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 | |
---|---|
Awarded by Mexico | |
Type | Order |
Established | 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 :
- Collar ("Collar"), awarded to heads of state;
- 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;
- Sash ("Banda"), awarded to government ministers, secretaries, members of royal families, ambassadors, or individuals whose category is tantamount to the previous;
- 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;
- 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;
- 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:
- Collar ("Collar"), awarded to heads of state;
- Grand Cross ("Cruz"), awarded to prime ministers and heads of government
- Sash ("Banda"), awarded to government ministers, secretaries and ambassadors
- Medal ("Medalla"), awarded to government undersecretaries, plenipotentiary ministers, as well to those whose category is tantamount to the previous;
- 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;
- Venera (a type of insignia), awarded to ad interim business representatives and other members of diplomatic missions;
- Insignia proper, awarded under the Council's discretion; and
- Honorable Mention ("Mención Honorífica").
Notable recipients
Royalty
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]
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