Civil Order of Telecommunications and Information Society
Grand Cross ribbon
The Civil Order of Health (Spanish: Orden Civil de Sanidad) is a Spanish order of merit awarded to recognize outstanding or exceptional merits, conduct, activities, or services in the field of health care.
It is currently customary for the ceremony of awarding decorations and induction into the Order to take place on April 7, the World Health Day.
History
King Ferdinand VII established the "Cross of Epidemics" by Royal Order of 17 May 1829 to honour the merits of military surgeon Carlos Luis Benoit in the 1817–1824 cholera pandemic that reached Manila in May 1820. Later, this same cross was awarded to other doctors such as Antonio Roig for the Canary Islands epidemic of 1811, Manuel Miciano y Giménez for the Cádiz epidemics of 1819 and 1826, and the senior surgeon of the Military Hospital of Havana, Francisco Alonso y Fernández, for his merits during the cholera pandemic of 1833.[1][2]
Cross of Epidemics (1838)
Subsequently, the Queen Regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies made the cross permanent by Royal Order of 15 August 1838, at the request of the Superior Board of Medicine and Surgery of Spain, to reward the relevant performance of the practice of the health profession.[3] Later, due to a cholera epidemic, the Civil Order of Beneficence was created by Royal Decree of 17 May 1856, to recognize the virtue of exercising charity in non-professional activities.[4] Both decorations were merged by Royal Decree of 29 July 1910, remaining under the name of Civil Order of Beneficence.[1]
This situation caused serious disadvantages, since the two decorations had been created to reward different actions. Given these circumstances, it was decided, by Decree of 27 July 1943, to reinstate the Epidemics Cross under the new name of "Civil Order of Health", separating it from the Civil Order of Beneficence. The new order had three ranks: Grand Cross, Commander, and Cross.[5]
By order of 1 July 1961, the first regulation of the order was created to unify its rules. The number of members in the Grand Cross degree was limited to 100, not including foreign or posthumous members. In addition, a council of the order was established.[6]
Currently, the Civil Health Order is regulated by Royal Decree 1270/1983, of March 30, and the orders of 14 April 1987 and 14 January 1997, which regulate the composition of the Order's Council.[7][8][9]
Current Grades
The Civil Order of Health comes in three classes, with the following insignia:
Grand Cross (Gran Cruz) – Sash and Plaque.
Commander (Encomienda) – Order's cross on a necklet.
Cross (Cruz) – Order's cross hanging from a ribbon.
Insignia
Grand Cross
Commander
Cross
Council of the Order
As of September 2025, the Order's Council is composed as followed:
Chancellor: Ana María Sánchez Hernández, Under-Secretary of Health
Secretary: Jacobo Fernández Álvarez, Technical Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health
Four members of the Order, two with the grade of Grand Cross and two with the grade of Commander.
The Grand Chancellor chairs over the meetings of the Council and represents them. Both the Grand Chancellor and the Chancellor are entitled to call meetings of the Council of the Order. The Secretary is responsible for issuing certificates of admission to the Order, maintaining its registration book, and periodically updating its members' files.[8]
↑ Ministry of the Governance (28 August 1943). "Decree of 27 July 1943, establishing the decoration of the Civil Order of Health"(PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 September 2025. Article 1. The former Cross of Epidemics is reinstated under the name of the Civil Health Order, intended to reward services for relevant health merits, as well as those rendered in connection with assistance and combating epidemic events.
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