José María Aznar
Encyclopedia
José María Alfredo Aznar López (xoˈse maˈɾia aθˈnar; born 25 February 1953) served as the Prime Minister of Spain
from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation
.
in 1953 and died on December 01, was the son of Manuel Aznar Acedo
, army official, journalist and radio broadcaster, and grandson of Manuel Aznar Zubigaray
, a prominent journalist during the Franco era. Both father and grandfather held governmental positions during the years of Spain under Franco. He studied law at the Complutense University of Madrid
, graduating in 1975, becoming a Spanish Tax Authority inspector in 1976.
supporting the Falange
, Franco's one-party fascist organization. After 1977 it would become Falange Española Independiente (FEI).
After the death of Francisco Franco
and the restoration of democracy
, Aznar joined Alianza Popular (AP) in January 1979, a few months after his wife. In March he became the Secretary General of the party in La Rioja, occupying the post until 1980. In February 1981 he joined the AP's National executive committee. He became Assistant Secretary General in February 1982.
On 26 October 1982 he was elected to the Parliament
, representing Ávila
. On 22 June 1985 he was elected to the presidency of the AP in Castile and León
. On 2 December 1986 AP leader Manuel Fraga resigned following fierce internal party fighting in the aftermath of another failure to dislodge the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE). Aznar was not considered senior enough to be a possible successor, and gave his support to the more conservative Miguel Herrero, who lost the leadership battle to Fraga's choice, Antonio Hernández Mancha. As a result, Aznar lost his post as Assistant Secretary General.
On 10 June 1987, having resigned his parliamentary seat, he was elected to the Cortes
of Castile-León, where he was elected president of this Autonomous Region. Two years later, Aznar was voted by the National Executive Committee to be the new leader of his party, re-founded as the Partido Popular (People's Party
, or PP). With Fraga focused on the presidency of Galicia, Aznar was confirmed as leader of the PP at their 10th National Congress at the end of March 1990. In November the PP moved from the Conservative group in the European Parliament
to the more centrist and Christian Democratic European People's Party
.
On 6 June 1993 the PP again lost the general election, but improved on their previous performance by obtaining 34.8% of the vote. The PSOE lost its absolute majority and needed to form a coalition government with other parties in order to continue governing. The result was a disappointment for the PP as the opinion polls had predicted a victory for them. They did well in the 1994 European and 1995 local elections.
On 19 April 1995, Aznar's armored car prevented him from being assassinated by an ETA
bomb.
The PP won the 3 March 1996 general election with 37.6% of the vote, thus ending 13 years of PSOE rule. With 156 of the 350 seats (the PSOE won 141) Aznar had to reach agreements with two regional nationalist parties, Convergence and Unity (Catalan) and the Canary Islands Coalition, in order to govern with additional support from the Basque Nationalist Party
. He was voted in as President with 181 votes in the Cortes Generales
on 4 May and sworn in the next day by King Juan Carlos I
.
and showed itself willing to take political risks in order to meet the requirements for membership. In the summer of 1996 it announced a decision to freeze the wages of civil servants in the following year and stood by that decision throughout the fall, despite a series of union-led demonstrations that culminated in protest marches by tens of thousands of Spaniards throughout the nation on 11 December.
The Government, with the backing of regional nationalist parties, passed a strict 1997 budget on 27 December, four days before time would have run out for its approval. The opposition United Left
coalition argued that the spending cuts and tax adjustments contained in the budget would hurt the disadvantaged and benefit the rich. The budget aimed to enable Spain to lower its deficit to below 3% of gross domestic product
, a requirement for joining the EU's single currency. Some critics note that this wasn't the only way of doing so.
The Government was also forced to back down on a plan to reduce Spanish dependence on its own high-priced coal when hundreds of coal miners blocked highways and demonstrated in November. The miners persuaded the government to adjust a national electricity plan that would have phased out the subsidy of Spanish coal, making it more expensive than imported coal.
Aznar also announced the sale early in 1997 of the nation's remaining minority stake (golden shares
) in the Telefónica
telecommunications company and the petroleum group Repsol
. These golden shares in Telefonica and Repsol YPF, as well as in Endesa
, Argentaria
and Tabacalera
, all presided over by people close to Aznar, have since been declared illegal by the European Union. This marked the beginning of a period of privatizations after the previous PSOE government had nationalized parts of the economy.
After the PP's first year in office, the goodwill between it and the major nationalist parties in the legislature, Convergence and Unity (CiU) and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), appeared to have lost strength. Both parties had enjoyed leverage over the previous PSOE government, and the PNV in particular stepped back from colluding too closely with the government.
Ecological issues came to the fore in Spain during 1998. A vigorous public debate created a new awareness of topics such as environmental pollution and deforestation, and a host of organizations competed to spread the ecological message. The Government, conscious of the political implications of this new concern, was also party to the debate and promised active cooperation. As a reaction against attempts to liberalize the current abortion laws, Roman Catholic groups renewed their anti-abortion campaigns.
The economy suffered the effects of the global recession unleashed by the financial crisis in Asia, and the Economic Ministry reduced its 1999 economic growth estimate from 3.9% to 3.7%. The sharp decline in share prices on the Madrid and Barcelona stock exchanges (on average about 20%) created cause for concern among both business associations and trade unions. The latter voiced their concern about the risk of increased unemployment
, which remained around 12.5%. Despite this slowdown, salaries increased by an average of 2.3% that year.
