Frederik Naumann
Sant Lluís
The 30th anniversary of the Island Council of Menorca was celebrated with a commemorative act in Maó last Friday night. Numerous representatives of the political and cultural life attended the solemn ceremony, including the Consell Insular's former presidents and many retired councillors. Musically accompanied by the guitarist Pedro Antonio Munera Viñegia, the act featured, among others, speeches delivered by Marc Pons (current President of the Island Council) and Gabriel Fiol Gomila (President of the Administrative Tribunal of the Balearic Islands Superior Court of Justice) as well as a commendation of 34 retired or still active long-standing employees of the Island Council who were recognised for their contribution to building up and developing the island administration.
Constitutive session
The constitution of Island Councils in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza/Formentera in 1979 represented an important achievement in the Balearic Islands' autonomy process during the late 1970's and early 1980's. Initiatives aiming at re-establishing an island administration and the decentralisation of administrative power had started back in spring 1977. The Legal Decree on the Pre-Autonomic Regime for the Balearic Islands as well as the Law on Local Elections, both approved in summer 1978, provided the legal basis for the constitution of three Island Councils as well as the General Inter-Island Council.
The first free and democratic regional and municipal elections were held on 3rd April 1979. Sixteen days later the newly elected Consell Insular de Menorca held its constitutive meeting in the assembly hall of the Maó Town Hall. On 1st March 1983 the Balearic Island Statute of Autonomy entered into force, determining the Island Councils' double function as a local administration and as a body of the autonomous community. This legal basis was recently revised when the new Statue of Autonomy entered into force in March 2007.
Nine presidents
The thirty years of history of Menorca's Island Council have been divided into eight terms which saw a total of nine different persons heading the institution. The first president was Francisco Tutzó Bennásar (1979-1983), member of the Unión de Centro Democrático (UCD) and one of Menorca's highly renowned politicians during the transition era. He was followed by Tirso Pons Pons (PSOE), who headed the institution during the 1983-1987 and 1987-1991 terms. From June to September 1991 Albert Moragues Gomila (PSOE) briefly served as president before being succeeded by Joan Huguet Rotger (PP) who remained in office until 1995. Following Huguet's election as president of the Balearic Islands Parliament in August 1995 the Island Council's presidency was taken over by Cristóbal Triay Humbert (PP). July 1999 saw him being followed by Joana Barceló Martí (PSOE) who remained at the head of the Island Council for over nine years. She became not only the first female President, but also the first one to take office in the Consell Insular's new headquarters in Plaça de la Biosfera once it was inaugurated in August 2002. Following Joana Barceló's appointment as Balearic Islands Minister of Labour and Training, Marc Pons Pons (PSOE) eventually took over as the ninth, and so far youngest, President of the Island Council on 18th September 2008.
Important achievements
During its three decades of existence the Consell Insular has contributed vitally to Menorca's development and has turned into an efficient local administration with far-reaching competencies. Among the Council's many achievements are Menorca's declaration as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993, the implementation of an Island Territory Plan (PTI), development of interurban roads, improvement of public transport and the recuperation of the Camí de Cavalls.
By stimulating, co-ordinating and supporting co-operation between the island's eight municipalities the Consell has contributed to a significant improvement in public infrastructure. Examples in this context include the inauguration of Menorca's urban waste treatment and composting plant in 1995, the intra-municipal beach cleaning programme and the island-wide fire fighting service which has recently been upgraded with new equipment and which is currently seeing the construction of a new fire station in Maó.