Jose María de Areilza
(José María de Areilza and Martínez de Rodas, count of Motrico; Portugalete, 1909-Somosaguas, 1998) Spanish politician and diplomat.The son of a well-known doctor from Bilbao, he began a career in Medicine, which he left in the second year to start studying Industrial Engineering at the Bilbao School.He made these studies compatible with a career in Law at the University of Salamanca, from which he graduated in 1932.
At the advent of the Second Spanish Republic, on April 14, 1931, he fought politically for the Monarchy.In the legislative elections of 1932 and 1936 he presented himself as a monarchical candidate for Vizcaya, but he did not get his election.He had an active participation in the civil war, for which he was sentenced to death by a Bilbao court.He managed to escape and, after Franco's troops entered the city, he was appointed mayor of Bilbao in June 1937.
In 1938 he was Director General of Industry, National Councilor of the Falange and member of the Junta Politics.Due to his condition of Director, he belonged to Legislatures II, III and IV.He returned to the Cortes in 1975, in the X Legislature, due to his status as Minister.In 1947 he was appointed ambassador of Spain to Argentina, a position he held for three years.From 1954 to 1960 he represented Spain against the United States.This last year he was appointed to occupy the embassy of Spain in France.In 1966 he was appointed Executive Secretary of the Private Council of Don Juan de Borbón, heir to Alfonso XIII, a position he held until June 22, 1969, date on which Don Juan Carlos was appointed successor to the Head of State and the council was dissolved..
He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first Government of the Monarchy (1975-76).Together with Pío Cabanillas, he promoted the creation of the Popular Party in 1976, and in February 1977 he was elected vice president of the same.On March 25, 1977, due to discrepancies with Suárez in the formation of the Unión de Centro Democrático, UCD, of which he was a member, Areilza resigned from his position and withdrew from the Party, announcing his resignation to appear at the elections of June 15, 1977.
In November of that year he was the main promoter of the Liberal Federation, constituted with the participation of five liberal political groups, chaired by Areilza.This initiative soon became the Liberal Citizen Action Party, of which he was elected president.Before the elections of March 1, 1979, Acción Ciudadana Liberal became part of the Democratic Coalition, a formation for which he was elected deputy for Madrid, along with Manuel Fraga and Alfonso Osorio.In the Congress of Deputies he was a member of the Territorial Administration, Foreign Affairs, Economy and Industry and Energy commissions.
On May 11, 1981 he was elected by an absolute majority President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.As he was not elected deputy in the elections of October 28, 1982, he could not continue as president of this body and was forced to resign on January 24, 1983.
A man of great culture, Areilza He was a member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences since 1966.On April 24, 1987, he was elected a member of the Royal Spanish Academy to occupy the G chair that had belonged to Manuel Díez Alegría.He is the author of numerous publications, including Claims of Spain , in collaboration with Fernando María Castiella, for which he obtained the Francisco Franco National Prize for Literature in 1941.
Others His works are Ambassadors on Spain (1947), Political Writings (1968), One Hundred Articles (1971); Figures and opinions (1973), This is how I have seen them (1974), Diary of a Minister of the Monarchy (1979), Notebooks of the transition (1983), External memories (1984), Chronicle of freedom , a documentary contribution on the last stage of Francoism and the democratic transition, and The Europe we want (1986) . In addition to books on political issues, Areilza has totally literary publications such as Prosas chosen (1986 ), Seven stories (1987) and Landscapes and semblances (1989).
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