In a formal ceremony Aintzane Aguirre -daughter of the first lehendakari or president of Euskadi Jose Antonio Aguirre y Lecube- has been awarded with the Cross of the Tree of Gernika in homage to his father.

The Cross of the Tree of Gernika is a distinction created by Decree 86/1983, May 2 and is designed to reward any Basques, or people of Basque origin, who have done great service to the Basque Country in defence of its identity and the restoration of its condition and, in general, for their exceptional work and prestige in social, economic or cultural fields.

Basque premier Patxi López pointed out that it is an ''honor'' to know that the first Basque government defended "freedom, self-government and democracy", and said that the current Executive of Vitoria-Gasteiz is another "link" in the "chain" started by Lehendakari Agirre.

The ceremony took place at the entrance hall of Lehendakaritza -Presidency of the Basque Government- and was attended among others by the president of Sabino Arana Foundation, Juan María Atutxa, and the daughter of the first Basque Premier.

Who was José Antonio Aguirre y Lecube?

José Antonio Aguirre y Lecube (6 March 1904 Bilbao - 22 March 1960 Paris) was a political figure of the Basque Nationalism .
He assumed the position of first lehendakari or president of Euskadi during the Spanish Civil War. However, by the moment the Government was put together and made effective, most of the Basque region was occupied by the military rebels'' troops, except for Biscay. Given the dire circumstances, he set about creating a Basque Army to fight on the side of the Republic.

During the 2nd Republic, the Basque Country’s claim to a modicum of self-government was upheld, and the region recovered some of its former Charter rights. The 2nd Republic granted the region a Statute of Autonomy that led to the creation of the first Basque Government and the election of the first President of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, Jose Antonio Aguirre, a leader of the PNV, the Basque nationalist party.

However, neither Aguirre nor his first Basque Government had much time to govern, largely because the Spanish Civil War broke out, their efforts being mostly devoted to fighting the faction that had rebelled against the 2nd Republic. Despite this, in the nine months it remained in the Basque Country, and subsequently in exile, Aguirre’s government worked hard to improve their political situation. Franco''s victory in the Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship forced José Antonio Aguirre and his entire government into exile, along with many other Spaniards that had lost the war. Aguirre never did return home, dying in exile and leaving as a legacy his commitment to democracy and freedom. Aguirre told the story of his exile and subsequent vicissitudes in a book entitled From Guernica to New York via Berlin.

Aguirre was a native of Bilbao, a former player in the Athletic Bilbao football team, a student at University of Deusto and member of the EAJ-PNV party. Before becoming Basque president, he was mayor of the Biscayne locality of Getxo.