The Order of Merit is part of the Jamaican honours system and is the fourth highest honour conferred by the nation of Jamaica. The Order of Merit is conferred upon Jamaicans or distinguished citizens of other countries who have achieved eminent international distinction in the field of science, arts, literature or any other endeavour. The award can be held by no more than 15 living persons. Members and Honorary Members of the Order are entitled to wear the insignia of the order as a decoration and to be styled as The Honourable. In addition, they can append the postnominal letters OM to their names, or OM(Hon) in the case of Honorary Members. The order's motto is "He that does the truth comes into the light."
The Order of Merit was originally one that was awarded to foreign heads of state, however this role was taken over by the Order of Excellence in 2003.
Famous quotes containing the words jamaican, order and/or merit:
“When a Jamaican is born of a black woman and some English or Scotsman, the black mother is literally and figuratively kept out of sight as far as possible, but no one is allowed to forget that white father, however questionable the circumstances of birth.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“You listen to artists fighting with each other, competing to the death like gladiators, in order to see who is going to get into a show, who is going to make it, who isn’t: who is going to get a full-page ad and who is going to get a half-page. Then I think, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go off somewhere and just do your work?””
—Howardena Pindell (b. 1943)
“Give nobly to indigent merit, and do not refuse your charity even to those who have not merit but their misery.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)