Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo
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| Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo y Bustelo | |
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| In office February 25, 1981 – December 1, 1982 |
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| Vice President | Rodolfo Martín Villa (1981-1982) Juan Antonio García Díez (1982) |
| Preceded by | Adolfo Suárez González |
| Succeeded by | Felipe González Márquez |
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| In office September 9, 1980 – February 25, 1981 |
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| President | Adolfo Suárez González |
| Preceded by | Fernando Abril Martorell |
| Succeeded by | Juan Antonio García Díez |
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Minister of Public Works
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| In office July 4, 1976 – 1976 |
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| President | Adolfo Suárez González |
| Preceded by | Antonio Valdés González-Roldán |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Pérez de Bricio Olarriaga (acting) |
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| Born | April 14, 1926 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | May 3, 2008 (aged 82) |
| Nationality | Spain |
| Political party | UCD |
| Spouse | Pilar Ibáñez-Martín Mellado |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo (Don Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1. Marqués de la Ría de Ribadeo) (April 14, 1926 - May 3, 2008) was a Spanish political figure and President of the Spanish government during Spain's period of transition after the end of Francisco Franco's regime.
[edit] Biography
Calvo-Sotelo was born into a prominent political family of in Madrid on April 14, 1926.[1] His uncle José Calvo Sotelo was Finance Minister of Spain under Miguel Primo de Rivera.[1] Calvo-Sotelo graduated as an Civil Engineer by 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.[1]
He was president of RENFE (Renfe Operadora, Spanish national railroad operators) between 1967–1968. Calvo-Sotelo was elected solicitor (Deputy) of Franco's Cortes, representing industrialists in the Union of Chemical Industries, in 1971.[1] 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 to help toward Spain's peaceful transistion into democracy.[1]
Calvo-Sotelo was designated Minister of Commerce by Carlos Arias Navarro to be in the first government of the Monarchy (December 1975 – July 1976).[1] He advocated total destruction of Franco's ideals instead of mee superficial changes that politicians like Navarro planned.[1] 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).[1] The UCD won in both the June and the March 1979 elections, Calvo-Sotelo receiving almost as many votes as Suárez.[1]
Suárez decided to keeep 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.[1] After the resignation of Suárez in January 1981, he was supposed to be appointed president (Presidente del Gobierno) on February 23, and advocated for Spain's proposed entry into NATO as soon as possible.[1] However, on that date a session of the Congress of Deputies was interrupted by the attempted coup of 23-F.[1] After the failed coup, his appointment as Prime Minister was confirmed by the vote of all the UCD members of the congress and 21 others as well, giving him a majority of 186 to 158.[1] He served as president until 1982 and was succeeded by the socialist Felipe González.[1]
Calvo-Sotelo was also a Member of the Club of Madrid[2] and of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering. He died at his home in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid on May 3, 2008.[1]
[edit] Bibliography
- Mclean, Renwick (2006). "Spain Takes a Proud Look Back." International Herald Tribune. February 24.
- 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. February 23.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo: Post-Franco Prime Minister of Spain who survived an attempted coup and was determined to see the country join Nato", The Times, 2008-05-05. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ Club of Madrid The Club of Madrid is an independent organization dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world by drawing on the unique experience and resources of its Members – 66 democratic former heads of state and government.
| Preceded by Adolfo Suárez |
President of the Government of Spain 1981–1982 |
Succeeded by Felipe González |
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