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28-613: The nearest town and municipality to Puig Major is Sóller , a village near the north west coast of Majorca. There is currently a military installation, a radar, of the US Air Force at its summit. As a consequence of the Cold War , the first Friendship, Defense, and Cooperation Agreement between Spain and the United States, signed in 1954, agreed on the installation of radar at the top of Puig Major for NATO air control of

56-676: A High Commission in the capital, although larger Commonwealth nations generally also have consulates and consulates-general in major cities. For example, Toronto in Canada , Sydney in Australia and Auckland , New Zealand, are of greater economic importance than their respective national capitals, hence the need for consulates there. When Hong Kong was under British administration , diplomatic missions of Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand , India, Malaysia , and Singapore were known as commissions . After

84-430: A high commission ). The term "consulate" may refer not only to the office of a consul, but also to the building occupied by the consul and the consul's staff. The consulate may share premises with the embassy itself. A consul of the highest rank is termed a consul-general and is appointed to a consulate-general. There are typically one or more deputy consuls-general, consuls, vice-consuls, and consular agents working under

112-433: A consular official must do. For example, for some countries, consular officials may be responsible for the issue of visas; other countries may limit "consular services" to providing assistance to compatriots, legalization of documents, etc. Nonetheless, consulates proper will be headed by consuls of various ranks, even if such officials have little or no connection with the more limited sense of consular service. Activities of

140-432: A consulate include protecting the interests of their citizens temporarily or permanently resident in the host country, issuing passports ; issuing visas to foreigners and public diplomacy . However, the principal role of a consulate lies traditionally in promoting trade—assisting companies to invest and to import and export goods and services both inwardly to their home country and outward to their host country. Although it

168-411: A different hierarchy from the diplomats in the strict sense. However, it is common for individuals to be transferred from one hierarchy to the other, and for consular officials to serve in a capital carrying out strictly consular duties within the consular section of a diplomatic post; e.g., within an embassy. Between Commonwealth countries, both diplomatic and consular activities may be undertaken by

196-465: A host country beyond a guest country's embassy in the capital. Staff of consulates may be career diplomats, but they have limited forms of diplomatic immunity unless they are also accredited as such. Immunities and privileges for consuls and accredited staff of consulates ( consular immunity ) are generally limited to actions undertaken in their official capacity and, with respect to the consulate itself, to those required for official duties. In practice,

224-440: A large degree of autonomy in their local affairs: many of the functions of the comarcas and provinces are municipal powers pooled together. All citizens of Spain are required to register in the municipality they live in, and after doing so, they are juridically considered "neighbors" (residents) of the municipality, a designation that grants them various rights and privileges, and which entail certain obligations as well, including

252-969: A nation's capital, and in other cities throughout that country, especially centres of economic activity and cities where large populations of citizens from the consul's home country reside ( expatriates ). In the United States, for example, embassies are located in Washington D.C. and most countries have a consulate-general in New York City (the site of the headquarters of the United Nations ), and some have consulates-general in several major cities, such as Atlanta , Boston , Chicago , Dallas , Houston , Los Angeles , Miami , or San Francisco . Many countries have multiple consular offices in nations such as Germany, Russia, Canada, Brazil, and Australia. Consulates are subordinate posts of their home country's diplomatic mission (typically an embassy , in

280-528: A population of three in 2022 ). Almost 40% of the Spanish population resides in just 62 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. 84% (6,817) of municipalities have less than 5,000 inhabitants. Castile and León alone account for 28% of municipalities but they constitute less than 6% of the population of Spain. A European report said that one of the most important problems facing local governments in Spain

308-547: A total of 8,131 municipalities in Spain, including the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla . In the Principality of Asturias , municipalities are officially named concejos (councils). The average population of a municipality is about 5,300, but this figure masks a huge range: the most populous Spanish municipality is the city of Madrid , with a population of 3,305,408 (2022) , while several rural municipalities have fewer than ten inhabitants ( Illán de Vacas , had

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336-401: Is called ayuntamiento ( municipal council or corporation ), a term often also used to refer to the municipal headquarters (city/town hall). The ayuntamiento is composed of the mayor (Spanish: alcalde ), the deputy mayors (Spanish: tenientes de alcalde ) and the deliberative assembly ( pleno ) of councillors ( concejales ). Another form of local government used in small municipalities

364-465: Is not admitted publicly, consulates, like embassies, may also gather intelligence information from the assigned country. A consular district is a sub-national region designated by a consular post to exercise consular functions in a host country. A consular district is serviced by a consul or "consul-general" and is headquartered at a consulate or "consulate-general." It is a common utility for spreading diplomatic representation and services to regions of

