| Order of Barbados | |
|---|---|
Awarded by  Government of Barbados | |
| Type | National Honour |
| Established | 25 July 1980 |
| Eligibility | Citizens of Barbados. |
| Awarded for | Service to Barbados. |
| Status | Currently constituted |
| Chancellor | President of Barbados |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Order of National Heroes |
| Next (lower) | Various awards |
 Ribbon of the order (1980 to 2021) | |
The Order of Barbados is a national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados.
The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. [1] [2] [3] With Barbados becoming a republic on 30 November 2021, a new Order of Barbados came into force that was established with the Barbados National Honors and Decorations Act 2021 by the Parliament of Barbados on 28 October 2021, and which replaced the former Order of Barbados that existed under the monarchy. [4]
The Order under the Republic of Barbados consists of the following honours and decorations: [4]
| Award | Grade | Post-nominal letters | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order of Freedom of Barbados | Member | FB | The Most Honourable [5] |
| Order of the Republic | Member | OR | The Honourable |
| Gold Award of Achievement | — | GA [6] | — |
| Trident of Excellence | Gold Trident of Excellence | GTE | — |
| Silver Trident of Excellence | STE | — | |
| Barbados Service Award | Barbados Service Star | BSS | — |
| Barbados Service Medal | BSM | — | |
| Barbados Services Medal of Honour | — | — | — |
| Barbados Humanitarian Service Award | — | — | — |
| Award of Pride of Barbados | — | — | — |
| Prime Minister’s Award for Leadership | — | — | — |
The Order while Barbados was still a Commonwealth realm (1966–2021) consisted of four classes of members, two of which were subdivided into two grades. There was a limit as to how many appointments could be made to each grade each year. [3] [7]
| Class | Grade | Post-nominal letters | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight or Dame of St. Andrew | — | KA/DA | Sir or Dame |
| Companion of Honour of Barbados | — | CHB | The Honourable |
| Crown of Merit | Gold Crown of Merit | GCM | — |
| Silver Crown of Merit | SCM | — | |
| Barbados Service Award | Barbados Service Star | BSS | — |
| Barbados Service Medal | BSM | — |
When the Order of the Commonwealth realm of Barbados became obsolete, no further appointments were made with this former Order, although "all appointments, awards or decorations conferred prior to 30 November 2021 pursuant to the Letters Patent shall continue to be acknowledged as validly conferred; and all holders of appointments, awards or decorations conferred pursuant to the Letters Patent shall be deemed to be members of the (new) Order". [4]
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:
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 Government. Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens received British honours.
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 was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order.
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 a limited number of 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.
The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister at the time, that have been progressively introduced since 14 February 1975. The Australian honours and awards system excludes all state and local government, and private, issued awards and medals.
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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.
Knight or Dame of St Andrew was an award within the Order of Barbados that was part of the national honours system of Barbados when the country was still a realm within the Commonwealth.
The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy being separate and legally distinct. The monarch's operational and ceremonial duties were mostly delegated to her representative, the governor-general of Barbados.
The Constitution of Barbados is the supreme law under which Barbados is governed. The Constitution provides a legal establishment of the Government of Barbados, as well as legal rights and responsibilities of the public and various other government officers. The Constitution which came into force in 1966 was amended in 1974, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. The 1966 document succeeds several other documents concerning administration of Barbados. One of them, the Barbados Charter, is discussed in the present Constitution's Preamble. Prior statutes were created for the administration of Barbados as a colony. As a former English and later British colony, the Constitution is similar to those of other former Commonwealth realms, yet distinctly different in the spirit of the Statute of Westminster.
Elizabeth II was Queen of Ghana from 1957 to 1960, when Ghana was an independent sovereign state and a constitutional monarchy. She was also queen of the United Kingdom and other sovereign states. Her constitutional roles in Ghana were delegated to the governor-general of Ghana.
Crown Honours Lists are lists of honours conferred upon citizens of the Commonwealth realms. The awards are presented by or in the name of the reigning monarch, currently King Charles III, or his vice-regal representative.
The Order of Freedom of Barbados is a national honour established by the Order of Freedom of Barbados Act 2019 by the Parliament of Barbados. As part within the overarching Order of Barbados, it ranks higher than the Order of the Republic, but is below the separate and supreme Order of National Heroes.