The Star of South Africa, Grand Cross, post-nominal letters SSA, is the senior decoration of five non-military classes of the
Order of the Star of South Africa
The Order of the Star of South Africa is a South African National Order that consisted of seven decorations in two military and five non-military classes. The order was discontinued on 2 December 2002.
Institution
The Order of the Star of South ...
, a South African Military Order that was instituted by the Republic on 1 July 1975. The Order of the Star of South Africa was discontinued in 2002.
[South African Medal Website - Republic of South Africa: 1967-2002](_blank)
(Accessed 1 May 2015)
(Accessed 28 April 2015)
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
Fount of Honour
Until 1958 the top three South African honours were reserved for conferment by
the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
while the rest were awarded by the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
, but in 1958 the Governor-General was authorised to also award the top three. In 1961 the State President became the
Fount of Honour The fount of honour ( la, fons honorum) is a person, who, by virtue of his or her official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons.
Origin
During the High Middle Ages, ...
, and in 1994 the President.
[South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1952-1975](_blank)
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 1 May 2015)
Civil honours were gradually introduced from May 1967. They were revised in the 1980s and in 1986 a Chancery of Orders was established in the Office of the State President, after 1994 the Presidency, to administer most of them. Most of these honours remained in use after 1994, until an entirely new honours system was introduced in December 2002.
Institution
The military Order of the Star of South Africa, established in 1975 and conferred on general and flag officers in two classes, was named after the first large diamond to be found in South Africa, the
Star of South Africa that was found on the banks of the
Orange River
The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...
in 1869 and that sparked the
New Rush, leading to the establishment of
Kimberley. The Order was expanded on 17 October 1978 with the institution of five non-military classes of the Order.
Award criteria
The Star of South Africa, Grand Cross, post-nominal letters SSA, is the senior decoration of these five civil honours. It was bestowed on civilians in defence-related industries and organisations and, from 1988, on general officers of the
South African Police
The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Afr ...
, South African Railways Police,
South African Prisons Service and
South African Intelligence Service for excellent meritorious service which made a lasting contribution to the security and general national interest of South Africa. It was also bestowed on foreign military attachés for excellent meritorious service.
The five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa are:
* The Star of South Africa, Grand Cross, post-nominal letters SSA.
* The
Star of South Africa, Grand Officer
The Star of South Africa, Grand Officer, post-nominal letters SSAS, is the second decoration of five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa, a military order that was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 19 ...
, post-nominal letters SSAS.
* The
Star of South Africa, Commander
The Star of South Africa, Commander, post-nominal letters CSSA, is the third highest decoration of five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa, a South African military order that was instituted by the Republic of South Af ...
, post-nominal letters CSSA.
* The
Star of South Africa, Officer
The Star of South Africa, Officer (post-nominal letters OSSA) is the fourth-ranked decoration of five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa, a South African military order that was instituted by the Republic on 1 July 19 ...
, post-nominal letters OSSA.
* The Star of South Africa, Member, post-nominal letters MSSA.
Order of wear
The Star of South Africa, Grand Cross ranks on par with its equivalent military decoration, the
Star of South Africa, Gold
The Star of South Africa, Gold, post-nominal letters SSA, is the senior decoration of two military and five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa, a South African Order which was instituted in 1975, for award to general a ...
. Its position in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1975 to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration process of 1994 and again with the institution of a new set of awards in 2003.
;Official national order of precedence until 26 April 1994:
* Preceded by the Order of the Southern Cross, Gold (OSG).
* Succeeded by the
Order for Meritorious Service, Gold (OMSG).
[Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993]
;Official national order of precedence from 27 April 1994:
* Preceded by the Order of the Southern Cross, Gold (OSG) of the
Republic of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
* Succeeded by the Order of the Leopard, Special Class Grand Cross of the
Republic of Bophuthatswana.
[Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, ]
The position of the Star of South Africa, Grand Cross in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was on 27 April 1994, when a new series of orders, decorations and medals was instituted on 27 April 2003.
Description
;Obverse
The Star of South Africa, Grand Cross is silver-gilt and is a Maltese cross with the arms in dark blue enamel, with protea flowers between the arms of the cross and two four-pointed stars superimposed on one another and, together, on the cross, with a diamond in the centre.
;Reverse
The reverse is smooth and has the embossed
pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms.
;Ribbon
The decoration is worn around the neck on a dark blue ribbon, 35 millimetres wide with orange bands on the edges, each two millimetres wide.
;Breast star
Recipients also wear a gold breast star with eight multi-rayed points that displays the obverse of the decoration in its centre.
Discontinuation
Conferment of the decoration was discontinued on 6 December 2002 when a new set of national orders was instituted.
References
{{South African honours system
Order of the Star of South Africa