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(posthumous) 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 GCOT 16 June 2004 Romesh 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(posthumous) 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(posthumous) 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 GCOT 27 March 2009 Sadako Ogata GCOT 27 March 2009 Marcelino dos Santos GCOT 27 March 2009 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 Didier Ratsiraka 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 Teresa Clarke GCOT 14 May 2026 Pierre Magnee GCOT 14 May 2026 Antonio da Silva Gomes Cordeiro (Posthumous) GCOT 14 May 2026 Chérif Keïta GCOT 14 May 2026 Naomi Kleinfeld GCOT 14 May 2026

Refusals On 28 January 2008, New Zealand anti-apartheid activist John Minto 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.

See also South African civil honours

References