In 1999, the European Union
introduced the euro, a major success for Aznar and his government. Steady economic growth and falling unemployment, though the rate exceeded all other EU member states, won the government public support. The Government's credibility was damaged when the PSOE revealed at the end of the year that the ranks of top Spanish civil servants had increased 15% over the previous year despite PP promises to cut the bureaucracy.
Spanish voters reelected Aznar in the 2000 general election
with an outright majority. The PP obtained 44.5% of the vote and 183 seats. The Spanish electorate's participation was the lowest for a general election in Spain in the post-Franco era.
Spain was one of the fastest-growing economies in the European Union
(EU) in 2001, despite inflation nearing 4% and signs of an economic slowdown. However, the government's problems involved politics as much as policies. A number of issues were handled clumsily, including implementation of immigration legislation passed in January and a health scare over low-quality olive oil in July. In the autumn complaints that the government was steamrolling controversial university reforms through the parliament inflamed the opposition.
At the end of the year, students all over the country joined in strikes, demonstrations, and sit-ins, often alongside their rectors and professors. Though still outperforming most of its EU partners, Spain failed to escape the effects of the global economic downturn in 2002. Falling exports, declining domestic consumption, and a sharp drop in tourist revenue helped bring annual gross domestic product growth down to an estimated 2%, the lowest level since 1996.
In addition, rising crime rates and soaring house prices (up almost 50% since 1998) were the object of widespread public concern, providing opposition parties with powerful ammunition against Aznar's government.
The government ran into even deeper trouble in its attempt to reform the unemployment benefit
system. A controversial decree-law issued on 27 May introduced new restrictions on entitlement to benefits, making it harder for those receiving welfare to turn down jobs offered by the public employment agency, and phasing out the special subsidy for agricultural workers in the south. The trade unions reacted by calling a 24-hour general strike
on 20 June, embarrassing the government on the eve of an EU summit in Seville
. The stoppage proved a largely unexpected success. On 7 October, just two days after a major national demonstration in Madrid to protest against the law, new Labor Minister Eduardo Zaplana announced an abrupt U-turn, accepting nearly all of the unions' demands and leaving only the reform of the subsidy for farm laborers on the statute book.
A major secondary-education bill also proved controversial. Intended to raise educational standards, the proposed Law of Quality lowered the age at which students were streamed into different educational tracks, allowed special schools in the state sector to select on merit, and introduced a new secondary-school-leaving exam. Opposition to the bill's potential socially divisive effects and inadequate funding for the public educational system brought student organizations, trade unions, and left-wing parties into the streets as the bill was being debated in the parliament in October.
Amid the relatively stagnant European economies, estimated GDP growth of 2.3% made Spain the second fastest-growing economy in the European Union in 2003. Continued expansion enabled the Spanish government to proclaim proudly that it would end the year with a budget surplus for the first time in recent history. However; inflation was running at 2.7% (compared with the EU's 1.7%) in November, unemployment stood at more than 10%, almost one-third of the workforce had temporary contracts, and housing prices were spiraling. The European Commission shared analysts' concerns that a hike in interest rates or increased unemployment could send housing prices tumbling, with disastrous consequences for families burdened with unprecedented levels of debt and for the financial institutions that had given them loans.
After six years of relative political calm, when political debate was dominated by a consensus within the ruling party on economics, regional nationalism, and terrorism, several issues arose which polarized Spanish public opinion. Like UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
, Aznar actively supported the United States' War on Terrorism
, despite public opposition. Aznar met with Bush in a private meeting before 2003 invasion of Iraq
to discuss the situation of in the UN Security Council. El País leaked a partial transcript of the meeting
. The government handling of the wreckage of the Greek Prestige tanker near the Spanish coast, which resulted in a major ecological disaster, also became a divisive issue.
He actively encouraged and supported the Bush administration's foreign policy and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, defending it on the basis of secret intelligence allegedly containing evidence of the Iraqi government's nuclear proliferation. The majority of the Spanish population, including some PP members, were against the war. Spain's major cities were the scene of the largest street demonstrations ever seen in the country as a result of the government's participation in the invasion. Aznar lost some support from those who had voted for the PP in 2000. On a live TV interview aired on the public station while demonstrations were taking place on the streets, he asked the Spanish people to take his word assuring there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, of which he had evidence. This is now regarded as incorrect.
In January 2004 Aznar called a general election and designated his successor as candidate, Mariano Rajoy
, sticking to a pledge of not seeking office for a third term. Despite political tensions, polls suggested that the Popular Party was set to win a third consecutive election on the strength of the economy.
An opinion poll carried out by the government-run CIS (which had estimated that 92% of the Spanish people did not support the War in Iraq) in February 2004 estimated that the PP would win an election with 42.2% of the vote while the PSOE would only get 35.5%.
. However, the PP government continued to blame ETA even after evidence that the attacks may have been the work of an Islamist group emerged, having the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ana Palacio
instruct all Spanish diplomats to place the blame on ETA at every opportunity. The public perception that the government hid information from the general population gave rise to a public outcry. Two days after the Atocha bombings, demonstrations took place across Spain demanding news from the investigation, where chants such as "We want the truth before we vote" and "Who is responsible?" were heard.
Three days after the train bombings, the opposition PSOE won the elections. The subsequent investigations held by a Parliamentary Committee were characterized by bitter partisan exchanges between the different political parties, with dispute over who may have been responsible for the bombings. Aznar appeared before the Committee in November 2004 and declared his belief that the authors of the bombings were not to be found "in faraway deserts or remote mountains." Aznar said in 2006 that he thought that the attacks were not exclusively perpetrated by Islamists.
think tank
, which is associated with the PP. After a 2005 reform, promoted by the current Prime Minister of Spain Rodríguez Zapatero, former prime ministers were admitted into the Spanish Council of State
, a position from which he later resigned.
