Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean
| Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean | |
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Award of  Mauritius
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| Type | Order of merit |
| Motto | Stella Clavisque Maris Indici (translated: Star and key of the Indian Ocean) |
| Awarded for | At the President's pleasure |
| Status | Currently constituted |
| Chancellor | President of the Republic of Mauritius |
| Grades | Grand Commander (GCSK) Grand Officer (GOSK) Commander (CSK) Officer (OSK) Member (MSK) |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 28 April 1992 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None |
| Next (lower) | President's Distinguished Service Medal |
_-_ribbon_bar.png){kind=small} Ribbon bar of GCSK, GOSK, CSK _-_ribbon_bar.png){kind=small} Ribbon bar of OSK, MSK |
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The Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean is the highest distinct order of merit in the honours system of Mauritius. It was founded in 1992 to decorate people who have made a contribution to social progress in the nations of the Indian Ocean. It may be awarded to non-Mauritian citizens.
The chancellor of the order is the President of the Republic of Mauritius. Each year on Independence day (12 March) the president of the republic appoints new members on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Labour Day has a special significance to the order as it relates to the hardship of people working for their country. On Labour Day 2007 the Malagasy President Marc Ramalomanana was appointed to the rank of Grand Commander, the highest rank of the order.
Recipients of the rank of Grand Officer or above are automatically entitled to prefix The Hon, Hons or The Honourable to their name. Commanders and Officers may request permission from the president to use this prefix. Recipients of the order who are not Mauritian citizens may not use the prefix or post-nominals unless granted permission by the president.
The Order comprises five classes, in descending order of seniority:
GRAND OFFICER OF THE ORDER OF THE STAR AND KEY OF THE INDIAN OCEAN
The decoration shall be 3 mm thick in the form of a cross and made up of a circular central part and three sets of leaves: outer, middle, inner.
The outer leaves shall be of gold. The length from tip to tip of the outer leaves shall be 71mm.
The middle leaves shall be made of violet blue enamel (Group 98 Col of the Royal Horticultural Society colour chart), have pointed ends capped by beads, and be lined externally with gold 2mm thick. The length from head to bead(external) shall be 76 mm.
The inner leaves shall be in the shape of a cross with equal arms of blue enamel(Group 100D of the same colour chart) lined externally with gold 1mm thick. The length from tip to tip of the inner leaves shall be 65 mm.
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