Patxi López
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Francisco Javier "Patxi" López Álvarez (born October 4, 1959 in Portugalete, Bizkaia) is a Basque socialist politician. He is the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party of Euskadi - Euskadiko Ezkerra (PSE-EE), which is the Basque Federation of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the current ruling party in Spain.
López, born into a socialist family, was influenced early in life by the political stance of his father, Eduardo López Albizu, a prominent Basque left-wing activist. He joined the Young Basque Socialists movement in 1975, and was its Secretary-General from 1985 to 1988. He joined PSE-EE in 1977, and rose steadily to prominence before being elected Secretary-General in 1997, having become a Member of the Basque Parliament in 1991.
López is known for his opposition to Basque independence. In 2005, he was the PSE-EE's candidate for the presidency of the Basque Country, but lost out to Juan José Ibarretxe of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).
