The Star of South Africa, Silver, post-nominal letters SSAS, was the second level decoration of two military and five non-military classes of the

Order of the Star of South Africa Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

, which was instituted by the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to general and flag officers of the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...

for exceptionally meritorious service of major military significance. The Order of the Star of South Africa was discontinued in 2002.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters
(Accessed 28 April 2015)

The South African military

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the

(SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The Chief of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of ...

(SANDF).South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1975-2003
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 30 April 2015) Suid-Afrikaanse militêre dekorasies: 1952-1975 Suid-Afrikaanse militêre dekorasies: 1975-2003Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 457, no. 25213, Pretoria, 25 July 2003
/ref>

Institution

The Star of South Africa, Silver, post-nominal letters SSAS, was instituted by the State President on 1 July 1975, as the junior decoration of two military classes of the

. The order was named after the first large diamond to be found in South Africa, the Star of South Africa, which was found on the banks of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, 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 Namibi ...

in 1869 and which sparked the New Rush, leading to the establishment of

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

. The Order of the Star of South Africa was expanded on 17 October 1978, when a non-military division, with decorations in five classes, was instituted for conferment on civilians and, from 1988, on senior police, prisons service and intelligence service officers, as well as foreign military attachés. The second of these five non-military decorations, the Star of South Africa, Grand Officer, ranks on par with the Star of South Africa, Silver.

Award criteria

The Star of South Africa, Silver was awarded to general and flag officers for exceptionally meritorious service of major military significance.

Order of wear

The position of the Star of South Africa, Silver in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994 and again with the institution of a new set of awards in 2003. ;South African Defence Force until 26 April 1994: *Official SADF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Star of South Africa, Gold (SSA). ** Succeeded by the

Star of South Africa (1952) The Star of South Africa, post-nominal letters SSA, is a military decoration for merit which was instituted by the Union of South Africa from 1952 to 1975. It was awarded to general and flag officers of the South African Defence Force for exce ...

(SSA). *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Order of the Southern Cross, Silver (OSS). ** Succeeded by the Order for Meritorious Service, Silver (OMSS).Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993 ;South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994: *Official SANDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Star of South Africa, Gold (SSA) of the

. ** Succeeded by the Order of the Leopard, Military Division, Commander of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Order of the Southern Cross, Silver (OSS) of the Republic of South Africa. ** Succeeded by the Order of the Leopard, Grand Commander 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, Silver in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was on 27 April 1994, when a new series of military orders, decorations and medals was instituted on 27 April 2003.

Description

;Obverse The Star of South Africa, Silver was struck in silver and is a Maltese cross, with the arms in dark blue enamel, with protea flowers between the arms of the cross. Two four-pointed stars, superimposed on one another, are mounted on the cross. ;Reverse The reverse has the pre-2000 South African Coat of Arms. ;Ribbon The decoration is worn around the neck on a dark blue ribbon, 35 millimetres wide, with a 2 millimetres wide white band in the centre. ;Breast star Recipients also wear a silver breast star with eight multi-rayed points, which displays the obverse of the decoration in its centre. The reverse of the breast star has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms in the centre, with the silver hallmark below it.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the decoration was discontinued on 6 December 2002, when a new set of national orders was instituted.

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Orders of South Africa Military decorations and medals of South Africa 1975 establishments in South Africa Awards established in 1975 Awards disestablished in 2002