The Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service is an award of the United States Department of State. It is presented to employees of State, USAID, and civilian contractors assigned to diplomatic and consular facilities for events that lead to death or serious illness or injury. It is roughly comparable to the U.S. military's Purple Heart, but since the criteria for the award is so strict, nearly all of them are awarded ly. The award consists of a gold medal set and a certificate signed by the secretary of state and the president of the United States. The initial regulations limited the issuance of the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service, originally known as the Foreign Service Star, only to members of the U.S. Foreign Service personnel system who were killed or seriously injured. The rules were later changed to allow for members of other personnel systems killed while working on behalf of a foreign affairs agency. There had been controversy about the name of the award, which suggested that only diplomats serving under the Foreign Service personnel system were eligible. As a result, Secretary of StateColin Powell proposed changing the name of the award from the Foreign Service Star to simply the Thomas Jefferson Star, naming it for the Founding Father who served as the first secretary of state. The American Foreign Service Association and the Foreign Affairs Council resisted the proposal while many others strongly supported it. In the end, the words "Foreign Service" were maintained as part of the name.
Eligibility
Any civilian employee of any agency, including Foreign Service Nationals, non-family member U.S. citizen employees hired at post, and U.S. citizens and foreign nationals serving under a Personal Services Contract or Personal Services Agreement, are eligible for the Foreign Service Star Award as long as the employee is:
Criteria
a. Selection of award recipients will be based on: b. Examples of employees meeting the selection criteria include, but are not limited to:
Nominating and approval procedures
Nominations for the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service must be initiated by the chief of mission or by an assistant secretary, cleared by the medical director, as appropriate, and then submitted to the Department Awards Committee for review and recommendation to the secretary. The secretary shall make final recommendations to the president.
Effective date
The effective date for the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service shall be August 7, 1998. An employee or surviving next of kin may petition the Department Awards Committee to consider individuals who are eligible and deserving of the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service notwithstanding the fact that the illness, injury or death occurred prior to the effective date.
Military use
Active duty military are not eligible to receive this award.
