980)
•   Diana Kennedy (1981)
•   Gabriel García Márquez (1982)
•   Claudio Arrau (1982)
•   Plácido Domingo – (1985)^[28][29]
•   W. Michael Mathes (1985)^[30]
•   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)^[31]
•   Amartya Sen (2011)
•   Bono – Insignia proper (2012)^[32]
•   Takashi Yamanouchi (2013)^[33]
•   Cesar Chavez
•   Ralph Roeder^[34]
•   Susan Hussey, Baroness Hussey of North Bradley (2015)^[35]
•   Stuart Gulliver (2017)^[36]
•   Roderic Ai Camp (2017)
•   Rick Bayless (2017)^[37]
•   Jared Kushner – Sash (2018)^[38]

List of recipients of the Order of the Aztec Eagle by class

Collars Akihito Bhumibol Adulyadej Michelle Bachelet Beatrix of the Netherlands Josip Broz Tito Carl XVI Gustaf Fidel Castro Edvard Beneš Dwight D. Eisenhower Elizabeth II Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Mauricio Funes Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Haile Selassie Henryk Jabłoński Juan Carlos I of Spain Juscelino Kubitschek Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Mauricio Macri Margrethe II of Denmark Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Salman of Saudi Arabia Grand Crosses Henry H. Arnold Princess Benedikte of Denmark Jože Brilej Maria Cavaco Silva Armand De Decker Guillermo Fernández de Soto Jean Gol Peter Hope (diplomat) Thanat Khoman Princess Lalla Hasna of Morocco Edmond Leburton Mahathir Mohamad Princess Margriet of the Netherlands Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb Olav V of Norway Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou Ra'ad bin Zeid Suharto Bands Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria Charles, Prince of Wales Infanta Cristina of Spain Carlos Echeverri Cortés Felipe VI of Spain Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark Princess Irene of the Netherlands Ted Kennedy Alexandra Kollontai Queen Letizia of Spain Nelson Mandela Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Takeo Miki Hirofumi Nakasone Sadako Ogata Pietro Parolin Prince Sahle Selassie Lisa Shoman Queen Sofía of Spain Placards Bill Gates Charles E. Wilhelm Alan Yarrow Insignia David Brading Melinda Gates Satish Gujral Anne d'Harnoncourt Alan Knight (historian) Other or Unknown Classes Claudio Arrau Jack Austin (politician) Rick Bayless Nettie Lee Benson Elizabeth Hill Boone David Brading Jože Brilej Charles Butt David Carrasco Maria Cavaco Silva Alfredo Chiaradía Francesco Cossiga Nigel Davies (historian) Michel Descombey Plácido Domingo Yves Ducharme Elżbieta Dzikowska Luis Echeverría Trevor Eyton Jean-Louis Georgelin Nadine Gordimer John Greenslade António Guterres Jan Hendrix Edward Hidalgo Carla Anderson Hills Alfred Wilkinson Johnson Michael Kaiser Friedrich Katz Diana Kennedy Jean-Pierre Kingsley Nobusuke Kishi Yuri Knorozov Thomas Krens Ernest Krogh-Hansen George Kubler Jared Kushner Luis Leal (writer) Fred Martinez W. Michael Mathes Helmut Maucher José Carlos Millás Million Dollar Theater Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata Julius Nyerere Óscar Osorio Benoît Puga Mariano Rajoy Ann Richards Nelson Rockefeller Rodman Rockefeller Albert Sabin Eisaku Satō Walter Schwimmer Edward Seaga David Shaltiel Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. Innis P. Swift Hugh Thomas, Baron Thomas of Swynnerton J. Eric S. Thompson Mario Vargas Llosa Baldemar Velasquez William Wasson David J. Weber Eliot Weinberger Raul Yzaguirre

Gallery

•  
  Grand Cordon (collar) of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
•  
  Insignia of the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle
•  
  Sash and sash badge of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
•  
  Breast Star (placa) of the Order of the Aztec Eagle

Additional sources

• Mexican Chamber of Deputies^[39]
• Olvera Ayes, David A. "La Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca - Apuntes para su Historia". Cuadernos del Cronista. México, 2011

