The Gold Star for Bravery, post-nominal letters GSB, was instituted by the President 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 ...

in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of 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 ...

, the military wing of the

Pan Africanist Congress The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (known as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)) is a South African national liberation Pan-Africanist movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Robert Sobukwe, that ...

, who had distinguished themselves during the "struggle" by performing acts of exceptional bravery in great danger.South African Medals Website - Liberation armies
(Accessed 30 April 2015)

Azanian People's Liberation Army

The

(APLA) was the para-military wing of the

(PAC). It was established in 1961 to wage an armed "struggle" against the Nationalist government inside South Africa. On 27 April 1994, the Azanian People's Liberation Army was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).Warrant of the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of the "UNITAS MEDAL-UNITAS-MEDALJE", Gazette no. 16087 dated 25 November 1994.

Institution

The Gold Star for Bravery, post-nominal letters GSB, was instituted by the

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...

in April 1996. It is the senior award of a set of three decorations for bravery, along with the Bravery Star in Silver and the Star for Conspicuous Leadership.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters
(Accessed 28 April 2015) The Azanian People's Liberation Army's military decorations and medals were modeled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these three decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the

Honoris Crux Gold The Honoris Crux Gold (Gold Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCG, is a South African military decoration for bravery which was instituted in 1975. It was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for outstanding acts of brav ...

, the

Honoris Crux (1975) The Honoris Crux (Cross of Honour) of 1975, post-nominal letters HC, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. The decoration was awarded to members of the South African Defence F ...

and the

Pro Virtute Decoration The Pro Virtute Decoration, post-nominal letters PVD, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1987. It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for distinguished conduct an ...

Award criteria

The decoration could be awarded to veteran cadres of the Azanian People's Liberation Army who had distinguished themselves during the "struggle" by performing acts of exceptional bravery in great danger.

Order of wear

The position of the Gold Star for Bravery in the official military and national orders of precedence was revised upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged, as it had been until 26 April 2003.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, Presidential Warrant by the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of Honours for Bravery in the South African National Defence Force, Gazette no. 25213 dated 25 July 2003. ;Azanian People's Liberation Army: Ribbon Gold Star for Bravery

* Official APLA order of precedence: ** Succeeded by the Bravery Star in Silver (BSS). ;South African National Defence Force: Ribbon Star for Bravery in Gold

* Official SANDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the

(HCG) of the

. ** Succeeded by the Star for Bravery in Gold (SBG) of Umkhonto we Sizwe. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the

Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold The Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold, post-nominal letters WD, is the senior of two classes of a South African civil decoration for acts of bravery. It replaced the Union of South Africa King's Medal for Bravery, Gold, Union of South Africa Que ...

(WD) of the Republic of South Africa. ** Succeeded by the Star for Bravery in Gold (SBG) of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Description

;Obverse The Gold Star for Bravery is a pair of silver-gilt five-pointed stars, superimposed one on the other, to fit inside a circle with a diameter of 38 millimetres and displaying a gold lion on a white enameled centre roundel. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and red, with a 12 millimetres wide white band in the centre.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Gold Star for Bravery was discontinued upon the institution of a new set of military honours on 27 April 2003.

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of Azanian People's Liberation Army Awards established in 1996 Awards disestablished in 2003 1996 establishments in South Africa 2003 disestablishments in South Africa