# 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.

## 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 :
* 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, at 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 at the Council's discretion; and
* Honorable Mention ("Mención Honorífica").

## Notable recipients
### Royalty

| Name | Class | Nationality | Year Appointed |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden | Collar | Sweden | 2004 |
| Queen Silvia of Sweden | Sash | Sweden | 2004 |
| King Mohammed VI of Morocco | Collar | Morocco | 2005 |
| Queen Margrethe II of Denmark | Collar | Denmark | 2008 |
| Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark | Sash (2008); Sash Special Category (2016) | Denmark | 2008; 2016 |
| Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands | Collar | Netherlands | 2009 |
| King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands | Sash | Netherlands | 2009 |
| Queen Máxima of the Netherlands | Sash | Netherlands | 2009 |
| Felipe VI of Spain | Sash (1996); Collar (2015) | Spain | 1996; 2015 |
| Queen Letizia of Spain | Sash (2008); Sash Special Category (2015) | Spain | 2008; 2015 |
| King Charles III of the United Kingdom | Sash Special Category | United Kingdom | 2015 |
| Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom | Sash | United Kingdom | 2015 |
| Prince Andrew, Duke of York | Sash | United Kingdom | 2015 |
| Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh | Sash | United Kingdom | 2015 |
| Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester | Sash | United Kingdom | 2015 |
| Frederik X of Denmark | Sash Special Category | Denmark | 2016 |
| Queen Mary of Denmark | Sash | Denmark | 2016 |
| Prince Joachim of Denmark | Sash | Denmark | 2016 |
| Princess Marie of Denmark | Sash | Denmark | 2016 |
| Princess Benedikte of Denmark | Sash | Denmark | 2016 |
| Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah | Collar | Kuwait | 2016 |
| King Salman of Saudi Arabia | Collar | Saudi Arabia | 2016 |

### Presidents

* Edvard Beneš – Collar (1935)
* Dwight David Eisenhower – Collar (1945)
* Chiang Kai-shek – Collar (1945)
* 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)
* 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 (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
* David Dreier (2017)
* Eva Perón (1951)

### 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)
* 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)
* Cesar Chavez
* Ralph Roeder
* Lady Susan Hussey (2015)
* Stuart Gulliver (2017)
* Roderic Ai Camp (2017)
* Rick Bayless (2017)
* Jared Kushner – Sash (2018)

## 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
* Olvera Ayes, David A. "La Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca - Apuntes para su Historia". Cuadernos del Cronista. México, 2011