# Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo

The Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo is a South African honour. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and is granted by the President of South Africa to foreign citizens who have promoted South African interests and aspirations through co-operation, solidarity, and support.
The order is named after the late Oliver Tambo, who was the African National Congress's president-in-exile for many years.

## Current classes

The three classes of appointment to the Order are, in descending order of precedence:
* Supreme Companion of OR Tambo in gold, for heads of state and, in special cases, heads of government (SCOT)
* Grand Companion of OR Tambo in silver, for heads of government, ministers of state, supreme court judges, presidents of legislatures, secretaries of state, ambassadors, commanders-in-chief (GCOT)
* Companion of OR Tambo in bronze, for legislators, envoys, senior military officers (COT)

## Symbolism

The badge of the order is oval, and depicts a symbol similar to that of the Taijitu between two arrowheads, framed by two mole snakes. The symbol represents the meeting of diverse spiritual energies, and the snakes represent solidarity and support. The South African coat of arms is displayed on the reverse.
The ribbon is white, with recurring grey symbols down the centre. All three classes are worn around the neck.
Recipients are also presented with a carved wooden walking stick, which has a serpent wound around the shaft and a spoon-shaped head displaying the badge of the order and the national arms. The walking stick symbolises support and solidarity, and a commitment to stand by the recipient in return.

