The Order of the National Hero is an honour awarded by the government of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. It is a part of the Jamaican honours system that has been in place since 1969.

Description

The highest of the five Jamaican Orders of the Societies of Honour, the Order of National Hero is given only to Jamaican citizens for "services of the most distinguished nature" to the nation. It can be awarded either

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

ly or on the occasion of the recipient's retirement from active public life."National Honours and Awards"
, Jamaica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, accessed April 13, 2006. Recipients are permitted to wear the insignia of the Order, and they are given the

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

of "

The Right Excellent The honorific prefix "The Right Excellent" is a form of address that is used in several Commonwealth Caribbean countries. Overview In The Bahamas, members of the Order of the National Hero (Bahamas), Order of National Hero are accorded the style " ...

"."National Awards of Jamaica"
, Jamaica Information Service, accessed May 12, 2015. They are also traditionally honoured with a tomb or monument in

National Heroes Park National Heroes Park (formerly King George VI Memorial Park) is a botanical garden in Kingston, Jamaica. The largest open space in Kingston at in size,

, as well as a plaque or shield displayed in some prominent national place, such as the

Institute of Jamaica The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation: The title of "National Hero of Jamaica" or the post-nominal letters ONH can be used following a recipient's name. The Order of National Hero was created by the ''National Honours and Awards Act'', which was passed by Parliament in 1969. This act also designated

Paul Bogle Paul Bogle (1822 – 24 October 1865)Dugdale-Pointon, T. Military History Encyclopedia good on the Web, 22 September 2008. was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and activist. He is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay ...

George William Gordon George William Gordon (c. 1820 – 23 October 1865) was a Jamaican businessman, magistrate and politician, one of two representatives to the Assembly from St. Thomas-in-the-East parish. He was a leading critic of the colonial government and ...

, and

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...

as the first three recipients of the honour. The insignia of the Order of National Hero is a fourteen-pointed gold and white star, centered on a black enameled medallion. The medallion features the

Jamaican coat of arms The coat of arms of Jamaica is a heraldic symbol used to represent Jamaica. The coat of arms is a legacy design, with its earliest iteration having been granted for the colony of Jamaica in 1661 under Royal Warrant. The original design was created ...

in gold

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

, and it is encircled by the motto of the Order, which is "He built a city which hath foundations". The insignia is typically worn on a neck ribbon in the national colors of Jamaica (black, gold and green), along with a laurel wreath of gold and green enamel.

Recipients

, the Order of National Hero has been conferred upon 7 recipients: *Sir

Alexander Bustamante Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante (born William Alexander Clarke; 24 February 1884 – 6 August 1977) was a Jamaican politician and Jamaica Labour Party leader, who, on Independence Day, August 6th, 1962, became the first prime minister ...

, first prime minister *

, political activist and philosopher *

, critic of the colonial government *

Norman Manley Norman Washington Manley (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969) was a Jamaican statesman who served as the first and only Premier of Jamaica. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate o ...

, first and only Premier of Jamaica *

Nanny of the Maroons Nanny of the Maroons Order of National Hero (Jamaica), ONH (c. 1686 – c. 1760), also known as Queen Nanny and Granny Nanny, was a Jamaican revolutionary and leader of the Jamaican Maroons. She led a community of formerly-enslaved escapees, the ...

, leader of the Windward Maroons, composed of escaped slaves and their descendants *

Samuel Sharpe Samuel Sharpe, or Sharp (1801 – 23 May 1832), also known as Sam Sharpe, was an enslaved Jamaican who was the leader of the widespread 1831–32 Baptist War slave rebellion (also known as the Christmas Rebellion) in Jamaica. He was procla ...

, leader of the Baptist War slave rebellion *

, deacon and activist, leader of the 1865 Morant Bay protesters

References

;General
Order of National Hero
Jamaica Information Service.
Order of National Hero
Office of the Prime Minister. ;Inline National Hero Awards established in 1969 Hero (title) {{ODM-stub