diff --git a/consul/leader.go b/consul/leader.go
index 2bffdd967d..b5daad1bf4 100644
--- a/consul/leader.go
+++ b/consul/leader.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"net"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/armon/go-metrics"
@@ -29,18 +30,29 @@ const (
 // as the leader in the Raft cluster. There is some work the leader is
 // expected to do, so we must react to changes
 func (s *Server) monitorLeadership() {
-	leaderCh := s.raft.LeaderCh()
+	// We use the notify channel we configured Raft with, NOT Raft's
+	// leaderCh, which is only notified best-effort. Doing this ensures
+	// that we get all notifications in order, which is required for
+	// cleanup and to ensure we never run multiple leader loops.
+	leaderCh := s.leaderCh
+
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	var stopCh chan struct{}
 	for {
 		select {
 		case isLeader := <-leaderCh:
 			if isLeader {
 				stopCh = make(chan struct{})
-				go s.leaderLoop(stopCh)
+				wg.Add(1)
+				go func() {
+					s.leaderLoop(stopCh)
+					wg.Done()
+				}()
 				s.logger.Printf("[INFO] consul: cluster leadership acquired")
 			} else if stopCh != nil {
 				close(stopCh)
 				stopCh = nil
+				wg.Wait()
 				s.logger.Printf("[INFO] consul: cluster leadership lost")
 			}
 		case <-s.shutdownCh:
diff --git a/consul/server.go b/consul/server.go
index dbcff66afb..ab209d8630 100644
--- a/consul/server.go
+++ b/consul/server.go
@@ -132,6 +132,10 @@ type Server struct {
 	raftTransport *raft.NetworkTransport
 	raftInmem     *raft.InmemStore
 
+	// leaderCh set up by setupRaft() and ensures that we get reliable leader
+	// transition notifications from the Raft layer.
+	leaderCh <-chan bool
+
 	// reconcileCh is used to pass events from the serf handler
 	// into the leader manager, so that the strong state can be
 	// updated
@@ -554,6 +558,11 @@ func (s *Server) setupRaft() error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Set up a channel for reliable leader notifications.
+	leaderCh := make(chan bool, 1)
+	s.config.RaftConfig.NotifyCh = leaderCh
+	s.leaderCh = leaderCh
+
 	// Setup the Raft store.
 	s.raft, err = raft.NewRaft(s.config.RaftConfig, s.fsm, log, stable, snap, trans)
 	if err != nil {