South African airline Airlink CEO Rodger Foster has been admitted to the Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul (National Order of the Southern Cross) in the class of Commander in recognition of his active and devoted role in strengthening business ties between Brazil and South Africa in the field of aviation, Ambassador of Brazil to South Africa Sérgio França Danese has said.
Danese delivered the decoration on January 10 in a brief ceremony held at the Airlink Training Centre, in Johannesburg.
“The admission to the National Order of the Southern Cross is a well-deserved recognition by Brazilians of Mr Foster’s contributions to fostering the relations between the two countries, in particular in the airline industry. We all hope it may also inspire the next stages of his personal and professional history of a fruitful relationship with Brazil,” he added.
The National Order of the Southern Cross is the highest Brazilian decoration awarded to citizens of other countries. It was created as the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross on December 1, 1822, by Brazil`s first Head of State, Emperor Dom Pedro I, less than three months after the country’s independence from colonial ties.
The other two South African citizens to have been admitted are former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, who received the Grand Collar of the Order during an official visit to Brazil in 2001, and former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa Justice Albert Sachs, who was admitted in 2016 to the rank of Commander.