<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>This past Tuesday, at the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, the Council of Ministers approved the awarding of the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic to Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz of the Army General Corps, who served as commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 2022 to 2025.</strong></h4> At the end of June, General Lázaro handed over command of UNIFIL to Italian General Diodato Abagnara. The Spanish military officer was appointed to the position in February 2022 by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. This was the second time Spain had led this mission, which involves more than 10,000 peacekeepers and 800 civilians from 49 countries. General Lázaro is highly knowledgeable about Lebanon and the mission, having deployed three times and serving as Commanding General of the Eastern Sector. Highlights of his career include his assignments to the Euroforce Rapid Operational Headquarters (Florence), the Multinational High Readiness Land Headquarters (Valencia), the Command of the Guzmán el Bueno Mechanized Brigade, and the La Reina Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Córdoba). In addition to his three deployments to Lebanon, General Lázaro has participated in the Peacekeeping Operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina under the command of the United Nations (UNPROFOR), NATO (SFOR), and the European Union (EUFOR), respectively. He was promoted to Major General in 2020 and appointed Director of Personnel Assistance for the Army. Her academic training includes courses on the General Staff, both in Spain and NATO, the Civil-Military Cooperation course, the Gender Advisor in Operations courses, Recovery and Stabilization Strategies, and Strategic Leadership in the Global Social Security Environment, as well as her participation as a speaker and student in numerous seminars and forums. She also speaks English, French, and Italian and has received various national and international military awards. <h5><strong>UNIFIL</strong></h5> The UNIFIL mission comprises 10,500 personnel from 49 countries under the common flag of the United Nations. The mission headquarters is located in Naqura, where Spain has assigned several key positions for officers and non-commissioned officers of the Army. Spain's participation in UNIFIL began in September 2006, as part of Operation Libre Hidalgo in southern Lebanon to contribute to the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1701. Since then, the Spanish Armed Forces have led the Eastern Sector of the mission from the Miguel de Cervantes base. The Spanish contingent in UNIFIL is currently one of the largest, with 669 soldiers assigned to various tasks within the mission. The Spanish deployment has focused on patrolling and monitoring the separation line between Israel and Lebanon, in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces. Patrols are carried out both on foot and in vehicles, with the aim of preventing violations of the truce and preventing tensions between the parties from escalating into clashes. <h5><strong>The Order of Isabella the Catholic</strong></h5> The Order of Isabella the Catholic is, hierarchically, the second highest distinction in Spain, after that of Charles III, but it is highly regarded as the highest in the field of foreign relations. Instituted by King Ferdinand VII on March 14, 1815, under the name "Royal and American Order of Isabella the Catholic," with the aim of "rewarding unwavering loyalty and merits acquired in support of the prosperity of those territories," it was reorganized in 1847, when it was renamed simply "Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic" to recognize—as indicated in its Regulations—those "extraordinary acts of a civil nature, carried out by Spanish and foreign individuals, which benefit the Nation or contribute, in a relevant way, to fostering relations of friendship and cooperation between the Spanish Nation and the rest of the international community." The King serves as Grand Master of the Order, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Grand Chancellor, submits to the Council of Ministers proposals for the awarding of the higher ranks of the Order, which are granted by Royal Decree. More than 70,000 people around the world hold this distinction in one of its various degrees.
