Juan-Miguel Villar Mir awarded Member of Honor Medal by the Engineering Institute of Spain

Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, chairman of Grupo Villar Mir, has been awarded the Member of Honor Medal by the Engineering Institute of Spain (IIE for the Spanish initials), the highest distinction awarded by the institute founded in 1905 by the top five engineering societies of the time (Agriculture , Civil, Mining, Forestry and Industrial). According to the bylaws of the Institute, the Member of Honor Medal is presented for outstanding engineering services provided to the Institute itself, the Government of Spain and society in general.

The award ceremony was hosted by Manuel Acero, president of the IIE and the intervention of Mr. Juan-Miguel Villar Mir was preceded by the laudation by Aníbal R. Figueiras, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Leonardo Torres-Quevedo, president of the Association of Civil Engineers, Edelmiro Rúa, President of the Official College of Civil Engineers and Claudio Boada, President of the business association Círculo de Empresarios.

The Chairman of the Grupo Villar Mir expressed his great satisfaction on receiving the Member of Honor Medal of the Institute of Engineering of Spain “for both the importance of such a recognition by such a prestigious institution, and for being able to add my name to the illustrious list of 52 eminent Spanish engineers who have preceded me in this distinction and have contributed and will continue to contribute to the progress of Spain.”

In his speech, Juan-Miguel Villar Mir noted that “even though I’ve studied other various careers throughout my life and pursued a wide range of responsibilities, I must say that, regardless of the field, my method of working and the basis for all my actions, is now, has always been and will always be that of an engineer.”

The Chairman of the Group focused his words on the presentation of his professional career as an engineer, businessman, politician -having held in the beginning of the transition for the first government of the Monarchy, the positions of Minister of Finance and Vice President-, professor and member of two Royal Academies: the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Academy of Economics and Finance, and entrepreneur, after creating, 24 years ago, the company he chairs today.

Juan-Miguel Villar Mir closed his intervention with a reflection on the difficult economic context in which our economy is immersed, a situation in which “the need for engineering work and engineers’ is key to getting our country back on the growth path.”