# List of Order of the Long Leaf Pine recipients

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is granted by the Governor of North Carolina and is the state's highest civilian honor. Although the award was first given in 1964, records of recipients were not kept until 1983. Following is a partial list of its recipients.
| Recipient | Award Year | Notability | References |
| 1981–82 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team | 1982 | 1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament National Champions; Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Champions and Regular Season Co-champions | |
| Charles W. Albertson | | North Carolina Senate | |
| Elreta Alexander-Ralston | 1995 | Trial attorney and North Carolina District Court Judge | |
| Gordon P. Allen | 2010 | North Carolina Senate | |
| Jo Allen | 2024 | President of Meredith College | |
| American Red Cross | 1982 | Humanitarian organization | |
| Maya Angelou | 1992 | Poet, author, and civil rights activist | |
| Balsam Range | 2015 | Bluegrass band | |
| William Barber II | 2010 | Minister and political activist | |
| Harry Belafonte | | Calypso singer and actor | |
| Jack Betts | 2006 | Journalist and associate editor of The Charlotte Observer | |
| Dan Blue | 2003 | Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate | |
| Blue Angels | 2003 | United States Navy flight demonstration squadron | |
| John Baker | 1971, 1987, 2004 | Professional football player and Wake County Sheriff | |
| George W. BonDurant | 2009 | Founder and first president of Atlanta Christian College and Mid-Atlantic Christian University | |
| Charlie Boney | 2014 | Architect | |
| Rod Brind'Amour | 2024 | Professional hockey player and coach | |
| Jim Broyhill | 1992 | United States House of Representatives and United States Senate | |
| Peter S. Brunstetter | 2016 | North Carolina Senate | |
| Wanda G. Bryant | 1980 | Associate judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals | |
| Shirley Caesar | 1979, 1995, 2016 | Grammy Awards winning Gospel singer | |
| Isabella Cannon | 1999 | First female Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina | |
| Rod Carew | 1984 | Baseball player and coach | |
| Fred Chappell | 2003 | North Carolina Poet Laureate | |
| Richard Childress | 1994 | NASCAR race car driver and businessman | $^{:634}$ |
| Shirley Chisholm | | First Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress | |
| Janice Cole | 2001 | United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina | |
| Linda Combs | 2022 | Comptroller of the Office of Management and Budget | |
| Bonnie Ethel Cone | 2003 | Founder of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte | |
| Janet Cowell | 2017 | North Carolina State Treasurer and North Carolina Senate | |
| David Crabtree | 2022 | Journalist and lead anchor of WRAL-TV | |
| Joan Crawford | | Actress | |
| Paul R. Cunningham | 2016 | Dean of The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University | |
| Charlie Daniels | 1984 | Singer, musician, and songwriter | |
| Frank A. Daniels Jr. | 1995 | Publisher of The News and Observer | |
| Chuck Davis | 2007 | Dancer | |
| Crash Davis | 1979 | Minor League Baseball player | |
| Claude DeBruhl | 1981 | North Carolina House of Representatives and veterans advocate | |
| Ruby Dee | 2000 | Actress | |
| Walter Dellinger | 2010 | Acting United States Solicitor General and law professor | |
| Walter DeVries | 1998 | Political consultant and founder of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership | |
| James Dodson | 2012 | Sports writer | |
| Phil Donahue | 1982 | Talk show host and writer | |
| Philip L. Dubois | 2020 | President of the University of Wyoming and chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte | |
| Dale Earnhardt | 1994 | NASCAR stock car racing driver and racing team owner | $^{:634}$ |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2018 | NASCAR stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster | |
| Thereasea Elder | 2001 | First African American public health nurse in Charlotte, North Carolina | |
| Karl Eikenberry | 2016 | United States Army lieutenant general and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan | |
| Myrlie Evers-Williams | 1995 | Civil rights activist | |
| S. Scott Ferebee Jr. | 2001 | Architect | |
