Honours - Flattery will get you everywhere

[TonyGosling]

Order of St. Michael and St. George
The Order includes three classes, in descending order of seniority:
* Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GCMG)
* Knight Commander (KCMG) or Dame Commander (DCMG)
* Companion (CMG)

It is sometimes humorously said that the abbreviations actually stand for "Call Me God" (CMG), "Kindly (or Kings) Call Me God" (KCMG) and "God Calls Me God" (GCMG). These became generally known from the television series Yes Minister, but were in use in the Diplomatic Service long before that.

It is used to honour individuals who have rendered important services in relation to Commonwealth or foreign nations. People are appointed to the Order rather than awarded it. British Ambassadors to foreign nations are regularly appointed CMGs, for example, the British Ambassador to the United States Sir David Manning was appointed a CMG when he worked for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and then after his appointment as British Ambassador to the US, he was promoted to a Knight Commander (KCMG); a practice that still occurs is when The Queen visits the nation, the British Ambassador to that nation automatically becomes a Knight Commander of the Order, and then after may use the prefix 'Sir'. Ian Fleming's spy, James Bond, was fictionally decorated with the CMG in 1953 (mentioned in the novel From Russia with Love).

The Order's motto is Auspicium melioris ævi (Latin for "Token of a better age"). Its patron saints, as the name suggests, are St Michael the Archangel and St George. One of its primary symbols is that of St Michael trampling over Satan.

The Order is the sixth-most senior in the British honours system, after The Most Noble Order of the Garter, which is the pinnacle of the British honours system, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, and The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India. The third of the aforementioned Orders—which relates to Ireland, no longer a part of the United Kingdom—still exists but is in disuse; no appointments have been made to it since 1934...............
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George