Hijo Predilecto de Andalucía

The nature of the honor

The honor is granted by agreement of the Governing Council of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, based on names proposed by the President of the Government, passed on by the president's office, the Consejería de la Presidencia. The title is strictly honorific, and does not entail any award of money. The names of those given the title are written in a registry known as the Libro de Oro de Andalucía ("Golden Book of Andalusia"). A medal is awarded with the inscription Hijo Predilecto de Andalucía, along with a silver plaque stating the reason for granting the award in this particular case. Normally at most ten medals are awarded each year, although the Governing Council may make exceptions to that. (In practice, as of 2009 that number has never been reached.) That count does not include awards given as a courtesy or in reciprocity, nor does it include posthumous awards. The honor is awarded in a public and solemn ceremony presided over by the President of the Government, in the presence of the Governing Council, and if possible coinciding with the regional holiday, the Día de Andalucía, February 28. The honor can be revoked if the recipient behaves publicly in a manner counter to the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, the principles of the 1978 Constitution of Spain or the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia, or prejudicial to the dignity of their basic interests.

List of Hijos Predilectos de Andalucía

1983

Antonio Cruz García ("Antonio Mairena"), singer, Mairena del Alcor, Province of SevilleRafael Alberti, writer, El Puerto de Santa María, CádizVicente Aleixandre Merlo, writer, SevilleJorge Guillén Álvarez, writer, ValladolidAndrés Segovia, guitarist, Linares, JaénRamón Carande y Thovar, historian and economist, Palencia, autonomous community of Castile-Leon

1984

Juan Álvarez Ossorio y Barrau, historian, activist

1985

Rafael Escuredo Rodríguez, lawyer and politician, Estepa, SevilleMaría Zambrano Alarcón, writer, Vélez-Málaga, MálagaAntonio Gala Velasco, writer, Brazatortas, Ciudad RealCarlos Castilla del Pino, psychiatrist, San Roque, CádizAntonio Domínguez Ortiz, historian, Seville

1987

José Antonio Valverde Gómez, zoologistManuel Andújar, escritor, La Carolina, JaénJuan de Mata Carriazo

1988

Emilio García Gómez, historian specializing in Arabism, MadridManuel Castillo Navarro, composer and pianist, SevilleManuel Rivera Hernández, painter, GranadaPablo García Baena, poet, CórdobaJosé Manuel Rodríguez Delgado, physician and neurophysiologist, Málaga

1989

Rafael Montesinos Martínez, poet, Seville, SevilleJosé Muñoz Caballero, painter, HuelvaLuis Rosales Camacho, poet, Granada, Granada

1990

Javier Benjumea Puigcerver, businessman, founder of Abengoa, SevilleDolores Jiménez Alcántara "Niña de La Puebla", singer, La Puebla de Cazalla, SevilleFrancisco Ayala y García Duarte, writer, Granada, Granada

1991

José Rodríguez de la Borbolla y Camoyán, lawyer and politician, Seville, Seville

1992

José Antonio Muñoz Rojas, poet, Antequera, Málaga, Málaga

1993

Manuel Losada Villasante, scientist, Carmona, Seville

1994

S.A.R. Doña María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleans, mother of the King Juan Carlos, Madrid

1995

Miguel Rodríguez-Piñero Bravo-Ferrer, jurist, professor, magistrate and president of the Constitutional Court of Spain, Seville, Seville

1996

José Manuel Caballero Bonald, poet and essayist, Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Cádiz

1997

No award given.

1998

Felipe González Márquez, lawyer and politician, Dos Hermanas, Seville, Seville

1999

Manuel F. Clavero Arévalo, lawyer and politician, Seville, Seville

2000

Carlos Amigo Vallejo, Archbishop of Seville, Medina de Rioseco, Valladolid

2001

Carlos Cano, songwriter, Granada, Granada. (Posthumous.)Pedro Cruz Villalón, president of the Constitutional Court of Spain, Seville, Seville

2002

Manuel Jiménez de Parga, president of the Tribunal Constitucional, Granada, Granada

2003

Emilio Lledó Íñigo, professor of philosophy, Seville, SevilleChristine Ruiz-Picasso, daughter-in-law of Pablo Picasso, philanthropist, Paris, France

2004

Francisco Márquez Villanueva, professor of medieval literature, Seville, SevilleLeopoldo de Luis, poet, Córdoba, Córdoba

2005

María Victoria Atencia García, poet, Málaga, MálagaJulia Uceda Valiente, poet, literary critic, and professor of literature, Seville, Seville

2006

María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba, (Madrid)Carlos Edmundo de Ory, poet, Cádiz, Cádiz

2007

José Saramago, writer, Azinhaga, Portugal

2008

Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former rector of the University of Granada, former director general of UNESCO. Barcelona, autonomous community of Catalonia

2009

Juan Antonio Carrillo Salcedo, Doctor of Laws at the University of Seville, expert in international law, Morón de la Frontera, Seville

Acceptance speeches

Most of the recipients of the award come with a prepared acceptance speech. Politician Felipe González broke somewhat with this tradition in 1998 when he gave part of his speech extemporaneously; writer José Saramago in 2007 gave an entirely improvised speech. During his speech his medal fell to the floor and he had to stoop to recover it. He then continued, "This could be resolved with a Latin proverb, Sic transit gloria mundi, which gained him a round of applause.