| Tom Fetzer | 1992 | Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina and chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party | |
| Gerald Ford | | President of the United States | |
| John Hope Franklin | 1995 | Historian and writer | |
| William C. Friday | 2004 | Head of the University of North Carolina system from 1956 to 1986 | |
| Shirley Fulton | 2011 | First African American female judge in the North Carolina Superior Court | |
| Roman Gabriel | 1988 | Professional football player | |
| Norman C. Gaddis | 2023 | United States Air Force Brigadier General | |
| Clarence Gaines | 1979, 1988, 1993 | Mens basketball coach at Winston-Salem State University | |
| Harvey Gantt | 1984 | Architect and the first black Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina | |
| John Glenn | 1979 | NASA astronaut and United States Senate | |
| Danny Glover | 2003 | Actor | |
| Jeff Gordon | 2016 | NASCAR stock car racing driver and stock car racing executive | $^{:654}$ |
| Tipper Gore | 1997 | Second Lady of the United States and co-founder of the Parents Music Resource Center | |
| Billy Graham | 1996 | Evangelist, Southern Baptist minister, and civil rights advocate | |
| Franklin Graham | 2015 | Christian Evangelist and missionary | |
| William A. Griffin | 2010 | Preacher and president of Mid-Atlantic Christian University | |
| Andy Griffith | 2012 | Actor | |
| Philip F. Gura | 2019 | Cultural historian and academic | |
| Lloyd V. Hackley | 1992 | Chancellor of Fayetteville State University and president of the North Carolina Community College System | |
| Bob Hall | 2017 | Executive Director of Democracy North Carolina | |
| Mia Hamm | 1995 | Professional soccer player | |
| Bob Harris | 2017 | Sportscaster | |
| Fletcher L. Hartsell Jr. | 1992 | North Carolina Senate | |
| Nathan O. Hatch | 2021 | President of Wake Forest University | |
| Merlin Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll | 1986 | Earl of Erroll | |
| Rick Hendrick | 1996 | NASCAR racing driver and team owner | $^{:654}$ |
| George M. Holmes | 1992 | North Carolina House of Representatives | |
| James Holshouser | 1983 | Governor of North Carolina | |
| Jonathan Howes | 1997 | Secretary, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources | |
| Engelbert Humperdink | | Pop singer | |
| Catfish Hunter | | Professional baseball player | |
| William E. Ingram Jr. | 1995 | Lieutenant General and director of the Army National Guard | |
| Jesse Jackson | 1982 | Civil rights activist and shadow congressperson for Washington, D.C. | |
| J. Charles Jennette | 2020 | Nephropathologist, academic, and author | |
| George Jessel | 1979 | Vaudeville performer and actor | |
| Junior Johnson | 1984 | NASCAR stock car racing driver and team owner | |
| George Jones | 1970 | Country musician | |
| Wilbur D. Jones Jr. | 2023 | Author, military historian, and preservationist | |
| Michael Jordan | 1985 | College and professional basketball player | |
| Alexander Julian | 1980 | Fashion designer | |
| Ralph Ketner | 2015 | Founder of Food Lion | |
| Jean-Claude Killy | | Olympic Alpine skier | |
| Coretta Scott King | 2002 | Civil rights leader and wife of Martin Luther King Jr. | |
| Earline Heath King | 2003 | Sculptor | |
| Fred Kirby | 1980 | Singer-songwriter | |
| Mike Krzyzewski | 2022 | College basketball coach | |
| I. Beverly Lake Jr. | 2006 | Chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court | |
| Bill Leslie | 2018 | News anchor for WRAL-TV and New-age music recording artist | |
| William Ivey Long | 2001 | Costume designer | |
| Betty Lynn | 2016 | Actress | |
| Doug Marlette | 2007 | Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist | |
| John C. Martin | 2014 | Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals | |
| David T. McCoy | 2000 | N.C. State Controller and Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation | |
| Scotty McCreery | 2017 | Country music singer | |
| Mike McIntyre | 2014 | U.S. House of Representatives | |
| Kenneth Merritt | | Parachutist | |
| Mary Lee Mills | | Nurse | |
| Ronnie Milsap | 1984 | Country music singer | |
| Michael A. Milton | 2018 | Minister, theologian, and singer-songwriter | |
| Burley Mitchell | 1992 | Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court | |
| Jerry Moore | 2012 | Football player and coach | |
| Hugh Morton | 1984 | Photographer and conservationist who developed Grandfather Mountain | |
