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 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
(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
(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, Officer, post-nominal letters OSSA, is the fourth-ranked 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 exceptionally meritorious service which made a meaningful 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, post-nominal letters SSAS. * The Star of South Africa, Commander, post-nominal letters CSSA. * The Star of South Africa, Officer, post-nominal letters OSSA. * The Star of South Africa, Member, post-nominal letters MSSA.

Order of wear

The position of the Star of South Africa, Officer in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1978 to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration process of 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the

Azanian People's Liberation Army The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks on ...

and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again with the institution of a new set of awards in 2002 and 2003. ;Official national order of precedence until 26 April 1994: * Preceded by the National Intelligence Service Decoration, Gold. * Succeeded by the Order of Good Hope, Class IV, Officer.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993 ;Official national order of precedence from 27 April 1994: * Preceded by the Lebowa Police Star for Distinguished Service of the Lebowa Homeland. * Succeeded by the Order of the Leopard of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, ;Official national order of precedence from April 1996: * Preceded by the

Gold Decoration for Merit The Gold Decoration for Merit, post-nominal letters GDM, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of the Azanian People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the Pan Afric ...

(GDM) of the

. * Succeeded by the Order of the Leopard of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ;Official national order of precedence from 27 April 2003: * Preceded by the

iPhrothiya yeGolide The iPhrothiya yeGolide - Golden Protea, post-nominal letters PG, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003. It can be awarded to all ranks who have distinguished the ...

(PG) 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 of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.

Description

;Obverse The Star of South Africa, Officer is a silver-gilt Maltese cross with the arms in dark blue enamel, with two four-pointed stars superimposed on one another and, together, on the cross. ;Reverse The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms, with the decoration number usually impressed on the upper arm of the cross and the silver hallmark below the Coat of Arms. ;Ribbon The decoration is worn on the chest on a blue ribbon, 35 millimetres wide, with a 2 millimetres wide white band, an 11½ millimetres wide blue band, a 1 millimetre wide white band and a 2 millimetres wide blue band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 2 millimetres wide orange band in the 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