The Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand () is a Spanish military

order of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and ...

, the decoration of which, the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand (), is

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

's highest

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations award ...

for gallantry. Membership of the order, which is sometimes abbreviated RMOSF, is awarded in recognition of action, either individual or collective, to protect the nation, its citizens, or the peace and security of the international community in the face of immediate risk to the bearer. Those eligible are current and former members of the

Spanish Armed Forces The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Spanish ...

. The Sovereign of the Order of San Fernando is the monarch of Spain, who presides over the biennial chapter held in the Royal Monastery of El Escorial. The sovereign's representative in the Order is the Grand Master, who governs it and is aided by the Maestranza. Among the conditions laid out by the Royal Military Order of Saint Ferdinand for the granting of the award are: * that the sole purpose of the action taken wasn't the saving of one's life; * that the action was not motivated by improper ambition to honours unnecessarily disregarding one's (or that of one's subordinates) life; * that, as far as possible, the damage and number of own casualties caused by the action was minimized; * that the action was taken in the face of significantly adverse odds or other detrimental factors; * that the action taken made a crucial difference to the situation in which it occurred. The Royal Military Order of Saint Ferdinand was set up in 1811 by the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...

which served as a parliamentary Regency after

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

was deposedto honour heroic feats of arms. It was confirmed by King Ferdinand on his return to Madrid in 1815. Its awardees include Marcelo Azcárraga Palmero,

Juan Prim Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until his assassination. Bio ...

, Juan de la Cruz Mourgeón, Francisco de Albear, José Enrique Varela Iglesias (twice awarded, in 1920, and 1921), Francisco Serrano y Domínguez, Frederick Thomas Pelham, Henry Kelly (VC), Martín Cerezo, 1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines, Lieutenant Martín Cerezo was the only member of the Belar garrison in 1898 so recognized. Francisco Franco Bahamonde, and

Mohamed Meziane Mohammed ben Mizzian (also rendered Meziane and born Mohammed Ameziane; 1 February 1897 – 1 May 1975) was a Moroccan senior military officer and prominent military figure in Francoist Spain and Morocco. During the Spanish Civil War he co ...

References

;Attribution ''Loosely adapted from the Spanish Wikipedia article on the same topic.''

Sources

External links

Order of San Fernando
- Ministry of Defence website {{Authority control 1811 establishments in Spain Saint Ferdinand Saint Ferdinand Awards established in 1811

See also

References

Sources

External links