National Order of the Leopard

National Order of the Leopard
Commander cross of the Order, second type (Republic of Zaire)
Awarded by  Democratic Republic of the Congo
Type	Order
Status	Discontinued
Sovereign	President
Grades	Grand Cordon Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Ribbon bar of the order (DR Congo) Ribbon bar of the order (Zaire)

The National Order of the Leopard (French: Ordre national du Léopard) was the highest honorific decoration of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1966 until 2002 when it was discontinued and replaced by the Order of the National Heroes Kabila-Lumumba.^[1] It was instituted on 24 May 1966 in the Ordinance-law Number 66-330 by President Joseph-Désiré Mobutu.^{[citation needed]} It rewarded the high military or civil merits rendered in the Congo.

The President of the Congo was the Grand Chancellor of the Order. Its administration was in the care of the Chancellor.

The National Order of the Leopard was composed of five grades:

• Grand Cordon
• Grand Officer
• Commander
• Officer
• Knight