References

1. Reform text (Spanish)
2. "The Decorations of King Olav". The Royal House of Norway. January 18, 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
3. Carnet Mondain, p. 2 ed. 2005
4. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga a Su Majestad Mohammed VI Rey de Marruecos, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Collar". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. July 2, 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
5. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga a Su Majestad Margrethe II Reina de Dinamarca, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Collar". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. February 13, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
6. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga a Su Alteza Real Henrik Príncipe Consorte de Dinamarca, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Banda". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. February 13, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
7. "DOF - Diario Oficial de la Federación". dof.gob.mx. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
8. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga a Su Majestad Beatrix Reina de los Países Bajos, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Collar". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. November 2, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
9. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga a Su Alteza Real Willem-Alexander Claus Príncipe de Orange, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Banda". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. November 2, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
10. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga a Su Alteza Real Doña Máxima Princesa de los Países Bajos, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Banda". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. November 2, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
11. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca, en grado de Collar, a Su Majestad Don Felipe VI, Rey de España". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. June 29, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
12. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga a Su Alteza Real, la Princesa de Asturias, Doña Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Banda". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. June 11, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
13. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca, en grado de Banda en Categoría Especial, a Su Majestad Doña Letizia, Reina de España". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. June 29, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
14. "TRH THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL AWARDED WITH THE MEXICAN ORDER OF THE AZTEC EAGLE". Official website of the Mexican Embassy in the United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
15. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca a cinco ciudadanos del Reino de Dinamarca". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. April 8, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
16. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca, en grado de Collar, a Su Alteza Jeque Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir del Estado de Kuwait". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. November 7, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
17. "Acuerdo por el que se otorga la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca, en grado de Collar, al Custodio de las Dos Santas Mezquitas, Rey Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Rey de Arabia Saudita". Diario Oficial de le Federación. Secretaría de Gobernación de México. January 15, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
18. "Mujica fue condecorado por el presidente mexicano - Diario La República" (in European Spanish). La Republica. 28 January 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
19. "Otorga Peña Orden del Águila Azteca a Rousseff; recibe la Cruz del Sur". Quadratín CDMX (in Spanish). 26 May 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
20. "DOF - Diario Oficial de la Federación". www.dof.gob.mx (in Spanish). Secretariat de Relaciones Exteriores. 18 July 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
21. Who's Who 2005. A & C Black Publishers Ltd, London. 2006. p. 1004. ISBN 0 7136 7010 X.
22. "Diario Oficial de la Federación". Secretariat of the Interior, Mexico. 1999. from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
23. "Diario Oficial de la Federación - ACUERDO por el que se otorga al señor Yves Ducharme, la Condecoración de la Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca en el grado de Venera" (PDF) (in Mexican Spanish). Orden Jurídico Nacional. August 10, 2006. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
24. "DOF - Diario Oficial de la Federación". www.dof.gob.mx. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
25. "Benoît Hamon, grand aigle aztèque et "fier" de l'être". LCI. November 6, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
26. "Order of the Aztec Eagle awarded to Professor Rod Camp and Trustee David Dreier '75". Claremont McKenna College. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
27. "Nettie Lee Benson". Texas Originals. Humanities Texas. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
28. . Placidodomingo.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
29. [1] May 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
30. "The Mexican Pamphlet Collection, 1605-1888 - Sutro Library" (PDF). Retrieved 1 December 2021.
31. "Mario Vargas Llosa: Mexico me abre los brazos en vez de censurarme". Mexico.cnn.com. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
32. "DOF - Diario Oficial de la Federación". Dof.gob.mx. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
33. Operations, Mazda North American (Apr 10, 2013). "El presidente y CEO de Mazda Takashi Yamanouchi recibe el premio Orden del Águila Azteca". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
34. Obituary: The New York Times, 21 February 1970
35. "TRH THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL AWARDED WITH THE MEXICAN ORDER OF THE AZTEC EAGLE". Mexican Embassy in the United Kingdom. 21 August 2019. from the original on 11 April 2019.
36. Exteriores, Secretaría de Relaciones. "Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive of HSBC Holdings, Decorated with the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle". gob.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-11-16.
37. "Mexico Welcomes Rick Bayless into the Order of the Aztec Eagle". Food & Wine. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
38. . The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-11-28.
39. (PDF) (in Spanish). Diputados.gob.mx. 18 December 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2014.

External links

• Medals.org.uk
• Blasoneshispanos.com