The Jamaican honours system has developed as a unique entity since the passage of the ''National Honours and Awards Act'' by the

Parliament of Jamaica The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It consists of three elements: The Crown (represented by the Governor-General), the appointed Senate and the directly elected House of Representatives. The ...

in 1969 (Act No. 21 of 1969). The system is modelled largely on the

British honours system In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award: *Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement a ...

, which was formerly conferred on Jamaicans. 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 ...

is the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of each order, membership of which is conferred by the Governor-General upon the advice of the

Prime Minister of Jamaica The prime minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Holness, as leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was sworn in as prime minister on 7 September 2020, having been re-elected as a result of t ...

. The

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

is not, however, the sovereign of these orders, as in the case of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

and the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

. In a sense, therefore, they are somewhat analogous to those distinctions awarded by certain of the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

provinces. Most Jamaican honours allow recipients to place

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

after their names, and some honours include pre-nominal styles."National Awards of Jamaica"
Jamaica Information Service, accessed May 12, 2015.

Honours

The honours in this Jamaican system are as follows, from highest to lowest in rank: In exercise of the royal prerogative,

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...

, as

King of Jamaica The monarchy of Jamaica is a constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Jamaica. The terms '' Crown in Right of Jamaica'', ''His Majesty in Right of Jamaica'', or ''The King in Rig ...

, awards the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) to the incumbent

Governor-General of Jamaica The governor-general of Jamaica is the viceregal representative of the Jamaican monarch, King Charles III, in Jamaica. The monarch, on the advice of the prime minister, appoints a governor-general as his or her representative in Jamaica. Bo ...

. This, however, is mainly ceremonial. No other British/Commonwealth honour is awarded in Jamaica, but, they are able to be awarded with advice given to the King of Jamaica, via the incumbent

with approval from the

Cabinet of Jamaica The Cabinet of the Government of Jamaica is the ultimate decision-making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government in traditional constitutional theory. The Cabinet of Jamaica is the principal instrument of government poli ...

Medals

Awards

References

External links

Jamaica's Honours
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an ...

'', 7 August 2012, retrieved 7 August 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamaican Honours System Jamaica and the Commonwealth of Nations