392-576: Is one of the two fundamental territorial divisions in Spain , the other being the provinces . Although provinces are groupings of municipalities , there is no implied hierarchy or primacy of one over the other. Instead the two entities are defined according to the authority or jurisdiction of each ( Spanish : competencias ). Some autonomous communities also group municipalities into entities known as comarcas (districts) or mancomunidades (commonwealths). The governing body in most municipalities

420-470: Is the concejo abierto (open council), in which the deliberative assembly is formed by all the electors in the municipality. The operation of the municipalities is broadly outlined by the 1985 Local Government Act. The Statutes of Autonomy of the various autonomous communities also contain provisions and many sectorial laws from national and autonomous community government determine the functions and powers of ayuntamientos. In general, municipalities enjoy

448-419: Is the very high number of little towns with a low number of inhabitants. The area of the municipal territory (Spanish: término municipal ) usually ranges 2–40 km , but some municipalities span across a much larger area, up to the 1,750.33 km of Cáceres ', the largest municipality in the country. The average land area of a Spanish municipality is about 62.23 km (24.03 sq mi), while

476-654: The transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, they were renamed consulates-general , with the last commissioner becoming consul-general. However, the Australian commission had been renamed the consulate-general in 1986. Owing to Hong Kong's status as a special administrative region of China , some countries' consulates-general in Hong Kong report directly to their respective foreign ministries , rather than to their embassies in Beijing , such as those of Canada ,

504-536: The Combat Air Command. Puig Major Air Barracks/Air Surveillance Station EVA-7. Its installation meant a tremendous environmental impact on the area due to the need to truncate the summit to obtain a flat surface, which meant a loss of height of around 9 meters. The access road to the summit, with a very aggressive layout (straight lines, without adapting to the contours of the terrain) and without any prevention of environmental or landscape impacts, destroyed

532-564: The Puig Major for its beautiful routes, such as the climb to Penyal des Migdia to the southwest of the summit or Morro D'en Pelut to the north. Both routes partially involve the intrusion into the military zone, commonly without permission. Municipalities of Spain The municipality ( Spanish : municipio , IPA: [muniˈθipjo] , Catalan : municipi , Galician : concello , Basque : udalerria , Asturian : conceyu )

560-500: The Western Mediterranean, starting the works of the new road, barracks, reservoir and radar station in 1955. In December 1959, they were completed, and access was permanently restricted. In 2000 the facilities were modernized, and a new type of radar was installed, which has recently allowed the demolition of some obsolete buildings and facilities near the summit. The Puig Major base is an organic-operational dependency of

588-431: The average population is about 5,988 people. Municipalities were first created by decree on 23 May 1812 as part of the liberal reforms associated with the new Spanish Constitution of 1812 and based on similar actions in revolutionary France. The idea was to rationalise and homogenise territorial organisation, do away with the prior feudal system and provide equality before the law of all citizens. Between 1812 and 1931,

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616-548: The capital city of the host country). Diplomatic missions are established in international law under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , while consulates-general and consulates are established in international law under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations . Formally, at least within the US system, the consular career (ranking in descending order: consul-general, consul, vice-consul, honorary consul) forms

644-442: The consul-general. A country may appoint more than one consul-general to another nation. Consuls of various ranks may have specific legal authority for certain activities, such as notarizing documents. As such, diplomatic personnel with other responsibilities may receive consular letters patent (commissions). Aside from those outlined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , there are few formal requirements outlining what

672-513: The extension and application of consular privileges and immunities can differ widely from country to country. Consulates are more numerous than other diplomatic missions, such as embassies . Ambassadors are posted only in a foreign nation's capital (but exceptionally outside the country, as in the case of a multiple mandate; e.g., a minor power may accredit a single ambassador with several neighbouring states of modest relative importance that are not considered important allies). Consuls are posted in

700-465: The foot of Puig Major, very close to Son Torrella. During the second half of the 20th century, two orange protective spheres containing all the radar equipment remained on the summit. They became popular among Mallorcans with the name "Las Bolas" or "Ses Bolles." In 2005 a single, larger sphere was built due to a technological renovation. Hiking has an extensive tradition in Majorca , and hikers love

728-428: The legislation regarding municipal organisation was changed more than 20 times, and there were 20 addition and unsuccessful proposals for change. Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul . A type of diplomatic mission , it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries,

756-605: The old stone path that ascended from the Coll de N'Arbona, widely used by the people of Sóller . The accumulation of debris cones or scree, as a result of these works, has caused significant damage to the slopes of the summit, which are the habitat of numerous endemic plants. Being military land and belonging to the Zayas family , access requires the appropriate military authorization from the US Air Force. Their barracks are also at

784-441: The right to vote or be elected for public office in said municipality. The right to vote in municipal elections is extended to Spanish citizens living abroad. A Spaniard abroad, upon registering in a consulate , has the right to vote in the local elections of the last municipality they resided in. A Spanish citizen born abroad must choose between the last municipality his or her mother or father last lived in. As of 2022, there were

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