Aznar was appointed Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C. in April 2004. In this position, he teaches two seminars per semester on contemporary European politics and trans-Atlantic relationships in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
. Additionally, he teaches a course on political leadership, convened by Professor Carol Lancaster, with former Polish President Kwasniewski
. Aznar leads public dialogues on pressing contemporary concerns in collaboration with other members of the faculty; he was awarded an honorary degree at Universidad Francisco Marroquin.
In 2007, Aznar was appointed to the advisory board of Centaurus Capital, a London based hedge fund
, an appointment which proved to be short-lived. In 2008, he was appointed to the Board of Directors
of News Corporation
, the media conglomerate of Rupert Murdoch
. He is also member of the European Advisory Panel of The European Business Awards and the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
.
Aznar is a member of the Club of Madrid
. He is also a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation
, an organization which works to promote good governance around the world.
Aznar was also one of the signatories and promoters of the Prague Charter.
In 2010 founded the Friends of Israel Initiative
.
to the Spanish capital, Aznar said that anthropogenic climate change is not a real phenomenon, but only a ‘scientifically questionable’ theory which had become the new religion, the followers of which were the ‘enemies of freedom’.
These views were similar to those expressed by Klaus in his book "Blue Planet in Green Shackles", which was published in Spanish by FAES
. Aznar's speech caused some puzzlement, as his government had been a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol
in 1998, and it appeared that he had subsequently changed his mind about climate change.
The Partido Popular distanced itself from the current environmental views of its former leader, classing him among a "sceptical minority" within its membership, although there was support from Esperanza Aguirre who said that she and Aznar were in favour of a debate about climate change.
In 2009 Aznar was due to speak to a Heartland Institute conference
which was billed as the "world's largest-ever gathering of global warming skeptics". He withdrew at short notice, and in the absence of a public explanation there was speculation that he did so in order to spare his party embarrassment.
In 2010 it was reported that Aznar would chair the Advisory Council of the Global Adaptation Institute, a new body concerned with adaptation to climate change.
, with the stated goal to "counter the attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders". Referring to the ill-fated takeover of the Mavi Marmara by Israeli commandos, Aznar said in 2010 that the world must support Israel because "if it goes down, we all go down". He said that "In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the 'Mavi Marmara' would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship." He criticized Turkey, for placing Israel "in an impossible situation" in which it would have to either give up its security or face world condemnation. Aznar concluded that Israel is the West's first line of defense, and must be protected.
, the head of the secret police
in San Sebastián
and the first high-profile member of the Francoist government killed by ETA
in 1968. Manzanas was widely considered a torturer, and Amnesty International
condemned the award.
After the 2004 elections it was revealed that Aznar and his government secretly channeled public funds to a United States legal firm to lobby for the bestowment of the Congressional Gold Medal on Aznar. The contract consisted in a first payment of $700,000 USD for the first seven months, followed by $100,000 monthly payments until it reached the sum of $2 million.
In an interview with BBC World on 27 July 2006 he voiced doubts about "Islamists" being the sole culprits of the disputed 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
, "You know in this moment some perpetrators of the attacks, but you do not know who imagined the attack, who is the leader of the attack, who is the idea (sic) of the attack, who established and supported means for the attacks, who defined the logistics of the attacks, who established the strategies of the attack. Nothing...I think that one part of the perpetrators are Islamists, but I think that this is not only an Islamist attack."
During a Washington, D.C. conference at the Hudson Institute
, a conservative U.S. think tank
, on 23 September 2006, referring to Pope Benedict XVI
's comments
on Islam
and violence, Aznar asked why Muslims had not apologized for occupying Spain for 800 years as Al-Andalus
. He then called the Alliance of Civilizations
initiative "stupid." His reference to apologies was a response to the demonstrations asking the Pope to apologize. One PP
official clarified Aznar's speech by saying the Prime Minister thought it is pointless to apologize for historical events.
, by whom he had three children: José María Aznar Botella, Ana Aznar Botella, born on 26 September 1981, and Alonso Aznar Botella.
Aznar is a grandfather. His daughter married at El Escorial
on 5 September 2002 Alejandro Agag
, with whom she has four children, Alejandro (b. Madrid
, 4 June 2004), Rodrigo (b. Madrid
, 13 December 2005), Pelayo (b. Madrid
, 16 January 2008), and Alonso (b. Madrid
, 22 December 2010) Agag y Aznar.
In 2008 in response to persistent rumours, Aznar denied being the father of Zohra Dati, daughter of Ms Rachida Dati
, the then French Minister for Justice.
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Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
.
Early life
Aznar, born in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1953 and died on December 01, was the son of Manuel Aznar Acedo
Manuel Aznar Acedo
Manuel Aznar y Acedo was a Spanish journalist and radio broadcaster.He was the son of Manuel Aznar Zubigaray and father of José María Aznar López....
, army official, journalist and radio broadcaster, and grandson of Manuel Aznar Zubigaray
Manuel Aznar Zubigaray
Manuel Aznar y Zubigaray was a Navarrese-Spanish diplomat in the dictatorship of Francisco Franco....
, a prominent journalist during the Franco era. Both father and grandfather held governmental positions during the years of Spain under Franco. He studied law at the Complutense University of Madrid
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
, graduating in 1975, becoming a Spanish Tax Authority inspector in 1976.
