José García-Margallo y Marfil
| José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 22 December 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Mariano Rajoy |
| Preceded by | Trinidad Jiménez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 August 1944 Madrid, Spain |
| Political party | People's Party |
| Alma mater | University of Deusto Harvard University |
José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil (born 13 August 1944) is a Spanish politician and is currently Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
Previously he was Member of the European Parliament with the People's Party, part of the European People's Party and vice-chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. He was also a substitute for the Committee on International Trade and a vice-chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America.
Early life and education
He was born in Madrid. In 1960, García-Margallo joined the Young Spanish Monarchists. He graduated in law in 1965 from the University of Deusto in Bilbao and subsequently worked as a tax inspector, receiving a master's degree in law from Harvard University in 1972.
During General Francisco Franco's Spanish dictatorship, García-Margallo's family was active in their support of him. This influenced a young Garcia-Margallo and in his adult life he, like many other extreme right-wing sympathizers, was absorbed into the supposed center-right People's Party.
Political career
In 1976, he was one of the founding members of the right-wing (or center-right) People's Party (Partido Popular), a party unrelated to the current party of the same name. In 1977, that party joined others in forming the Union of the Democratic Centre, a coalition which won the first democratic elections of the modern era in Spain and formed the government from 1977 to 1982. At the 1977 election, he was elected to the Spanish Congress of Deputies as member for the single member district of Melilla[1] and was re-elected in 1979, although he lost his seat at the 1982 election to the PSOE. After the UCD disbanded in 1983, he joined the Democratic Popular Party (Partido Demócrata Popular/PDP) and returned to the Congress at the 1986 election as member for Valencia Province, retaining his seat until 1994 when he resigned after being elected to the European Parliament.[2]
On 22 December 2011, he was inaugurated as the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.[3]
He has been severely criticized at home and abroad for being too right-wing in his policies even though the People's Party claims to be a center-right organization.
Controversial statements
Often seen as a controversial figure, he has often been critical of Gibraltar. In February 2015 he ordered the closure of the Instituto Cervantes in Gibraltar stating that 'only apes don’t speak Spanish'.[4]
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to José García-Margallo y Marfil. |
- Personal profile of José García-Margallo y Marfil in the European Parliament's database of members
- Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (Spanish)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Trinidad Jiménez |
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation 2011–present |
Incumbent |