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 Seville
Rafael Alberti, writer, El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz
Vicente Aleixandre Merlo, writer, Seville
Jorge Guillén Álvarez, writer, Valladolid
Andrés Segovia, guitarist, Linares, Jaén
Ramón 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, Seville
María Zambrano Alarcón, writer, Vélez-Málaga, Málaga
Antonio Gala Velasco, writer, Brazatortas, Ciudad Real
Carlos Castilla del Pino, psychiatrist, San Roque, Cádiz
Antonio Domínguez Ortiz, historian, Seville
1987
José Antonio Valverde Gómez, zoologist
Manuel Andújar, escritor, La Carolina, Jaén
Juan de Mata Carriazo
1988
Emilio García Gómez, historian specializing in Arabism, Madrid
Manuel Castillo Navarro, composer and pianist, Seville
Manuel Rivera Hernández, painter, Granada
Pablo García Baena, poet, Córdoba
José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado, physician and neurophysiologist, Málaga
1989
Rafael Montesinos Martínez, poet, Seville, Seville
José Muñoz Caballero, painter, Huelva
Luis Rosales Camacho, poet, Granada, Granada
1990
Javier Benjumea Puigcerver, businessman, founder of Abengoa, Seville
Dolores Jiménez Alcántara "Niña de La Puebla", singer, La Puebla de Cazalla, Seville
Francisco 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, Seville
Christine Ruiz-Picasso, daughter-in-law of Pablo Picasso, philanthropist, Paris, France
2004
Francisco Márquez Villanueva, professor of medieval literature, Seville, Seville
Leopoldo de Luis, poet, Córdoba, Córdoba
2005
María Victoria Atencia García, poet, Málaga, Málaga
Julia 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
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.