The recognition was possible thanks to the support of Junts×BCN, the PSC, BComú and the ERC, while the PP and Vox voted against it. With these medals, Clos, Hereu, Trias and Colau join the former mayors Narcís Serra and Pasqual Maragall, who already received them.

Joan Clos (Mayor from 1997 to 2006)

Clos was twice elected as the Mayor of Barcelona. He joined the municipal government in 1979 as the director of Public Health. Clos gave up his position when he was designated as the Spanish Minister for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, a post he held until 2008.

In recent years he has been an executive director for UN Habitat, a member of the Advisory Council for the Sustainable Development of Catalonia (CADS) and the chair of the Association of Landlords (Asval) among other roles.

Jordi Hereu (Mayor from 2006 to 2011)

Hereu began his professional career with Barcelona City Council in 1992 as the manager of the District of Les Corts. Since 2023 he has been the Spanish Minister for Industry and Tourism, after being the chair of the managing board for Hispasat.

Xavier Trias (Mayor from 2011 to 2015)

After working as a paediatrician, Trias started his political career with the Government of Catalonia in the Ministry of Health in 1981. He was the Minister of the Presidency with the Catalan government and parliamentary spokesman in the Spanish Parliament, later becoming a councillor with Barcelona City Council in 2003.

Trias recently announced he was giving up his position as a councillor and retiring from active politics.

Ada Colau (Mayor from 2015 to 2023)

Researcher and human rights defender specialising in the right to housing, Colau became mayor after a professional career with the Observatori DESC and driving the creation of the Mortgage Victims Platform (PAH).