Zaire, Republic. An Order of Civic Merit, III Class

In bronze, measuring 34.8 mm (w) x 42.7 mm (h), very light contact, original ribbon, near extremely fine.

Footnote: The Republic of Zaire was the name of a sovereign state between 1971 and 1997 in Central Africa that is now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country was a one-party totalitarian dictatorship, run by Mobutu Sese Seko and his ruling Popular Movement of the Revolution party. Zaire was established following Mobutu's seizure of power in a military coup in 1965, following five years of political upheaval following independence known as the Congo Crisis. Zaire had a strongly centralist constitution, and foreign assets were nationalized. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second Congolese Republic.