Politician
As a teenager, Aznar was a member of the Frente de Estudiantes Sindicalistas (FES), a Student UnionStudent union
Student union may refer to:* Students' union, or student government in the U.S., a student organization at many colleges and universities dedicated to student governance...
supporting the Falange
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
, Franco's one-party fascist organization. After 1977 it would become Falange Española Independiente (FEI).
After the death of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
and the restoration of democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
, Aznar joined Alianza Popular (AP) in January 1979, a few months after his wife. In March he became the Secretary General of the party in La Rioja, occupying the post until 1980. In February 1981 he joined the AP's National executive committee. He became Assistant Secretary General in February 1982.
On 26 October 1982 he was elected to the Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, representing Ávila
Ávila (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Ávila is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is one of the nine electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Castile and León. Ávila is the largest town with only 43,000...
. On 22 June 1985 he was elected to the presidency of the AP in Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
. On 2 December 1986 AP leader Manuel Fraga resigned following fierce internal party fighting in the aftermath of another failure to dislodge the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(PSOE). Aznar was not considered senior enough to be a possible successor, and gave his support to the more conservative Miguel Herrero, who lost the leadership battle to Fraga's choice, Antonio Hernández Mancha. As a result, Aznar lost his post as Assistant Secretary General.
On 10 June 1987, having resigned his parliamentary seat, he was elected to the Cortes
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of Castile-León, where he was elected president of this Autonomous Region. Two years later, Aznar was voted by the National Executive Committee to be the new leader of his party, re-founded as the Partido Popular (People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, or PP). With Fraga focused on the presidency of Galicia, Aznar was confirmed as leader of the PP at their 10th National Congress at the end of March 1990. In November the PP moved from the Conservative group in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
to the more centrist and Christian Democratic European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
.
On 6 June 1993 the PP again lost the general election, but improved on their previous performance by obtaining 34.8% of the vote. The PSOE lost its absolute majority and needed to form a coalition government with other parties in order to continue governing. The result was a disappointment for the PP as the opinion polls had predicted a victory for them. They did well in the 1994 European and 1995 local elections.
On 19 April 1995, Aznar's armored car prevented him from being assassinated by an ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
bomb.
The PP won the 3 March 1996 general election with 37.6% of the vote, thus ending 13 years of PSOE rule. With 156 of the 350 seats (the PSOE won 141) Aznar had to reach agreements with two regional nationalist parties, Convergence and Unity (Catalan) and the Canary Islands Coalition, in order to govern with additional support from the Basque Nationalist Party
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
. He was voted in as President with 181 votes in the Cortes Generales
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
on 4 May and sworn in the next day by King Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
.
First term (1996–2000)
The Aznar Government maintained the commitment of the previous government to join the European Union's single currencyEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
and showed itself willing to take political risks in order to meet the requirements for membership. In the summer of 1996 it announced a decision to freeze the wages of civil servants in the following year and stood by that decision throughout the fall, despite a series of union-led demonstrations that culminated in protest marches by tens of thousands of Spaniards throughout the nation on 11 December.
The Government, with the backing of regional nationalist parties, passed a strict 1997 budget on 27 December, four days before time would have run out for its approval. The opposition United Left
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
coalition argued that the spending cuts and tax adjustments contained in the budget would hurt the disadvantaged and benefit the rich. The budget aimed to enable Spain to lower its deficit to below 3% of gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
, a requirement for joining the EU's single currency. Some critics note that this wasn't the only way of doing so.
The Government was also forced to back down on a plan to reduce Spanish dependence on its own high-priced coal when hundreds of coal miners blocked highways and demonstrated in November. The miners persuaded the government to adjust a national electricity plan that would have phased out the subsidy of Spanish coal, making it more expensive than imported coal.
Aznar also announced the sale early in 1997 of the nation's remaining minority stake (golden shares
Golden Share
A Golden Share is a nominal share which is able to outvote all other shares in certain specified circumstances, often held by a government organization, in a government company undergoing the process of privatization and transformation into a stock-company....
) in the Telefónica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
telecommunications company and the petroleum group Repsol
Repsol YPF
Repsol YPF, S.A. is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 29 countries...
. These golden shares in Telefonica and Repsol YPF, as well as in Endesa
Endesa (Spain)
Endesa, S.A. is the largest electric utility company in Spain. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, has 10 million customers in Spain, with domestic annual generation of over 97,600 GWh from nuclear, fossil-fueled, hydroelectric, and renewable resource power...
, Argentaria
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. is a multinational Spanish banking group. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria, both of which in turn had previously amalgamated three important banks in Spain, namely Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, Banco Exterior de...
and Tabacalera
Tabacalera
Tabacalera is a Spanish tobacco monopoly which was established in 1636, making it the oldest tobacco company in the world . In 1999 the company merged with SEITA of France to form Altadis. Its brands included Ducados and Fortuna....
, all presided over by people close to Aznar, have since been declared illegal by the European Union. This marked the beginning of a period of privatizations after the previous PSOE government had nationalized parts of the economy.
After the PP's first year in office, the goodwill between it and the major nationalist parties in the legislature, Convergence and Unity (CiU) and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), appeared to have lost strength. Both parties had enjoyed leverage over the previous PSOE government, and the PNV in particular stepped back from colluding too closely with the government.
