Segovia, April 27, 2023. The commander of the Civil Guard José Ángel Giro received today the Cross of Officer of the Order of Civil Merit, at the hands of the subdelegate of the Government, Lirio Martín, in a simple act that was held at the Segovia Command.
Commander Giro has been decorated with this Cross, which rewards relevant services provided to the State and extraordinary works.
Lirio Martín congratulates Commander Giro for this distinction and underlines “the excellent work he does day after day in the service of citizens”.
The Order of Civil Merit was instituted by King Alfonso XIII, by Royal Decree of June 25, 1926, to reward “the civic virtues of officials in the service of the State, as well as the extraordinary services of Spanish and foreign citizens in the good of the Nation.” Royal Decree 2396/1998, approving the Regulation of the Order of Civil Merit, is the regulation currently applicable to that Order, which today aims to “reward the civil merits of personnel dependent on one of the Public Administrations (…) or by persons outside the Administration, who provide or have provided relevant services to the State, with extraordinary work, profitable initiatives, or with exemplary record in the fulfillment of their duties.” It can also be granted to people of foreign nationality, “provided they have provided distinguished services to Spain or a notable collaboration in all those matters that are in the interest of the Nation.”
His Majesty King Philip VI is the Grand Master of the Order of Civil Merit, so all decorations of this Order will be conferred on his behalf.
Likewise, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation is the Grand Chancellor of the Order and it is up to the approval of the Council of Ministers to award the degrees of Collar and Grand Cross and to award on behalf of His Majesty the King the lower degrees.
The head of the Under-Secretariat for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation is the Chancellor of the Order of Civil Merit, but it is the responsibility of the Directorate General of Protocol, Chancellery and Orders to process all proposals for the granting of decorations of that Order, requesting the mandatory reports and evaluating the advisability or not of accepting such proposals.