Gerardo Fernández Albor
(Santiago de Compostela, 1917) Spanish politician and doctor who held the presidency of the Xunta de Galicia from January 22, 1982 to September 23, 1987.Belonging to A high class family, after completing their first studies, began a career in Medicine at the University of Santiago de Compostela, where he received a doctorate in Medicine and Surgery.An outstanding student, he completed his training by enrolling in specialization courses in general surgery and the digestive system, taught by the universities of Barcelona, Madrid, London, Paris and Vienna.
A strong defender of Galician culture, he stood out for his actions in this regard and was part of important institutions such as the Rosalía de Castro Board, the Otero Pedrayo Foundation, the Instituto da Lingua Galega and the Museo do Pobo Galego.The political transition process in Spain began, after the death of General Franco in 1975, he began to express some political concerns; He sympathized with the PPG and briefly militated in the ranks of Realidade Galega.
After the approval of the Autonomous Statute, on February 7, 1981, the president of AP, Manuel Fraga, decided to join the ranks of his match to Gerardo Fernández Albor.Despite his political inexperience, he was a known and respected man throughout Galicia and had had no relationship with the previous regime.After the first contacts, Fernández Albor accepted Fraga's offer.The election call held in October 1981 gave the AP victory by a narrow margin.On January 7, 1982, he gave his inauguration speech and was elected president the following day, thanks to the support that his candidacy obtained from the UCD representatives.
His first government (1982-1985) was marked by the transfer of powers carried out from the central administration, and due to the existing problems to establish the capital of the community he presided over, since there was a clear confrontation, even within his own party, between those who supported the election of Santiago de Compostela and those who supported the candidacy of A Coruña.Finally, a transitory solution was approved that designated Santiago as the seat of the Galician Parliament and A Coruña as the seat of the Superior Court of Justice.
After the disappearance of the UCD, many of the representatives of this political formation joined the AP, in this way Fernández Albor managed to give greater stability to his mandate, but had to face the protests that took place in his party, due to the prominence reached by the members of the UCD in the Galician government.
The problems within the AP of Galicia became general after the signing, on October 1, 1985, of a document that laid the foundations for the formation of the Popular Coalition (CP).This coalition was constituted by the Popular Alliance, the Popular Democratic Party, the Liberal Party of Galicia and the Centrists of Ourense.
Despite the fact that in the elections held on November 24, 1985 they obtained 34 seats out of 71, internal differences appeared very soon and the attacks on the president of the Xunta became general.These confrontations and electoral collapse of the AP in the general elections of 1986 destabilized the second government of Fernández Albor (1986-1987).Due to these serious problems, the opposition, led by the PSOE, considered that the president was more busy trying to solve the quarrels within his party than in exercising the effective government of the community he represented; They presented a motion of censure that prevailed and on September 23, 1987, Fernández Albor had to leave the presidency.
In December 1986 he held the presidency of the AP, after the resignation of Manuel Fraga from the position, although very he soon transferred his responsibilities to Miguel Herrero de Miñón.After suffering a serious crisis, AP disappeared from the political scene, his heir being the Popular Party (PP), which Fernández Albor immediately joined.Founder of the Popular Party of Galicia, from 1989 to 1999 he was a member of the European Parliament.
During the years he stayed in Brussels, he participated in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defense Policy; in the Development and Cooperation Committee, in the Subcommittee on Security and Disarmament, in the Subcommittee on Human Rights and was a European delegate for relations with the countries of South America and MERCOSUR.In 1999 he decided not to appear in the elections to the European Parliament, but he did not abandon political activity; He held the position of honorary president of the PP of Galicia and was appointed advisor to the Department of the Presidency of the Xunta.
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