Category:Jamaican honours system

From Jamaica Wiki

Jamaica has unique honors system since 1969 when the Parliament approved the National Honors and Awards Act (Act No. 21 of 1969). The system is influenced by the British honors system.

The system works in the following way. The Governor-General is the Chancellor of each order. The membership of each order is conferred by him upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Jamaica. There is a difference between the Canadian and Australian honor systems because the sovereign of these orders is not the country's sovereign.

The recipients of the Jamaican honors usually receive titles in front or after their names.

The Jamaican honors system has several ranks. The highest one is The Order of National Hero. It is given to a Jamaican citizen who rendered a service of distinguished nature to Jamaica. The members of the order receive a pre-nominal title - 'The Right Excellent' and a post-nominal title - 'National Hero of Jamaica'.

The next honor in the Jamaican system is The Order of the Nation. It is the second highest Jamaican order. The Order of the Nation was instituted in 1973 by regulations made under the National Honors and Awards Act. Usually this honor is given to the Governors-General or a person from the Prime Minister's office.

The third higher Jamaican honor is The Order of Excellence. It was first introduced in 2003 and thus is the newest addition to the Jamaican honor system. It is introduced to replace the Order of Merit that was given to foreign heads of state or foreign governments.

The Order of Merit is awarded to any Jamaican citizen who achieved distinction internationally.It is awarded to people working in various fields - science, arts, literature, etc. distinguished citizens of other countries are also entitled to receive this order.

The Order of Jamaica is next in the Jamaican honor system. It is awarded to any Jamaican citizen of outstanding distinction. Similar to the Order of Merit foreign citizens can become honored members of this order.

The fifth order in the Jamaican honor system is The Order of Distinction. It is equivalent of the British Order of the British Empire. The Order of Distinction has two ranks - Commander and Officer. In this order, as well, honorary memberships may be made to foreign nationals either at the rank of Commander or Officer.