Ecological issues came to the fore in Spain during 1998. A vigorous public debate created a new awareness of topics such as environmental pollution and deforestation, and a host of organizations competed to spread the ecological message. The Government, conscious of the political implications of this new concern, was also party to the debate and promised active cooperation. As a reaction against attempts to liberalize the current abortion laws, Roman Catholic groups renewed their anti-abortion campaigns.
The economy suffered the effects of the global recession unleashed by the financial crisis in Asia, and the Economic Ministry reduced its 1999 economic growth estimate from 3.9% to 3.7%. The sharp decline in share prices on the Madrid and Barcelona stock exchanges (on average about 20%) created cause for concern among both business associations and trade unions. The latter voiced their concern about the risk of increased unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, which remained around 12.5%. Despite this slowdown, salaries increased by an average of 2.3% that year.
In 1999, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
introduced the euro, a major success for Aznar and his government. Steady economic growth and falling unemployment, though the rate exceeded all other EU member states, won the government public support. The Government's credibility was damaged when the PSOE revealed at the end of the year that the ranks of top Spanish civil servants had increased 15% over the previous year despite PP promises to cut the bureaucracy.
Second term (2000–2004)
Spanish general election, 2000
Legislative elections were held in Spain on 12 March 2000. The incumbent People's Party of Prime Minister José María Aznar was elected to a second term in office, converting its plurality of seats in the Congress of Deputies into a majority, and increasing its lead over the opposition Spanish...
with an outright majority. The PP obtained 44.5% of the vote and 183 seats. The Spanish electorate's participation was the lowest for a general election in Spain in the post-Franco era.
Spain was one of the fastest-growing economies in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU) in 2001, despite inflation nearing 4% and signs of an economic slowdown. However, the government's problems involved politics as much as policies. A number of issues were handled clumsily, including implementation of immigration legislation passed in January and a health scare over low-quality olive oil in July. In the autumn complaints that the government was steamrolling controversial university reforms through the parliament inflamed the opposition.
At the end of the year, students all over the country joined in strikes, demonstrations, and sit-ins, often alongside their rectors and professors. Though still outperforming most of its EU partners, Spain failed to escape the effects of the global economic downturn in 2002. Falling exports, declining domestic consumption, and a sharp drop in tourist revenue helped bring annual gross domestic product growth down to an estimated 2%, the lowest level since 1996.
In addition, rising crime rates and soaring house prices (up almost 50% since 1998) were the object of widespread public concern, providing opposition parties with powerful ammunition against Aznar's government.
The government ran into even deeper trouble in its attempt to reform the unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...
system. A controversial decree-law issued on 27 May introduced new restrictions on entitlement to benefits, making it harder for those receiving welfare to turn down jobs offered by the public employment agency, and phasing out the special subsidy for agricultural workers in the south. The trade unions reacted by calling a 24-hour general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
on 20 June, embarrassing the government on the eve of an EU summit in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. The stoppage proved a largely unexpected success. On 7 October, just two days after a major national demonstration in Madrid to protest against the law, new Labor Minister Eduardo Zaplana announced an abrupt U-turn, accepting nearly all of the unions' demands and leaving only the reform of the subsidy for farm laborers on the statute book.
A major secondary-education bill also proved controversial. Intended to raise educational standards, the proposed Law of Quality lowered the age at which students were streamed into different educational tracks, allowed special schools in the state sector to select on merit, and introduced a new secondary-school-leaving exam. Opposition to the bill's potential socially divisive effects and inadequate funding for the public educational system brought student organizations, trade unions, and left-wing parties into the streets as the bill was being debated in the parliament in October.
Amid the relatively stagnant European economies, estimated GDP growth of 2.3% made Spain the second fastest-growing economy in the European Union in 2003. Continued expansion enabled the Spanish government to proclaim proudly that it would end the year with a budget surplus for the first time in recent history. However; inflation was running at 2.7% (compared with the EU's 1.7%) in November, unemployment stood at more than 10%, almost one-third of the workforce had temporary contracts, and housing prices were spiraling. The European Commission shared analysts' concerns that a hike in interest rates or increased unemployment could send housing prices tumbling, with disastrous consequences for families burdened with unprecedented levels of debt and for the financial institutions that had given them loans.
After six years of relative political calm, when political debate was dominated by a consensus within the ruling party on economics, regional nationalism, and terrorism, several issues arose which polarized Spanish public opinion. Like UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, Aznar actively supported the United States' War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, despite public opposition. Aznar met with Bush in a private meeting before 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
to discuss the situation of in the UN Security Council. El País leaked a partial transcript of the meeting
Bush-Aznar memo
The Bush–Aznar memo is reportedly a documentation of a February 22, 2003 conversation in Crawford, Texas between US president George W. Bush, Prime Minister of Spain José María Aznar, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Daniel Fried, Alberto Carnero, and Javier Rupérez, the Spanish...
. The government handling of the wreckage of the Greek Prestige tanker near the Spanish coast, which resulted in a major ecological disaster, also became a divisive issue.
He actively encouraged and supported the Bush administration's foreign policy and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, defending it on the basis of secret intelligence allegedly containing evidence of the Iraqi government's nuclear proliferation. The majority of the Spanish population, including some PP members, were against the war. Spain's major cities were the scene of the largest street demonstrations ever seen in the country as a result of the government's participation in the invasion. Aznar lost some support from those who had voted for the PP in 2000. On a live TV interview aired on the public station while demonstrations were taking place on the streets, he asked the Spanish people to take his word assuring there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, of which he had evidence. This is now regarded as incorrect.
