SEPI Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales

• The Minister of Public Works, Ms. Ana Pastor, handed over to Ms. Sofía the document certifying her appointment as “Honorary Postperson” in a hearing which took place at the Royal Palace of Zarzuela
• She is the first person who is awarded this recognition by CORREOS, and which has been held by just 5 persons

Her Majesty Queen Ms. Sofía Sofía has received today the document certifying her appointment as “Honorary Postperson” in CORREOS, thus becoming the first woman in History to be awarded this recognition.

At the hearing which took place today at the Royal Palace of La Zarzuela were present the Minister of Public Works, Ms. Ana Pastor; the Deputy Secretaries of Public Works and the Treasury, Mr. Mario Garcés and Ms. Pilar Platero, respectively, and CORREOS’ Chairperson, Mr. Javier Cuesta, together with twelve employees of the distribution service of the postal company on behalf of the more than 30,000 postpeople who make deliveries everyday in Spain.

The Minister of Public Works, Ms. Ana Pastor, handed over to her Majesty the symbols which show her new position, such as her card as “Honorary Postperson” and a special postmark for processing all her mail.

On his part, CORREOS’ Chairperson gave her a special edition, made in silver, of the stamp issued on November 5th, 2013 by the post company for commemorating the 75th anniversary of their Majesties the King and Queen, which takes place this year. Furthermore, two of the postpeople (one man and one woman) handed over to Her Majesty Queen Ms. Sofía a shirt of the corporate uniform worn by the postpeople on which her name had been embroidered under the title “Honorary Postperson”, as well as a neckerchief worn by the female postpeople.

The first “Honorary Postperson” who happens to be a woman

The appointment as “Honorary Postperson” is an honorific title which CORREOS bestows on those persons which have given prestige to the institution thanks to their collaboration with it. This is the case with the Royal Family, which in a number of times, has shown her recognition for the work performed by CORREOS.

An instance of the above was the hearing which his Majesty the King Mr. Juan Carlos granted in 2006 for celebrating the 250th anniversary of the appointment of the first Postperson. On their part, in 2009, their Royal Highnesses the Princes of Asturias received a delegation of female postpeople to commemorate women’s access to this job and, in 2012, in coincidence with the award of the Prizes Premios Príncipes de Asturias and with the award to countryside postpeople of the silver medal of the government of Asturias, they received in a hearing to a number of countryside postpeople from Asturias.

Besides recognizing the link which has existed throughout History between the Crown and the post service, the appointment of her Majesty the Queen Ms. Sofía as the first female “Honorary Postperson” constitutes a deserved expression of gratitude for the support received and a homage, in her person, to the contribution made by women to post delivery and to Spanish society itself.

Previous “Honorary Postperson”

The appointment as “Honorary Postperson” which entails the right to use the uniform and to identify their mail with a personalized mark has been granted throughout CORREOS’ history to five men which stood out for the link they had with the postal service.

The first was the writer from Cádiz Mr. Mariano Pardo de Figueroa, in 1880, as a result of having dedicated in a special way his literary production to the post, being the first who wrote on philatelic issues. In 1893 this distinction was awarded to Mr. Rafael Álvarez Sereix, from Madrid and a member of the Royal Spanish Academy for the Language and who was a strong defender of Correos’ services and who worked on the organization of the postal routes.

Well into the 20th century, CORREOS recovered this tradition and appointed in 1982 as “Honorary Postperson” the writer from Galicia and 1989 Nobel Prize Winner Mr. Camilo José Cela. His large literary work included many publications regarding the postal geography, such as his Diccionario Geográfico Popular de España, in whose preparation Mr. Cela enjoyed the collaboration of postpeople for collecting data.

In 1984 the honor fell on Mr. Ramón Carande, from Palencia, who wrote the work titled “Carlos V y sus banqueros” (Charles V and his bankers”), in which he studied the economic relations which existed in the 16th century from the Emperor’s letters. This study recognized for the first time the value of mail as a first-level historical source.

The last appointment as “Honorary Postperson” was granted in 1998 to the famous humorist and member of the Royal Academy of the Language Mr. Antonio Mingote, in recognition for his project to include the letter into the different school’s subjects. To this end, he designed 24 stamps regarding scenes from “El Quijote” which CORREOS issued under the title of “Correspondencia Epistolar Escolar”, and whose original designs are now kept in the Museo Postal y Telegráfico (Post and Telegraph Museum).

A representation of Spain’s postperson

In representation of the postperson in the hearing there were twelve workers from the seven areas in which CORREOS is divided in Spain. They have been selected from the workplaces which in 2012 won Correos’ Excellence Awards or from the units which are in the best positions in the Excellence League, the competition in which the post company recognizes those units which stand out for their high quality and excellence in the service levels.

Among them there are six women and six men, aged between 29 and 60 years, and which carry out their activities both in the countryside and in the cities, thus being a faithful image of the composition of CORREOS¡ postpeople workforce, which since today has her Majesty the Queen Ms. Sofía as “Honorary Postperson”.

Correos-Grupo SEPI

Correos belongs to Grupo SEPI, a corporate holding which includes a total of 16 state-owned companies in which it has a direct, majority shareholding participation, with more than 75,000 professionals in 2012, and to which is attached the state-owned radio-and-television corporation, as well as one public foundation. Besides, it has direct minority shareholding participations in a further 9 companies, and indirect ones in more than 100 companies.

Correos is the biggest company in Spain, both in terms of its presence and territorial scope, with around 10,000 points for gaining access to its services. It distributes over 4,000 Million shipments per year, and it reaches daily 28 Million households, companies and institutions. It has a human team made up by about 56,000 professionals who work to provide comprehensive solutions and a wide range of high-quality products adapted to the different customer categories, both in packaging and direct marketing, and in postal services based on the new technologies and financial services.