The Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, claimed this morning the role of the Government Delegation as a guarantee that “the voice of Galicia is heard in Madrid and so that the action of the Government of Spain reaches every Galician, to the last corner of our land”. This was done today by an institutional act of recognition of the role developed by the Government Delegation through the 13 delegates who held the maximum responsibility of the Government of Spain in the Autonomous Community of Galicia in these years.
Pedro Blanco reaffirmed the “personal and political commitment” he undertook with his appointment as a delegate a year ago. He stressed the value of the Delegation “because the Government of Spain, through the Delegation, is present in the daily life of people, in the most relevant and in the daily: in the scholarships of our children, in the pensions of our elders, in the improvement of lighting or water supply, in the rehabilitation of our homes and in the promotion of our industry”. In this task he had words of thanks for all the “public workers who served the citizens from the Government Delegation, since they are the true protagonists of the action of the Government in the territory.”
Public recognition act
The delegate presided over the event that was held at the MUNCYT of A Coruña and that traveled through the history of the Delegation through the witness of the people who held the position of delegate of the Government and their families. It consisted of a colloquium moderated by the journalist Pablo Portabales and which was attended by Pedro Blanco, current delegate, along with his predecessors Juan Manuel Diz Guedes, Arsenio Fernández de Mesa, Manuel Ameijeiras, Santiago Villanueva, Javier Losada, José Manuel Miñones and José Ramón Gómez Besteiro. With them, Teresa García-Sabell, daughter of the first government delegate, and Ana Romero, wife of Xosé Manuel Pose Mesura, shared their experience.
In this conversation, all the attendees reviewed their experiences in office and agreed to point out the public service provided to Galicia by the institution of the Delegation.
After the colloquium, delegates and family members were presented with a ceramic reproduction of Sargadelos from the current thirst building of the Government Delegation.
The gallery of photographic portraits of the 13 delegates of the Government was also publicly presented, which from tomorrow will be exhibited at the headquarters of the Plaza de Ourense as a memory of the people who had the maximum representation of the Government in the Community. This celebration was attended by numerous authorities and officials of the Autonomous, Local, Judicial and Military Administration as well as the Security Forces and Bodies, neighborhood groups, associations, charities and cultural entities of various kinds.
Among the authorities were the Conselleiro of Presidency, Justice and Sports, Diego Calvo; the mayors of A Coruña, Inés Rey, de Lugo, Paula Alvarellos, and Santiago de Compostela, Goretti Sanmartín; the Valedora del Pueblo, the Superior Prosecutor of Galicia, the subdelegate of the Government in A Coruña and the subdelegate of the Government in Ourense.
The Government Delegation in Galicia
The Government Delegation, created by the Constitution of 78, began operating in Galicia, in the city of A Coruña, in 1981, shortly after the entry into force of the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia and the beginning of the Autonomous Community. Since 1981, 13 delegates have held the agency’s ownership. The García-Sabell was followed in 1996 by Juan Manuel Diz Guedes; Arsenio Fernández de Mesa, in 2000; Manuel Ameijeiras Valles, in 2004; Antón Rubio Goyanes between 2009 and 2011; Miguel Ángel Cortizo Nieto in 2011; followed by José Manuel Pose Mesura, until 2012. In 2012, the relief was taken by Samuel Juárez Casado, who held the position until 2014, when Santiago Villanueva Álvarez relieved him, until 2018. In 2018, Javier Losada de Azpiazu was appointed delegate; he ceded the position to José Manuel Miñones Conde, until 2023. That year José Ramón Gómez Besteiro was appointed delegate, who was succeeded by the current head, Pedro Blanco Lobeiras.
After a temporary stay at the headquarters of the Civil Government (current Government Subdelegation) on December 7, 1981, the Delegation moved to the facilities located in the Plaza de Pontevedra, belonging to the Provincial Delegation of the Ministry of Culture. This would be the location where the Gerrilheiro Army attacked on the night of December 17, 1987, causing significant material damage. In November 1990, the Government Delegation moved definitively to the current building of the Plaza de Ourense, the former headquarters of Public Works.