Instituted during January 1974 by the President Mobutu of the Republic of Zaire, the Order of the Companions of the Revolution was issued in a single class to the fourteen signatories of the of the proclamation creating the Republic of Zaire on November 24, 1965. It was the Nation's top award during the period 1974 through 1997.

President Mobutu wearing the Belgian Order of Leopold I Grand Cordon