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Order of Merit (OM)

awards

Order of Merit Award

The honour of the Order of Merit (OM) may be conferred upon any citizen of Jamaica or distinguished citizen of a country other than Jamaica (an honorary member) who has achieved eminent international distinction in the field of science, the arts, literature or any other endeavour. It is not conferred upon more than two persons in any one year. The motto of the Order is “He that does truth comes into the light”, and a member of the Order is styled “The Honourable”.

The Insignia

The insignia of the Order of Merit is also a collar badge suspended from a deep maroon silk riband. The six-armed white enameled star with twelve points has superimposed on it a lesser similarly shaped star in silver. Between each of the outer six points of the star is the blue Lignum Vitae flower of Jamaica. In the centre is the Arms of Jamaica in gold on a contrasting silver background, surrounded by the motto of the Order in gold lettering on red enamel.

 

Members of the Order of Merit

His Excellency Dr Fidel Castro Ruz,OJ
President of the Republic of Cuba

James (Jimmy Cliff) Chambers, OD
Singer, Song-writer and Actor

Professor Anthony Abraham Chen

Dr Albert Belville Lockhart
Consultant and Ophthalmologist,
The University of the West Indies

Sir Meredith Alister McIntyre, CD, OCC
Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies
Economist, Formerly Secretary-General, Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
(Citizen of Grenada)

Sir Shridath Surendranath Ramphal GCMG, OCC, QC
Formerly Secretary-General, Commonwealth Secretariat, London
Chairman, West Indian Commission
(Citizen of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana)

Professor Edward Robinson

Professor Michael Garfield Smith
Professor of Anthropology, University College, London

Derek Alton Walcott, OCC
Poet, Playwright, Journalist, Painter
(Citizen of St. Lucia)

Professor Manley Elisha West
Professor of Pharmacology, University of the West Indies

Willard Wentworth White
Opera Singer and Actor

Dr Cicely Delphine Williams, CMG
Consultant in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine and Child Health, University of the West Indies

Members of the Order of Merit - Deceased

The Honourable Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley, OJ, MBE
Folklorist and Writer

Reverend William Knibb
Baptist Minister, William Knibb Memorial Baptist Church, Falmouth, Trelawny
(Citizen of the United Kingdom)

Dr Thomas Phillip Lecky, OBE
Geneticist and Director of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Agriculture

The Most Honourable Mrs Edna Manley
Sculptor and Painter

The Most Honourable Michael Norman Manley, ON
Formerly Prime Minister of Jamaica, March 1972 - October 1980 and February 1989 - March 1992; Formerly President, National Workers Union
Robert Nesta (Bob) Marley, Reggae Superstar

The Honourable Herbert Henry (Herb) McKenley, OJ, CD
Athlete and Olympian (1948 and 1952)

Mrs. Mary Seacole, Jamaican Nurse

Sir Phillip Manderson Sherlock, KBE, OCC
Formerly Vice-Chancellor, University of the West Indies

Carl Ebenezer McDougall Stone, CD
Professor of Political Sociology, University of the West Indies

Professor Ralston (Rex) Milton Nettleford, OCC
Vice Chancellor Emeritus, University of the West Indies
Professional Directorship for Extra Mural Studies
Director of Studies Trade Union Education Institute, University of the West Indies, Founder and Artistic Director, Choreographer, National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, Consultant on Cultural Development - UNESCO

 

Jamaica Information Service