In January 2004 Aznar called a general election and designated his successor as candidate, Mariano Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011....
, sticking to a pledge of not seeking office for a third term. Despite political tensions, polls suggested that the Popular Party was set to win a third consecutive election on the strength of the economy.
An opinion poll carried out by the government-run CIS (which had estimated that 92% of the Spanish people did not support the War in Iraq) in February 2004 estimated that the PP would win an election with 42.2% of the vote while the PSOE would only get 35.5%.
Madrid train bombings and end of term
Three days before the 2004 general election, 10 bombs killed 191 people in the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings. Initially, the government and the opposition stated publicly that it was possible the bombings may have been the work of ETAETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
. However, the PP government continued to blame ETA even after evidence that the attacks may have been the work of an Islamist group emerged, having the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ana Palacio
Ana Palacio
Ana Isabel de Palacio y del Valle-Lersundi in Madrid, daughter of Luis María de Palacio y de Palacio, 4th Marqués de Matonte, and wife Luisa Mariana del Valle-Lersundi y del Valle, was Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs in the People's Party government of José María Aznar from July 2002-March...
instruct all Spanish diplomats to place the blame on ETA at every opportunity. The public perception that the government hid information from the general population gave rise to a public outcry. Two days after the Atocha bombings, demonstrations took place across Spain demanding news from the investigation, where chants such as "We want the truth before we vote" and "Who is responsible?" were heard.
Three days after the train bombings, the opposition PSOE won the elections. The subsequent investigations held by a Parliamentary Committee were characterized by bitter partisan exchanges between the different political parties, with dispute over who may have been responsible for the bombings. Aznar appeared before the Committee in November 2004 and declared his belief that the authors of the bombings were not to be found "in faraway deserts or remote mountains." Aznar said in 2006 that he thought that the attacks were not exclusively perpetrated by Islamists.
Aznar's government 1996–2004
| Position | Holder |
|---|---|
| President of Government Prime minister A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime... |
|
| 1st Vice president of the Government of Spain Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both... |
Francisco Álvarez Cascos Francisco Álvarez Cascos is a Spanish civil engineer and politician. He is the current President of the Principality of AsturiasIn 1976, he joined Reforma Democrática and Alianza Popular, two right-wing parties... Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... Rodrigo Rato Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo is a Spanish political figure who served in the government of Spain as Minister of the Economy from 1996 to 2004; a member of the conservative People's Party , he was also First Deputy Prime Minister from 2003 to 2004... |
| 2nd Vice president of Government of Spain |
Rodrigo Rato Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo is a Spanish political figure who served in the government of Spain as Minister of the Economy from 1996 to 2004; a member of the conservative People's Party , he was also First Deputy Prime Minister from 2003 to 2004... |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Abel Matutes Abel Matutes y Juan is a Spanish politician who served as Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 6 May 1996 to 2000. Matutes was born in Ibiza on 31 October 1941 and his early political life was in that region. He was Mayor of Ibiza in 1970 and 1971 and became Senator for Ibiza and Formentera in... Ana Palacio Ana Isabel de Palacio y del Valle-Lersundi in Madrid, daughter of Luis María de Palacio y de Palacio, 4th Marqués de Matonte, and wife Luisa Mariana del Valle-Lersundi y del Valle, was Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs in the People's Party government of José María Aznar from July 2002-March... |
| Minister of Justice |
Ángel Acebes Ángel Acebes Paniagua is a Spanish politician.Married, Acebes holds a degree in law from the University of Salamanca, although he has been a member of parliament for the rightwing People's Party since 1996 representing Avila.Acebes played a key role in securing the support of minority parties and... José María Michavila José María Michavila Núñez is a Spanish politician who belongs to the main opposition People's Party .Married with three daughters and one son, Michavila qualified in law and history. He entered politics in 1993 when he was elected to the Spanish Congress of Deputies representing Madrid region... |
| Minister of Defence |
Eduardo Serra Rexach Eduardo Serra Rexach is a Spanish politician and businessman, who served as the Minister of Defence from 1996 to 2000 during the government of José María Aznar... Federico Trillo Federico Trillo-Figueroa Martínez-Conde is a Spanish politician belonging to the People's Party. His father, also named Federico Trillo, was a politician during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.... |
| Minister of Economy/until 2000 Economy and Finance |
Rodrigo Rato Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo is a Spanish political figure who served in the government of Spain as Minister of the Economy from 1996 to 2004; a member of the conservative People's Party , he was also First Deputy Prime Minister from 2003 to 2004... |
| Minister of the Interior |
Jaime Mayor Oreja Jaime Mayor Oreja, is a €Spain|Spanish]] politician who served as Interior Minister in the People's Party government of José María Aznar before resigning in February 2001 to stand for Basque President on 13 May 2001, a post he failed to win. He is known for his strongly anti-ETA views.He graduated... Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... Ángel Acebes Ángel Acebes Paniagua is a Spanish politician.Married, Acebes holds a degree in law from the University of Salamanca, although he has been a member of parliament for the rightwing People's Party since 1996 representing Avila.Acebes played a key role in securing the support of minority parties and... |
| Manufacturing Minister/since 1996, previously Public works |
Rafael Arias-Salgado Rafael Arias-Salgado is a Spanish politician.The son of Gabriel Arias-Salgado, a minister under Franco and brother of Fernando Arias-Salgado : a former head of the Spanish TV company and a diplomat.... Francisco Álvarez Cascos Francisco Álvarez Cascos is a Spanish civil engineer and politician. He is the current President of the Principality of AsturiasIn 1976, he joined Reforma Democrática and Alianza Popular, two right-wing parties... |
| Minister of Education and Culture/ previously Education and Science |
Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma, Countess of Murillo, Grandee of Spain, DBE is a Spanish politician and the current President of Madrid... Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... |
| Minister of Employment and Social Security |
Eduardo Zaplana Eduardo Andrés Julio Zaplana Hernández-Soro is a Spanish politician who served as the Partido Popular spokesman in the Spanish Congress of Deputies from 2004 to 2008.-Biography:... |
| Minister of Science and Technology/previously Industry and Energy |
|
| Minister of Agriculture, fisheries and food Agriculture ministry An agriculture ministry or department of agriculture is a ministry or other government agency charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister for agriculture.... |
Miguel Arias Cañete Miguel Arias Cañete is a Spanish politician. He is a member of the Partido Popular.Born in Madrid, he studied at the in the Jesuit college in the Chamartín district of Madrid. Cañete received a Bachelor of Law degree from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and subsequently worked for the State... |
| Minister of Presidency |
Francisco Álvarez Cascos Francisco Álvarez Cascos is a Spanish civil engineer and politician. He is the current President of the Principality of AsturiasIn 1976, he joined Reforma Democrática and Alianza Popular, two right-wing parties... Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... |
| Minister of Public Administrations |
Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... Ángel Acebes Ángel Acebes Paniagua is a Spanish politician.Married, Acebes holds a degree in law from the University of Salamanca, although he has been a member of parliament for the rightwing People's Party since 1996 representing Avila.Acebes played a key role in securing the support of minority parties and... |
| Health minister Health minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.... |
Celia Villalobos Celia Villalobos Talero is a Spanish politician.She was the mayor of Málaga from 1995 to 2000, when she joined José María Aznar's cabinet as the minister of food and health from 2000 to 2002. Her role at this ministry was controversial mainly due to a speech she gave during the concern over... Ana Pastor Ana Pastor García is a Spanish journalist and anchorwoman.- Career :Has a degree in journalism from Universidad CEU San Pablo, and developed her journalistic career by working for print press, television, RNE and EFE.... |
| Minister Finance/until 2000 Economy and Finance |
|
| Environment minister |
|
| Government Spokesperson |
Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... |
| Presidents of The Congress of Deputies |
Federico Trillo Federico Trillo-Figueroa Martínez-Conde is a Spanish politician belonging to the People's Party. His father, also named Federico Trillo, was a politician during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.... |
| Presidents of The Senate President of the Senate The President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate, and is the speaker of other assemblies.The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for example, the President of the Senate of Nigeria is second in line... |
Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma, Countess of Murillo, Grandee of Spain, DBE is a Spanish politician and the current President of Madrid... |
After 2004
After leaving office on 17 April 2004 he presided over the FAESFAES
FAES is the acronym for the Spanish think tank association Fundacion para el Análisis y los Estudios Sociales, translated as Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies. It has strong links with the Partido Popular. It is known as the "Popular Party's ideas laboratory"...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, which is associated with the PP. After a 2005 reform, promoted by the current Prime Minister of Spain Rodríguez Zapatero, former prime ministers were admitted into the Spanish Council of State
Spanish Council of State
The Spanish Council of State is the supreme consultative council of the Spanish Government. The current Council of State was established in 1980 according to the article 107 of the Constitution of 1978. The institution of the Council of State, understood as supreme consultative council of the...
, a position from which he later resigned.
Aznar was appointed Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C. in April 2004. In this position, he teaches two seminars per semester on contemporary European politics and trans-Atlantic relationships in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
. Additionally, he teaches a course on political leadership, convened by Professor Carol Lancaster, with former Polish President Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
. Aznar leads public dialogues on pressing contemporary concerns in collaboration with other members of the faculty; he was awarded an honorary degree at Universidad Francisco Marroquin.
In 2007, Aznar was appointed to the advisory board of Centaurus Capital, a London based hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
, an appointment which proved to be short-lived. In 2008, he was appointed to the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, the media conglomerate of Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. He is also member of the European Advisory Panel of The European Business Awards and the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation was established in Paris, France on October 7, 2008 to monitor tolerance in Europe...
.
Aznar is a member of the Club of Madrid
Club of Madrid
The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 countries, the Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government.Among...
. He is also a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation
Global Leadership Foundation
The Global Leadership Foundation is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 2004 by former State President of South Africa and Nobel Prize laureate F.W. de Klerk....
, an organization which works to promote good governance around the world.
Aznar was also one of the signatories and promoters of the Prague Charter.
In 2010 founded the Friends of Israel Initiative
Friends of Israel Initiative
The Friends of Israel Initiative is an international effort, to "seek to counter the attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders", initiated and led by former Prime Minister of Spain and People's Party leader José María Aznar in...
.
Environmental Views
In October 2008, on the occasion of a visit by the Czech President Václav KlausVáclav Klaus
Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
to the Spanish capital, Aznar said that anthropogenic climate change is not a real phenomenon, but only a ‘scientifically questionable’ theory which had become the new religion, the followers of which were the ‘enemies of freedom’.
These views were similar to those expressed by Klaus in his book "Blue Planet in Green Shackles", which was published in Spanish by FAES
FAES
FAES is the acronym for the Spanish think tank association Fundacion para el Análisis y los Estudios Sociales, translated as Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies. It has strong links with the Partido Popular. It is known as the "Popular Party's ideas laboratory"...
