Biography

• Born on 5th March 1942 in Seville.
• Studied Law at the University of Seville; further studies in Economics at the University of Louvain (Belgium). In 1966 he opened a lawyer’s office in Seville and was given a teaching assignment in labour law at the University of Seville.
• In his student years he was already active in the Socialist movement; in 1964 he joined the Socialist Party,which was still illegal at that time, in 1974 he became Secretary General (until 1997). In 1981 he took on the position of Chairman of the Party.
• From 1982 to 1996 he was Spanish Prime Minister; during his time in office he strengthened democracy and his economic reform course policy contributed to stabilizing the economy. He campaigned for his country to remain in NATO and led Spain into the European Community in 1986.