The Gibraltar Medallion of Honour (GMH) is a civil award scheme established by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

of the

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Br ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

. Its creation was announced in July 2008 by

Chief Minister of Gibraltar The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representative of the British monarch. The incumbent chi ...

, Peter Caruana. It ranks below the

Freedom of the City of Gibraltar Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

Award

The Gibraltar Medallion of Honour is awarded annually by the

Gibraltar Parliament The Gibraltar Parliament is the legislature of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Between 1969 and 2006, it was called the Gibraltar House of Assembly. Functions The House of Assembly, set up under the 1969 constitution, was a uni ...

on "living or deceased

Gibraltarians The Gibraltarians ( Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterrane ...

and others who the Parliament considers have served and contributed to the interests of Gibraltar and its people in an exceptional manner that is particularly worthy of special recognition by the House on behalf of the people of Gibraltar". Once approved by Parliament, the awards are officially announced by the Mayor of Gibraltar prior to the symbolic release of the red and white balloons on

Gibraltar National Day Gibraltar National Day, celebrated annually on 10 September, is the official national day of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The day commemorates Gibraltar's first sovereignty referendum of 1967, in which Gibraltarian voters were ...

. The Mayor then presents the recipients with the Medallions in a private ceremony held at a later date. In July 2011, the

passed a motion allowing all Medallion recipients to use the letters GMH after their name as with other HM honours.

Recipients

Investidura Adolfo Canepa como nuevo alcalde (7)

2008

Upon the award's establishment, the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour was bestowed,

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly, upon the following persons: *

Albert Risso Albert J. Risso, GMH was a Gibraltarian trade unionist and politician. He was the first president of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (AACR) in Gibraltar. Constantine, p. 346 Career Albert Risso was one of the first politica ...

— for services to

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

ism. *

Jacobo Azagury Jacobo is both a surname and a given name of Spanish origin. Based on the name Jacob. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Alfredo Jacobo (born 1982), Olympic breaststroke swimmer from Mexico * Cesar Chavez Jacobo, Dominican professiona ...

— for services to the arts. * Rudecindo Mannia — for services to the arts. *

Sir Howard Davis ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only a ...

- for public service *

William Gomez William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of ...

— for services to

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

. *

Joseph Pitaluga Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

— for public service. *

Dorothy Ellicott Dorothy May Ellicott, OBE, GMH, JP (1901–1990), was a Gibraltarian historian and politician. Early life Dorothy Ellicott was born in Havant, Hampshire, England in the last quarter of 1901. She was raised in Gibraltar Ellicott, 133 having r ...

— for public service and service to heritage. *

Manolo Mascarenhas Manolo, a form of Manuel (name), is a male given name which may refer to: People: * Manolo Álvarez Mera (1923–1986), Cuban-born bel canto tenor *Manolo Badrena (born 1952), Puerto Rican percussionist *Manolo Blahnik (born 1942), Spanish fashio ...

— for service to

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

. * John Mackintosh — for

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. *

Peter Isola Peter Joseph Isola, OBE, GMH (Gibraltar, 1929 – 28 January 2006 ), was a Gibraltarian politician and lawyer. He succeeded Maurice Xiberras as leader of the Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar (DPBG). Early life and career Isola was bo ...

— for services to

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. * Aaron Cardozo — for services to Gibraltar.

2009

The 2009 recipients of the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour were: * Jose Netto — for services to trade unionism and workers. *

Adolfo Canepa Adolfo John Canepa, CMG, OBE, GMH (born 17 December 1940) is a Gibraltarian politician. He has dedicated most of his life to politics and the development of Gibraltar, having served both as Leader of the Opposition and as Chief Minister of G ...

, (former Chief Minister) — for

public services A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

and services to politics. * Joseph Gaggero — for services to

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

and

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, natio ...

. *

Maurice Xiberras Maurice Xiberras GMH (14 November 1936 – 19 March 2017) was a Gibraltarian teacher, trade unionist and politician. He was regarded as being a strong defender of British sovereignty, who believed there was no future for Gibraltar without the c ...

— for public services and services to politics.

2010

The 2010 sole recipient of the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour was: * Bernard Linares — for services to

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

, trade unionism,

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, public service and politics.

2011

The 2011 sole recipient of the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour was: *

Kaiane Aldorino Kaiane Loise Aldorino Lopez, GMH (née Aldorino; born 8 July 1986) is a Gibraltarian politician, former Mayor of Gibraltar and beauty queen who won Miss World 2009. From 2017 to 2019, she held the ceremonial position of Mayor of Gibraltar, af ...

— for personal achievement in becoming Miss World 2009.

The Roll of Honour

A roll of Medallion recipients is kept: ''the Roll of Honour''. Every year the historical roll is published. Besides the recipients of the Medallion, all recipients of the Freedom of the City are automatically entered into the roll. They are the following: * Gustavo Bacarisas (painter) * James Joseph Giraldi (doctor) * Sir Joshua Abraham Hassan (former

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and Chief Minister) * Sir Robert Peliza (former Chief Minister) * The Rt Revd Monsignor Patrick Devlin (former

Roman Catholic Bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Chu ...

) * The Lord Merrivale * The Lord Bethel * The Lord Hoyle JP

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibraltar Medallion Of Honour Society of Gibraltar Awards established in 2008 Awards of British Overseas Territories