## Recipients

| Name | Grade | Awarded |
| Olof Palme | SCOT | 10 December 2002 |
| Kenneth David Kaunda | SCOT | 10 December 2002 |
| Mahatma Gandhi (posthumous) | SCOT | 10 December 2002 |
| Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Agostinho Neto | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Kwame Nkrumah | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Julius Nyerere | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Amílcar Cabral | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Salim Ahmed Salim | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Kofi Annan | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Salvador Allende (posthumous) | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Martti Ahtisaari | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Michael Manley | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Patrice Lumumba | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Ahmed Ben Bella | SCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Ernst Michanek [sv] | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Ramesh Chandra | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Barbara Castle | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Reiulf Steen | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Thorvald Stoltenberg | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Maxine Waters | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Vasily Grigoryevich Solodovnikov | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Robert Hughes | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| Boudewijn Sjollema | GCOT | 16 June 2004 |
| FIFA | SCOT | 29 October 2004 |
| Lennart Johansson | SCOT | 29 October 2004 |
| Trevor Richards | SCOT | 29 October 2004 |
| Ahmed Sékou Touré | SCOT | 29 October 2004 |
| Gamal Abdel Nasser | SCOT | 29 October 2004 |
| Dr. Cheddi Jagan | SCOT | 26 April 2005 |
| Ahmed Sukarno | SCOT | 26 April 2005 |
| Diallo Telli | SCOT | 26 April 2005 |
| Motsamai Keyecwe Mpho | GCOT | 26 April 2005 |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | GCOT | 26 April 2005 |
| Vladimir Gennadyevich Shubin | GCOT | 26 April 2005 |
| Sheikh Yusuf | SCOT | 27 September 2005 |
| Modibo Keita | SCOT | 20 April 2006 |
| Seretse Khama | SCOT | 20 April 2006 |
| King Sobhuza II | SCOT | 20 April 2006 |
| King Moshoeshoe II | SCOT | 20 April 2006 |
| Sotiris Mousouris | GCOT | 20 April 2006 |
| Anthony Sampson | GCOT | 20 April 2006 |
| Chief Joseph Leabua Jonathan | SCOT | 24 April 2007 |
| Dr. Eric Eustace Williams | SCOT | 24 April 2007 |
| Shridath Ramphal | SCOT | 24 April 2007 |
| Dr. Ali Al'amin Mazrui | GCOT | 24 April 2007 |
| Michael Kitso Dingake | GCOT | 24 April 2007 |
| Canon John Collins | GCOT | 24 April 2007 |
| Harry Belafonte | GCOT | 24 April 2007 |
| Mandlenkosi Aloysius Isaac Zwane | COT | 24 April 2007 |
| Salman El-Herfi | COT | 24 April 2007 |
| Chief Emeka Anyaoku | SCOT | 22 April 2008 |
| Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon | GCOT | 22 April 2008 |
| Philip Potter | GCOT | 22 April 2008 |
| Per Wästberg | GCOT | 22 April 2008 |
| Ron Dellums | GCOT | 22 April 2008 |
| Harry Belafonte | GCOT | 22 April 2008 |
| Jerry Dunfey | GCOT | 22 April 2008 |
| Linda Biehl | COT | 22 April 2008 |
| Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz | SCOT | 27 March 2009 |
| Christian Krause [de] | GCOT | 27 March 2009 |
| Sadako Ogata | GCOT | 27 March 2009 |
| Marcelino dos Santos | GCOT | 27 March 2009 |
| Bengt Säve-Söderbergh [sv] | GCOT | 27 March 2009 |
| Andimba Toivo ya Toivo | GCOT | 27 March 2009 |
| Jennifer Davis | COT | 27 March 2009 |
| Anna Abdallah | GCOT | 2 December 2009 |
| Rev. William Cullen Wilcox | GCOT | 2 December 2009 |
| Ida Belle Wilcox | GCOT | 2 December 2009 |
| Elizabeth II | SCOT | 3 March 2010 |
| José Eduardo dos Santos | SCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| Joseph Blatter | SCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| Jacques Rogge | GCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| Issa Hayatou | GCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| Herbert Kaiser | GCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| Joy Kaiser | GCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| Vernon Berrangé | GCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| George Houser | GCOT | 27 April 2010 |
| Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | SCOT | 27 April 2011 |
| Hélène Pastoors | GCOT | 27 April 2011 |
| Viacheslav Shiryaev | GCOT | 27 April 2011 |
| Edward M. Kennedy | SCOT | 27 April 2012 |
| Prof. Apollon B Davidson | GCOT | 27 April 2012 |
| Randall Robinson | GCOT | 27 April 2012 |
| Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham | SCOT | 27 April 2013 |
| Percival Noel James Patterson | SCOT | 27 April 2013 |
| Enuga Sreenivasulu Reddy | GCOT | 27 April 2013 |
| Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson | GCOT | 27 April 2013 |
| Dina Forti | COT | 27 April 2013 |
| Giuseppe Soncini | COT | 27 April 2013 |
| Lord Attenborough | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Prof. Gwendolen Margaret Carter | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Jeanne-Martin Cissé | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Jerry David Dammers | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Danny Glover | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Quincy Delight Jones | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Thomas Karis | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Lord Kinnock | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Alexander Moumbaris | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Ruth Neto | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Alfre Woodard | GCOT | 27 April 2014 |
| Brian Mulroney | SCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Hashim Mbita | SCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Gareth Evans | GCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Lord Hain | GCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Vladimir Kazimirov | GCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Gay McDougall | GCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Lars Nordbo | GCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Andrey Urnov | GCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Dr. Lim Kok Wing | GCOT | 27 April 2015 |
| Sam Nujoma | SCOT | 27 April 2018 |
| Walter Khotso Makhulu | GCOT | 25 April 2019 |
| Tracy Chapman | GCOT | 1 May 2023 |
| Christabel Gurney | GCOT | 1 May 2023 |
| Thomas Oliver Newnham (Posthumous) | GCOT | 1 May 2023 |
| Peter Tosh (Posthumous) | GCOT | 1 May 2023 |
| Ruth Weiss | GCOT | 1 May 2023 |
| Huub Bammens | GCOT | 23 April 2024 |
| Donna Katzens | GCOT | 23 April 2024 |
| Ken Luckhard | GCOT | 23 April 2024 |
| Nicholas Stadlen (Posthumous) | GCOT | 23 April 2024 |
| Fulco Van Aurich | GCOT | 23 April 2024 |
| Brenda Wall | GCOT | 23 April 2024 |

## Refusals

On 28 January 2008, New Zealand anti-apartheid activist John Minto created a controversy over his letter to former South African President Thabo Mbeki after being nominated for the award, saying that he would refuse, on principle, to accept any award from the ANC.