José García-Margallo y Marfil

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This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is García-Margallo and the second or maternal family name is Marfil.
José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil
File:Ministro Exteriores-Garcia Margallo en octubre de 2013.jpg
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Assumed office
22 December 2011
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
Preceded by Trinidad Jiménez
Personal details
Born (1944-08-13) 13 August 1944 (age 79)
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 and Economics from the University of Deusto in Bilbao (1965) and subsequently received a master's degree in Law (LLM) from Harvard University (1972).

Political career

In 1976, he was one of the founding members of the 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]

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 there was no need for Spanish classes in Gibraltar as 'everyone speaks (Spanish) except for the apes'.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Biography at Spanish Congress site
  2. ↑ Dictionary of Valencian Politicians
  3. ↑ MAEC News: Inauguration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, 22/12/2011
  4. ↑ Madrid closes Gibraltar language school as 'only apes don’t speak Spanish', in The Telegraph

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
2011–present		 Incumbent
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