| Wendell H. Murphy | 1992 | North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate | |
| Bess Myerson | 1979 | Miss America, model, and television actress | |
| Hal Needham | 1983 | Stunt performer and film director | |
| Leslie Nielsen | | Actor | |
| Virginia Newell | 2017 | Mathematics educator, author, and politician | |
| Edward Francis North, Earl of Guilford | 1982 | 9th Earl of Guilford | |
| Margaret Nygard | 1995 | Educator and conservationist | |
| Carmen Hooker Odom | 2007 | Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services | |
| Benny Parsons | 2007 | NASCAR driver and pit reporter | |
| Itzhak Perlman | 1983 | Violinist | |
| Gaylord Perry | | Professional baseball player | |
| Richard Petty | 1988 | NASCAR stock car racing driver | |
| Gary Player | 1983 | Professional golfer | |
| Sidney Poitier | 1993 | Actor and diplomat | |
| Art Pope | 1992 | North Carolina House of Representatives and businessman | |
| Colin Powell | 1993 | United States secretary of state | |
| Marc Pruett | 2015 | Bluegrass banjo player | |
| Nido Qubein | 2005 | Businessman and motivational speaker | |
| André Raphel | 2001 | Conductor, Boston Symphony Orchestra | |
| James E. Ramsey | 2012 | Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives | |
| Robert Redford | 1984 | Actor and filmmaker | |
| John Shelton Reed | 2023 | Sociologist, essayist, and author | |
| William Rehnquist | 1994 | Chief Justice of the United States | |
| Gene Roberts | 2015 | National and executive editor of The New York Times | |
| Kenny Rogers | 1982 | Country music singer and songwriter | |
| Thomas Warren Ross | 1999 | President of the University of North Carolina system | |
| Robert W. Scott | 1971 | Governor of North Carolina | |
| Earl Scruggs | 1984 | Bluegrass musician | |
| Hugh Shelton | | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | |
| Claude Sitton | 1985 | The New York Times reporter and editor, The News & Observer editor | |
| Enos Slaughter | 1983 | Professional baseball player | |
| Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith | 1984 | Composer, musician, and record producer | |
| Dean Smith | 1988 | College basketball coach | |
| James Smith | 1993, 1995 | Boxer and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion | |
| Mike Sprayberry | 1998 | North Carolina Emergency management director | |
| Ted G. Stone | 1999 | Evangelist | |
| Curtis Strange | 1991 | Professional golfer | |
| Ben C. Sutton Jr. | 2014 | Investor, philanthropist, and the founder of Teall Capital | |
| Wendell Tabb | 2022 | Theater teacher | |
| Bob Timberlake | 2006 | Artist | |
| Patricia Timmons-Goodson | 1999, 2005 | North Carolina Supreme Court and federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina | |
| Randy Travis | 1987 | Country music and gospel music singer | |
| Lanny Wadkins | 1988 | Professional golfer | |
| George Walker | 1997 | Classical composer and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music | |
| Jerry M. Wallace | 2015 | President of Campbell University | |
| Rusty Wallace | 2005 | NASCAR racing driver | |
| Edith D. Warren | 2012 | North Carolina General Assembly | |
| Robert D. Warren Sr. | 2005 | North Carolina Senate | |
| Doc Watson | 1999 | Grammy Awards winning bluegrass singer and songwriter | |
| Norman Adrian Wiggins | 1976, 1980, 1996, 1998 | President of Campbell University | |
| Laura I. Wiley | 2016 | North Carolina House of Representatives | |
| Harvey D. Williams | 1996 | U.S. Army major general and first African-American commander of Fort Myer | |
| Ted Williams | 1981 | Professional baseball player | |
| Tennessee Williams | 1981 | Playwright and screenwriter | |
| Oprah Winfrey | 1987 | Talk show host, actress, producer, and author | |
| Leslie Winner | 1999 | North Carolina Senate and general counsel and vice president for the University of North Carolina system | |
| Jeremiah Wolfe | 2017 | Cherokee stonecutter, stickball caller, and storyteller | |
| Ira David Wood III | 1994 | Actor, playwright, and executive director of Theatre in the Park | |
| James Worthy | 1985 | College and professional basketball player | |
| Aldona Wos | 2015 | United States Ambassador to Estonia and Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services | |
| Tammy Wynette | 1970 | Country music singer | |
| Andrew Young | 2002 | Civil rights activist, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Mayor of Atlanta | |