. Aznar's speech caused some puzzlement, as his government had been a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
in 1998, and it appeared that he had subsequently changed his mind about climate change.
The Partido Popular distanced itself from the current environmental views of its former leader, classing him among a "sceptical minority" within its membership, although there was support from Esperanza Aguirre who said that she and Aznar were in favour of a debate about climate change.
In 2009 Aznar was due to speak to a Heartland Institute conference
International Conference on Climate Change
The International Conference on Climate Change is a conference series sponsored by the Heartland Institute which aims to bring together global warming skeptics who dissent with the scientific consensus that human-produced greenhouse gases, predominantly carbon dioxide, are causing the Earth's...
which was billed as the "world's largest-ever gathering of global warming skeptics". He withdrew at short notice, and in the absence of a public explanation there was speculation that he did so in order to spare his party embarrassment.
In 2010 it was reported that Aznar would chair the Advisory Council of the Global Adaptation Institute, a new body concerned with adaptation to climate change.
Views on Israel
In 2010, Aznar founded the Friends of Israel InitiativeFriends of Israel Initiative
The Friends of Israel Initiative is an international effort, to "seek to counter the attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders", initiated and led by former Prime Minister of Spain and People's Party leader José María Aznar in...
, with the stated goal to "counter the attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders". Referring to the ill-fated takeover of the Mavi Marmara by Israeli commandos, Aznar said in 2010 that the world must support Israel because "if it goes down, we all go down". He said that "In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the 'Mavi Marmara' would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship." He criticized Turkey, for placing Israel "in an impossible situation" in which it would have to either give up its security or face world condemnation. Aznar concluded that Israel is the West's first line of defense, and must be protected.
Controversy
Aznar's government posthumously granted a medal of Civil Merit to Melitón ManzanasMelitón Manzanas
Melitón Manzanas González was a high-ranking police officer in Francoist Spain, known as a torturer and the first planned victim of ETA....
, the head of the secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
in San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
and the first high-profile member of the Francoist government killed by ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
in 1968. Manzanas was widely considered a torturer, and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
condemned the award.
After the 2004 elections it was revealed that Aznar and his government secretly channeled public funds to a United States legal firm to lobby for the bestowment of the Congressional Gold Medal on Aznar. The contract consisted in a first payment of $700,000 USD for the first seven months, followed by $100,000 monthly payments until it reached the sum of $2 million.
In an interview with BBC World on 27 July 2006 he voiced doubts about "Islamists" being the sole culprits of the disputed 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
The Madrid train bombings consisted of a series of coordinated bombings against the Cercanías system of Madrid, Spain on the morning of 11 March 2004 , killing 191 people and wounding 1,800...
, "You know in this moment some perpetrators of the attacks, but you do not know who imagined the attack, who is the leader of the attack, who is the idea (sic) of the attack, who established and supported means for the attacks, who defined the logistics of the attacks, who established the strategies of the attack. Nothing...I think that one part of the perpetrators are Islamists, but I think that this is not only an Islamist attack."
During a Washington, D.C. conference at the Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
, a conservative U.S. think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, on 23 September 2006, referring to Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
's comments
Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy
The Regensburg lecture was delivered on 12 September 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he had once served as a professor of theology. It was entitled "Glaube, Vernunft und Universität — Erinnerungen und Reflexionen"...
on Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and violence, Aznar asked why Muslims had not apologized for occupying Spain for 800 years as Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
. He then called the Alliance of Civilizations
Alliance of Civilizations
The Alliance of Civilizations is an initiative proposed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...
initiative "stupid." His reference to apologies was a response to the demonstrations asking the Pope to apologize. One PP
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
official clarified Aznar's speech by saying the Prime Minister thought it is pointless to apologize for historical events.
Personal life
In 1977 he married Ana BotellaAna Botella
Ana Botella Serrano a Spanish politician belonging to the Spanish People's Party.She is on the Madrid city council, where she has served as Environment spokesperson since 2007....
, by whom he had three children: José María Aznar Botella, Ana Aznar Botella, born on 26 September 1981, and Alonso Aznar Botella.
Aznar is a grandfather. His daughter married at El Escorial
El Escorial
The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and...
on 5 September 2002 Alejandro Agag
Alejandro Agag
Alejandro Tarik Agag Longo was born in Madrid on the 18th September 1970 to an Algerian Belgian father Youssef Agag, who was a banker, and a Spanish mother....
, with whom she has four children, Alejandro (b. Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 4 June 2004), Rodrigo (b. Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 13 December 2005), Pelayo (b. Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 16 January 2008), and Alonso (b. Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 22 December 2010) Agag y Aznar.
In 2008 in response to persistent rumours, Aznar denied being the father of Zohra Dati, daughter of Ms Rachida Dati
Rachida Dati
Rachida Dati is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing Île-de-France. Before her election, she held the cabinet post of Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice. She was a spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy during the French presidential election of 2007...
, the then French Minister for Justice.
Ancestry
Books
- Libertad y solidaridad (1991)
- La España en que yo creo (1995)
- España: la segunda transición (1995)
- Ocho años de Gobierno (2004)
- Retratos y perfiles: de Fraga a Bush (2005)
- Cartas a un joven español (2007)
- España puede salir de la crisis (2009)
Conferences
- Latin America: An Agenda of Liberty, conference by José María Aznar at Francisco Marroquin University. Guatemala, November 2007"Conference by José María Aznar" (Language: Spanish)
External links
Partido Popular Fundacion para el Analisis y los Estudios Sociales (Spanish Think Tank related to the PP)|-
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