Orders of Commonwealth countries.
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or a dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order.
Sir is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part of "Monsieur", with the equivalent "My Lord" in English.
The Order of Merit is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign—currently Edward VII's great-great-grandson Charles III—and is restricted to a maximum of 24 living recipients from the Commonwealth realms, plus honorary members. While all members are awarded the right to use the post-nominal letters OM and wear the badge of the order, the Order of Merit's precedence among other honours differs between countries.
Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.
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, an academic degree, accreditation, an office, a military decoration, or honour, or is a member of a religious institute or fraternity. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters, but in some contexts it may be customary to limit the number of sets to one or just a few. The order in which post-nominals are listed after a name is based on rules of precedence and what is appropriate for a given situation. Post-nominal letters are one of the main types of name suffix. In contrast, pre-nominal letters precede the name rather than following it, such as addressing a physician or professor as "Dr. Smith".
The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.
The Rhodesian honours system was established at the time that Rhodesia unilaterally declared itself a republic in March 1970, when a system of military and civil decorations and awards was instituted by Presidential Warrant in November 1970.
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 in 1969. The system is modelled largely on the British honours system, which was formerly conferred on Jamaicans.
South African orders, decorations and medals are those military and civilian orders, decorations and medals issued by the Government of South Africa. The following is a (non-exhaustive) list of these:
The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system.
The Barbados National Honours and Decorations system is similar to that of the United Kingdom. Likewise, it consists of three types of award – honours, decorations and medals. Appointments are made on a yearly basis on Independence Day by the president of Barbados.
The Judiciary of England and Wales contains many levels, based on the court in which the judge sits. Titles are given to judges relating to their position and, in the case of knighthoods and peerages, this includes the positions they had previously held. Retired judges that sit in any court use their full name with their titles added. Members or former members of the higher judiciary who are King's Counsel do not use the post-nominal letters KC.
The orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia comprise a complex system by which Malaysians and qualified foreigners are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia were created after formation of Malaysia. The honour system came to exist earlier during Federation of Malaya. During the British colonial times, honours were given under the British honour system. Johor was the first state to institute its own honours on 31 July 1880. Then, the other Malay states did the same.
The Star of South Africa, Commander, post-nominal letters CSSA, is the third highest decoration of five non-military classes of the Order of the Star of South Africa, a South African 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.
