Colonel Begoña Aramendía Rodríguez de Austria, current vice-secretary general technique in the Ministry of Defense, is the second woman of the armed forces that amounts to general after its appointment for this range by the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers has approved this Tuesday the Royal Decree by which Aramendía A General Auditor is ascended at the proposal of the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, becoming the second woman in the Spanish armed forces that reaches the military dome, according to
The Ministry of Defense has informed.
The ministry considers that this promotion “is a new and important step in the process of integration of women in the army, particularly in the command line, which more and more women are incorporated.”
The just ascended has affirmed that “reaching the general is a satisfaction, it means completing a career and recognition of the 32-year service effort.”
“As a woman is a pride, I am aware that I am a reference for the women of the armed forces that come back and also demonstrates that there is equality of opportunities in the army,” the new general has added.
Aramendía follows in the footsteps of Patricia Ortega, of the Body of Polytechnic Engineers of the Earth Army, which in July 2019 became the first woman in the history of Spain in ascending to General.
At present, women in the Spanish armed forces represent 12.9% of the total of the troops, two points above the average of the armies of the NATO countries.
Begoña Aramendía Rodríguez de Austria was born in Sidi Ifni (Morocco) on October 1, 1965. Degree in Law from the University of Zaragoza in 1968, he entered the military legal body in 1989, in the first promotion with women.
Since 1990 he has occupied destinations for legal advice in the Navy, in the Canary Islands, at the Naval Military School and at the General Barrack of the Navy, combining them with faculty functions.
For 12 years he has been a fiscal in the Office of the Supreme Court of the Military Hall, and since 2008 he has occupied different positions in the central body of the Ministry of Defense, the last since October 2019 as General Technical Vice-Secretary.
From a family with a long military tradition by both branches, Begoña Aramendía has participated in four abroad operations: Kosovo (2000), Afghanistan (2003), Bosnia-Herzegovina (2006) and Lebanon (2008).
Among its 23 decorations, several crosses include military merit of the land army, the Navy, Aeronautics and the Civil Guard, as well as the first class distinguished cross of the Order of San Raimundo de Peñafort, highly valued among jurists, and
The last one, the commemorative medal of the ‘Balmis Operation’.
