The National Order of the Lion is an Order from Senegal instituted on 22 October 1960 and awarded for both civil and military distinguished contributions.
The order is one of two Senegalese national orders, the other one being the Order of Merit. Because this Order is awarded only sparingly, the other one was established to recognize contributions that would otherwise be neglected.
The Grand Master of the order is the President of Senegal and chairs the Council of the Order composed of ten people. The Grand Chancellery of the order is under the Protocol Division of the Cabinet of Senegal.
The order has five classes:
Grand Cross (grand-croix)
Grand Officer (grand officer)
Commander (commander)
Officer (officer)
Knight (chevalier).
Membership in the order is limited to 25 Grand Crosses, 100 Grand Officers, 200 Commanders, 1,000 Officers, and 5,000 Knights, excluding foreign members.
The National Order of the Lion Design
The insignia is manufactured by Arthus-Bertrand in Paris.
The obverse bears the words “République du Sénégal (“Republic of Senegal”) and the Senegalese national motto in French: “Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi” (“One People, One Goal, One Faith“). The ribbon is green.
