Star of South Africa (1952)

The Star of South Africa, post-nominal letters SSA, is a military decoration for merit that was instituted by the Union of South Africa in 1952. It was awarded to general and flag officers of the South African Defence Force for exceptionally meritorious service. The Star of South Africa was discontinued on 1 July 1975 when a new set of orders, decorations and medals was instituted.

The South African military
The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994 it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Orders, decorations and medals
In April 1952 a series of military decorations and medals was instituted, consisting of substitutes for many of the British and Commonwealth awards which had earlier been used. More decorations and medals, as well as an emblem for being mentioned in dispatches, were added between 1953 and 1970. In July 1975 the military decorations and medals of the Republic were revised. Some decorations and medals were carried over from the earlier series of 1952-1975 and new awards were instituted, followed by more between 1987 and 1991. Finally, all but one of these earlier awards were discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when a new set of nine decorations and medals was instituted to replace them.

Fount of Honour
Until 1958 the top three awards 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.

Award criteria for the Star of South Africa
The Star of South Africa, post-nominal letters SSA, was awarded to general and flag officers for exceptionally meritorious service. It was introduced on 6 April 1952 and formally instituted by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 January 1953. In effect, it took the place of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, which had been awarded to senior South African officers during World War II. The decoration 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.

Order of precedence
The position of the Star of South Africa in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1975 to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again when a new series of military decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003.


 * South African Defence Force until 26 April 1994:
 * Official SADF order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Star of South Africa, Silver (SSAS).
 * Succeeded by the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD).


 * Official national order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Order of Good Hope Class III, Commander.
 * Succeeded by the Decoration for Meritorious Service (DMS).


 * South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994:
 * Official SANDF order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Star of South Africa, Silver (SSAS) of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD) of the Republic of South Africa.


 * Official national order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Order of Good Hope Class III, Commander of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Decoration for Meritorious Service (DMS) of the Republic of South Africa.


 * South African National Defence Force from 27 April 2003:
 * Official SANDF order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Star of South Africa, Silver (SSAS) of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD) of the Republic of South Africa.


 * Official national order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Companion of O.R. Tambo, Bronze of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Decoration for Meritorious Service (DMS) of the Republic of South Africa.

Description
The Star of South Africa is struck in silver and consists of eight five-pointed stars of different sizes, superimposed on each other.
 * Obverse

The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms. Specimens that were minted and awarded before South Africa became a republic on 31 May 1961 have Queen Elizabeth's royal cipher (E II R) above the Coat of Arms.
 * Reverse

The decoration is worn around the neck on an orange ribbon, 44 millimetres wide with three green bands in the centre, all 3 millimetres wide and spaced 6 millimetres apart.
 * Ribbon

Discontinuation
The conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 1 July 1975, when a new set of orders, decorations and medals was instituted.