National Republican Guard
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1801 Ministry of attachment: Ministère de l’Administration interne et de la Défense Workforce: 21 771 General manager: Général de corps d´armée Address: Largo do Carmo Tél.: + 351 213217000 Fax: + 351 213474819 Email: gnr@gnr.pt Website: www.gnr.pt Responsible for international relations: Lieutenant-colonel Tél.: +351 21 321 73 85 Fax: +351 21 321 71 80 Email: dperi@gnr.pt 
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History
The Republican National Guard, Guarda Nacional Républicana (GNR), is the direct descendant of the Police Royal Guard, Guarda Real de Polícia (GRP) of Lisbon created in 1801 on the model of the 1791 French Gendarmerie. In 1802, the GRP is associated with the army. Another GRP is settled in Porto. During the transfer of the Portuguese court in Brazil, after the invasion of Portugal by the Napoleonic forces in 1807, a GRP is created in Rio de Janeiro.
In the end of May 1834, following the civil war, Dom Pedro, assuming the regency in the name of his daughter Dona Maria II, dissolves the GRP of Lisbon and Porto. Nevertheless, approximately one month later, he creates the Lisbon municipal guard, with the same characteristics. The next year, appears the Porto municipal guard. In 1868, both guards are placed under a single command - the general command of municipal guard - based in the barracks of Carmo, in Lisbon, which is even today the GNR head office. After the revolution of October 5th, 1910, the new republican system transforms the municipal guard into the Republican Guard (Guarda Republicana), by keeping the same organization. In 1911, the Republican guard is transformed into GNR. The statutory order of December 31st, 1983 redefines its missions. In 1991, the GRN counts 17 000 servicemen. In 1993, it absorbs the Budgetary Guard (Guarda Fiscal), independent Corps, which becomes the GNR fraud squad. In 2006, a new GNR unit created with the objective of fighting against the fires and was named GIPS (Grupo de Intervenção de Proteção e Socorro). The organic law (LOGNR) N° 63/2007 of November 6th, 2007 redefines the organization and the missions of the GNR.
Organization
At the end of the current organic law, given its military nature, the GNR is subjected to a double dependence:
• Of the Secretary responsible for the sector of the internal administration;
• Of the Secretary responsible for the sector of the national defense, with regard to the management of the staffs, the standardization, the normalization of the military doctrine, the armament and the equipment, as far as his strengths are placed under the operational supervision of the chief of the General Staff of armed forces, by his general commander, in the cases and according to the terms anticipated by the National Defense and Armed forces laws and of the state of siege and emergency regime (cf. article 2. of LOGNR).
By its nature and its versatility, the GNR finds its institutional positioning in the whole of armed forces and strengths and security services, only security force from military nature and organization.
Central Organization
The central structure of command is based in the command of the guard (which includes the General-commander, the organ for inspection, the organs for advice, the General Secretary and the organs that depend directly on General-Commander) and on the superior organs of command and direction. We find the operational command (CO) there, the command of the administration of the internal resources (CARI) and the command of the doctrine and the training (CDF).
Territorial organization
18 territorial commands (Comando Territorial): Azorres, Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira, Portalegre, do Porto, Santarém, Setúbal, Viseu, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real.
Specialized Training
• The coastal control unit (UCC) has a mission of coast guard.
• The fiscal action unit (UAF).
• The national transit unit (UNT) is in charge of the traffic control.
• The Security and State honors unit (USHE) has missions close to the French Republican guard.
• The Intervention Unit (UI), the missions of which are close to the French anti-riot police, includes the following specialized units:
- the units of maintenance of law and order, Grupo de Intervenção i Ordem Pública (GIOP),
- the Special Operations, Companhia de Operações Especiais (CIOE),
- the group of intervention for the protection and rescue, Grupo de Intervenção i Proteção e Socorro (GIPS),
- the dog units, Grupo Operacional Cinotécnico.
• The mine clearance center, Centro de Inactivação de Explosivos e Segurança em Subsolo (CIESS).
• The international operations training center, Centro de Treino e Aprontamento de Força para Missões Internacionais (CTAFMI).
• The nature conservation and the environment protection service, Serviço de Proteção da Natureza e do Ambiente (SEPNA).
