Miguel Arias Cañete
| Miguel Arias Cañete | |
|---|---|
_(2).jpg) | |
| European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 November 2014 | |
| President | Jean-Claude Juncker |
| Preceded by | Connie Hedegaard (Climate Action) Günther Oettinger (Energy) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 February 1950 Madrid, Spain |
| Political party | Partido Popular |
| Spouse(s) | Micaela Domecq y Solís- Beaumont |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Complutense University |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Miguel Arias Cañete (born 24 February 1950) is a Spanish aristocrat and a politician of the centre-right.
A member of the Partido Popular, Arias served as Minister for Agriculture, Food and Environment in the Spanish Government from 2011 until 2014, before being selected to head his Party List in the European Parliamentary elections.[1]
Arias Cañete was subsequently nominated as EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action in the forthcoming Juncker Commission and took office on 1 November 2014.[2]
Biography
Born at Madrid, the son of Judge don Alfonso Arias de la Cuesta,[3] Arias Cañete was educated in Madrid, first at the Jesuit School at Chamartín before reading Law at the Universidad Complutense.
After graduating in 1974, he joined the Spanish Civil Service working as a State Attorney. His first position was in the Spanish Tax Agency at Jerez de la Frontera, before transferring to the Cadiz office. In 1978 resigned as a civil servant to become a Professor of Law at the University of Cádiz, where he remained until 1982 before entering politics with the Alianza Popular.
Arias first served as a member of the Parliament of Andalusia from 1982 until he stood down in 1986 after being elected to the European Parliament where he served until 1999 and chaired the Agricultural and Regional Politics Committees. He then was elected to the Spanish Senate, serving from 1993 until 2000 when he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Fishing by José María Aznar. He has also served as Deputy for Cadiz in the 2004-2008 Spanish Congress before his election in 2008 as MEP for Madrid, which he represented until 2014.[4] In 2011 Mariano Rajoy appointed Arias as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment in the Spanish Government.
Controversies
Arias has faced accusations of possible conflicts of interests regarding his political posts and his business interests. While serving as a member of the EU's commissions for Agriculture for Rural Development, he allegedly held interests in several businesses in the agricultural sector,[5] leading the Spanish newspaper El País to describe him as always being on the edge of a conflict of interest.[6] The environmental group Friends of the Earth and anticorruption group Corporate Europe Observatory have criticised his nomination to the Climate Action and Energy portfolio due to his family's involvement in the oil industry.[7][8][9]
Furthermore, Arias was called to give evidence before the Provincial Court of Barcelona over a friend's alleged laundering of 2 billion pesetas.[10]
Political appointments
- Representative for Cádiz in the Andalusian Parliament. (1982-1986)
- Senator representing Cádiz in the Spanish Senate. (1982-1986)
- Member of the European Parliament. (1986-1999)
- City Councillor for Jerez de la Frontera. (1995-2000)
- Senator representing Cádiz in the Spanish Senate. (2000-2004)
- Representative for Cádiz in the Spanish Congress. (2004-2008)
- Economic Secretary for the Partido Popular. (2004-2008)
- President of the Partido Popular's Electoral Committee. (2004-2008)
- Representative for Madrid in the Spanish Congress. (2008-2014)
- European Commissioner. (2014-)
Family
Arias, from a Spanish gentry family, is married to Micaela Domecq y Solís-Beaumont[11] by whom he has four children. His wife's aristocratic family[12] has long been established in the Jerez de la Frontera region of Andalucía, where they own large farming and livestock estates (including the breeding of fighting bulls)[13] and have given their name to a world-famous brand of fortified wines.[14]
Honours
-
Grand Cross, Order of Charles III -
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Gran Cruz, Orden del Mérito Civil -
Chevalier, Ordre du Mérite agricole -
Knight, SMOM.
See also
- Juncker Commission
- Condado del Asalto (Spanish Countdom)
- Marquis of Cañete
- Marquesado de San Miguel das Penas y la Mota (Spanish Marquessate)
- Marquesado de Valencina (Spanish Marquessate)
References
- ↑ www.elpais.com
- ↑ www.euractiv.com
- ↑ www.boe.es
- ↑ Biography at Spanish Congress site
- ↑ (Spanish) "Arias Cañete: “Ni mi familia ni yo tenemos relación con esas empresas." El País. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ El País. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Cañete’s conflicts of interests continue to concern
- ↑ "The many business dealings of Commissioner-designate Miguel Arias Cañete."
- ↑ "Spanish EU climate commissioner grilled over oil interests." El País. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ www.elplural.com
- ↑ Web nobleza espanola
- ↑ www.people.com
- ↑ Juan Pedro Domecq Solis obit. www.telegraph.co.uk
- ↑ www.alvarodomecq.com
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joaquín Almunia |
Spanish European Commissioner 2014–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Connie Hedegaard as European Commissioner for Climate Action |
European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy 2014–present | |
| Preceded by Günther Oettinger as European Commissioner for Energy | ||