Order of Merit (OM)

The honour of the Order of Merit (OM) may be conferrred 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 "Honourable".

The Insignia

The insignia of the Order of Merit is also a collar badge suspended from a deep maroon silk riband. Teh six-armed white enamelled star with twelve points has superimposed on it a lesser shaped star in silver. Between each of the outer six points of th estar is the blue Lignum Vitae flowr of Jamaica. in the centre is theCoat of 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)

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;
The University of the West Indies;
Founder and Artistic Director, Choreographer,
National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica;
Consultant on Cultural Development - UNESCO

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,
The 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, The University of the West Indies

Members of the Order of Merit (Deceased)

The Honourable Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley OJ, MBE

Folkorist 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

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,
The University of the West Indies

Carl Ebenezer McDougall Stone, CD

Professor of Political Sociology,  The University of the West Indies