Missions
According to the provisions of 1st article of the organic law n° 63/2007 of November 06th, 2007, the GNR is a security force of military nature, constituted by servicemen organized in a special Corps of troops and endowed with an administrative autonomy. It has for mission, in the context of the national systems of security and protection to:
• insure the democratic legality;
• guarantee the internal security and the rights of the citizens;
• collaborate in the execution of the national defense policy, according to the terms of the Constitution and the law.
The sector under the GNR responsibility is at present about 94% of the national territory, on which is living approximately 53.8% of the Portuguese population.
As military Corps it is capable, in war or crisis situations, to go, at any time, under the operational control of the Chief of the Armed forces General headquarter, according to the terms of the law of national defense and armed forces and the regime of state of siege and state of emergency, in achieving some military missions, ordered by its General-Commander.
Staff
Strong of 21 771 men and women, the GNR is an institution mainly constituted by servicemen (officers, sergeants and guards) and of civilians having a status of state employees and of public administration agents.
The servicemen of the Guarding are, hierarchically grouped, in the professional categories, subcategories and following ranks:
• professional category of the officers:
- general officers, including the ranks of lieutenant - general and Major general,
- superior officers, understanding the ranks of colonel, lieutenant-colonel and major,
- captains, understanding the rank of captain,
- junior officers understanding the ranks of lieutenant and second lieutenant.
• professional category of the sergeants, understanding the ranks of quartermaster sergeant, staff sergeant, sergeant-warrant officer, sergeant of 1st class, sergeant of 2nd class, and harbinger.
• professional category of the guards including the ranks of corporal-major, chief corporal, corporal, main guard and guard.
Training institutions
The school of the Guarding (Escola da Guarda, EG) - commanded by a Major-General - is responsible for the technical and professional training of the GNR military staff. It includes Figueira da Foz (FLMC) and Portalegre (PCP) training centers.
Main equipment
• Armament: rifles (Mossberg 590, Winchester on 1200, Fabarm SDASS Tactical, Benelli M3 and M4), machine guns (FAMAE French public company, HK MP5), pistols Heckler and Koch (P9S, VP70M, USP Compact P30) and pistols Walther (PP P5, P88 and P99).
• Light Vehicles: bicycles (Órbita GNR), patrols transports (Skoda Octavia, Toyota Corolla, Mitsubishi Lancer, Sharan Volkswagen, Almera Nissan, Subaru Impreza), motorcycles (BMW 850, Honda Pan European, Yamaha), SUV (Land Rover, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mitsubishi Pajero, Patrol Nissan), vans, trucks and bus (Mitsubishi L200, Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, Iveco Eurocargo, Toyota Hilux, Mercedes Sprinter, Man 12.240, Scania P230, Kangoo Renault, Toyota Hiace).
• Vehicles of maintenance of law and order: Iveco VM 90P, Iveco 4000.
• Nautical Ways (Means): Ribamar, Zodiac (Dinghy).
Cooperation
Since its foundation, the GNR is a member of the FIEP and the EUROGENDFOR.
Within the framework of the technical-police cooperation with countries being a part of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), the GNR insures the realization of multiple initiatives/actions of training and technical support, in Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tomé-et-Principe and East Timor.
In this important community comes off the participation of the GNR of the Police Chief Council of the CPLP and the respective working commissions.
The Guard also takes part in multiple activities within the framework of the European police cooperation, by participating in working groups and other forums, by its permanent presence in certain European institutions, as in EUROPOL, and its active participation in common operational activities, by underlining, because of the size of the commitment, the Operations coordinated by FRONTEX.
In this domain, it is necessary to accentuate the direct cooperation with the Spanish Security forces, specially with the Guardia Civil, which deserves to be more particularly underlined because of the volume of cooperation actions and information exchange, and by its importance within the framework of the frontier regions security and, in a more general context, of the Iberian space itself. In this particular case, we note the signature on March 31st, 2009, in Lisbon, of "The Memorandum of cooperation between the GNR and the Guardia Civil of the Kingdom of Spain".
It is also necessary to mention the cooperation agreements signed between the GNR and the partner security forces, by particularly underlining "Technical-police Cooperation Protocol between the GNR and the National police force of East Timor" that plans the cooperation "in the field of the authorization and the qualification of the PNTL human resources". Besides this one, agreements of cooperation with the Security forces of Macao and with the Jordanian Gendarmerie (Darak Forces) were established.
© The iconography was provided by the concerned gendarmeries