Star of South Africa, Grand Officer
| Star of South Africa, Grand Officer | |
|---|---|
Breast star
|
|
| Awarded by the State President and, from 1994, the President | |
| Country |
  South Africa
|
| Type | Civil decoration for merit |
| Eligibility | Civilians in defence-related industries, general officers in the police, railways police, prisons service and intelligence service and foreign military attachés |
| Awarded for | Outstanding meritorious service which made a significant contribution |
| Status | Discontinued in 2002 |
| Post-nominals | SSAS |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1978 |
| Pre-1994 & post-2002 orders of wear | |
| Next (higher) |
Pre-1994 precedence:
Post-2002 precedence:
|
| Equivalent |
.svg){kind=small} Star of South Africa, Silver
|
| Next (lower) |
Pre-1994 succession:
Post-2002 succession:
|
 Ribbon bar |
|
The Star of South Africa, Grand Officer, post-nominal letters SSAS, is the second decoration of five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa, a military order that was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. The Order of the Star of South Africa was discontinued in 2002.
Until 1958 the top three South African honours were reserved for conferment by the Queen while the rest were awarded by the Governor-General, but in 1958 the Governor-General was authorised to also award the top three. In 1961 the State President became the Fount of Honour, and in 1994 the President.
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 named 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.
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 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.
The Star of South Africa, Grand Officer, post-nominal letters SSAS, is the second most senior 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, South African Railways Police, South African Prisons Service and South African Intelligence Service for outstanding meritorious service which made a significant contribution to the security and general national interest of South Africa. It was also bestowed on foreign military attachés for outstanding meritorious service.
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Wikipedia