The Order of Good Hope or Order of the Cape of Good Hope has been a knighthood order of the Republic of South Africa.
The Order of Good Hope was founded in 1973 by the republican government of South Africa to grant those who have distinguished themselves in the promotion of the international relationships and to have sensibilized the general interest towards South Africa and was abolished in 2002.
President Nelson Mandela had announced his intention to reform the Order. The new South African government saw the Order as a relic of apartheid, above all because of the insignia considered too European (the rays, the colours, the anchor and the Latin motto of the Order. Also the insignia was costing the government around 11,000 Rand per initiate. In its place was created the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo.
Awarded to foreign citizens (and, from 1980 to 1988, to South Africans too), for promoting international relations with the increasingly isolated apartheid state. The order was originally divided into five classes:
Grand Collar – for heads of state only.Grand Cross – for heads of government, ministers of state, judges, presidents of legislatures, secretaries of state, ambassadors, commanders-in-chief, and others.Grand Officer – for legislators, envoys, senior military officers, and others.Commander – for chargés d'affaires, consuls-general, colonels, and others.Officer – for consuls, lower-ranking military officers, and others.The order was reorganised in 1988:
Grand Cross – for excellent meritorious service (heads of state and, in special cases, heads of government).Grand Officer – for outstanding meritorious service (heads of government, ministers of state, judges, presidents of legislatures, secretaries of state, ambassadors, commanders-in-chief, and others).Commander – for exceptionally meritorious service (legislators, envoys, senior military officers, and others).Officer – for meritorious service (chargés d'affaires, consuls-general, colonels, and others).Member – for exceptional service (consuls, lower-ranking military officers, and others).Notable recipients of the Grand-Cross (non-exhaustive list)
Alfredo Stroessner, President of Paraguay in 1974Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister in 1991François Mitterrand, President of France in 1994 Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe in 1994 Emperor Akihito in 1995 Queen Elizabeth II, Former Queen of South Africa in 1995 Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia in 1995 Joaquim Chissano, President of Mozambique in 1995 King Mswati III of Swaziland in 1995 Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (Bahrain) in 1995 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (United Arab Emirates) in 1995 Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 1996 Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1996 Jacques Chirac, President of France in 1996 Sam Nujoma, President of Namibia in 1996 Muammar Gaddafi, Leader of Libya in 1997 Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt in 1997 King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in 1997 Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland in 1997 Suharto, President of Indonesia in 1997 Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda in 1997 King Harald V of Norway in 1998 Bill Clinton, President of the United States of America in 1998 Fidel Castro, President of Cuba in 1998 Yasser Arafat in 1998 King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1999 Queen Sofia of Spain in 1999 Prince Claus of the Netherlands in 1999 Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said of Oman in 1999 Jiang Zemin, President of China in 1999 Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia in 1999 
