diff --git a/opal/runtime/opal.h b/opal/runtime/opal.h
index 1d42d7eb42..e3ccd35087 100644
--- a/opal/runtime/opal.h
+++ b/opal/runtime/opal.h
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@
 #ifndef OPAL_H
 #define OPAL_H
 
+#if defined(c_plusplus) || defined(__cplusplus)
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
 /**
  * Initialize the OPAL utilities
  *
@@ -39,4 +43,8 @@ int opal_init(void);
  */
 int opal_finalize(void);
 
+#if defined(c_plusplus) || defined(__cplusplus)
+}
+#endif
+
 #endif