Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo

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The Most Excellent
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo
GE
Prime Minister of Spain
In office
25 February 1981 â€“ 1 December 1982
Monarch Juan Carlos I
Deputy Rodolfo MartĂ­n Villa
Juan Antonio GarcĂ­a DĂ­ez
Preceded by Adolfo SuĂĄrez
Succeeded by Felipe GonzĂĄlez
First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office
9 September 1980 â€“ 25 February 1981
Prime Minister Adolfo SuĂĄrez
Preceded by Fernando Abril
Succeeded by Juan Antonio GarcĂ­a DĂ­ez
Minister of Public Works
In office
4 July 1976 â€“ 1976
Prime Minister Adolfo SuĂĄrez
Preceded by Antonio Valdés Gonzålez-Roldån
Succeeded by Carlos PĂ©rez de Bricio Olarriaga (acting)
Personal details
Born Leopoldo RamĂłn Pedro Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo
(1926-04-14)14 April 1926
Madrid, Spain
Died 3 May 2008(2008-05-03) (aged 82)
Pozuelo de AlarcĂłn, Madrid, Spain
Resting place Ribadeo Cemetery, Galicia, Spain
Nationality Spanish
Political party UCD
Spouse(s) María del Pilar Ibåñez-Martín Mellado
Children Leopoldo (b. 1957)
Juan (b. 1958)
MarĂ­a del Pilar (b. 1959)
Pedro (b. 1960)
VĂ­ctor MarĂ­a (b. 1961)
José María (b. 1964)
Andrés (b. 1965)
Pablo (b. 1965)
Religion Roman Catholicism

Leopoldo RamĂłn Pedro Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquis of the RĂ­a of Ribadeo, Grandee of Spain (Spanish pronunciation: [leoˈpoldo ˈkalÎČosoˈtelo i ÎČusˈtelo]; 14 April 1926 – 3 May 2008) was a Spanish political figure and prime minister during the period of transition after the end of Francisco Franco's regime.

Biography

Calvo-Sotelo was born into a prominent political family of and in Madrid on 14 April 1926 with his father Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo [1] as the writer and his mother Mercedes Marquez.[2] His uncle José Calvo Sotelo was the finance minister under Miguel Primo de Rivera.[2] Calvo-Sotelo graduated as a civil engineer from the School of Civil Engineers of Madrid now part of the Technical University of Madrid, working in the area of applications of chemistry to the industry.[2]

He was the president of RENFE (Spanish national railroad network) between 1967 and 1968. Calvo-Sotelo was elected solicitor (Deputy) of Franco's Cortes, representing industrialists in the Union of Chemical Industries, in 1971.[2] A monarchist, Sotelo was one of the founders of an association of politicians, mostly of Rightists and Center Rightists, which disguised as the Fedisa publishing firm helped Spain's peaceful transition into democracy.[2]

Calvo-Sotelo was designated Minister of Commerce by Carlos Arias Navarro to be in the first government of the Monarchy (December 1975 – July 1976).[2] He advocated total destruction of Franco's ideals instead of mere superficial changes that politicians like Navarro planned.[2] Calvo-Sotelo was kept in the cabinet of Adolfo Suárez upon his succession to premiership in 1976 and directed several centre-right and centre-left political associations into one party, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD).[2] The UCD won in both the June 1977 and the March 1979 elections[2] and Calvo-Sotelo was elected MP for Madrid.

SuĂĄrez decided to keep him in the Cabinet, first from 1978 to 1980 as Minister for Relations of the European Economic Community, then as Second Vicepresident in charge of economic affairs.[2] After the resignation of SuĂĄrez on 29 January 1981, he was supposed to be appointed president (Presidente del Gobierno) on 23 February, and advocated Spain's proposed entry into NATO as soon as possible.[2] However, on that date a session of the Congress of Deputies was interrupted by the attempted coup of 23-F.[2] After the failed coup, his appointment as Prime Minister was confirmed on 25 February by the vote of all the UCD members of the congress and 21 others as well, giving him a majority of 186 to 158.[2] Splits in the UCD group led to the formation of three rival parties, the Democratic Action Party (Partido de AcciĂłn DemocrĂĄtica/PAD), which soon merged with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) and Democratic Popular Party (PDP), resulting in the UCD being unable to count on sufficient support in the legislature. Fresh elections were called, resulting in a heavy defeat for the UCD, which won only 12 seats at the 1982 election compared to 168 in 1979. He served as president until 1 December 1982 and was succeeded by the socialist Felipe GonzĂĄlez.[2]

In 2002, Calvo-Sotelo was raised into the Spanish nobility by King Juan Carlos of Spain and given the hereditary title of Marqués de la Ría de Ribadeo (Marquis of the Ría of Ribadeo), together with the dignity Grande de España (English: Grandee of Spain), this in honor for his service.[3][4]

Calvo-Sotelo was also a member of the Club of Madrid[5] and of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering.

He was married to María del Pilar Ibåñez-Martín y Mellado and had eight children:

  • Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Madrid, 4 September 1957), 2nd Marquess of RĂ­a de Ribadeo, married to Cristina Egea y GutiĂ©rrez-Cortines.
  • Juan Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Madrid, 14 November 1958), married to LucĂ­a FernĂĄndez y Cartuxo
  • MarĂ­a del Pilar Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Madrid, 20 October 1959), married to Carlos Delclaux y Zulueta
  • Pedro Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Madrid, 20 December 1960), married to MarĂ­a Alvarez-Cascos y GĂłmez de Arteche
  • VĂ­ctor Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Madrid, 24 November 1961), unmarried and without issue
  • JosĂ© MarĂ­a Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Madrid, 2 May 1964), unmarried and without issue
  • AndrĂ©s Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Lisbon, 14 August 1965), twin with the below, unmarried and without issue
  • Pablo Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-MartĂ­n (b. Lisbon, 14 August 1965), twin with the above, married to Elvira GarcĂ­a-Bellido y Capdevilla

He died of cardiac arrest at his home in Pozuelo de AlarcĂłn, Madrid, on 3 May 2008.[2]

Bibliography

  • Mclean, Renwick (2006). "Spain Takes a Proud Look Back." International Herald Tribune. 24 February.
  • Preston, Paul (1990). The Triumph of Democracy in Spain. London: Routledge.
  • Rogers, Eamonn and Valerie Rogers, eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture. London: Routledge.
  • Walker, Jane (2006). "The Day Freedom Was Put in Peril." The Irish Times. 23 February.

References

External links

Media related to Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Adolfo SuĂĄrez

Prime Minister of Spain

1981–1982
Succeeded by
Felipe GonzĂĄlez
Spanish nobility
New creation Marquis of the RĂ­a of Ribadeo
2002–2008
Succeeded by
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo e Ibåñez-Martín
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