Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo
Encyclopedia
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquis of the Ría of Ribadeo and Grandee of Spain (leoˈpoldo ˈkalβosoˈtelo i βusˈtelo; 14 April 1926 – 3 May 2008) was a Spanish political figure and prime minister
during the period of transition
after the end of Francisco Franco
's regime.
on 14 April 1926. His father was writer Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo. His uncle José Calvo Sotelo
was Finance Minister of Spain under Miguel Primo de Rivera
. Calvo-Sotelo graduated as a 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.
He was president of RENFE
(Spanish national railroad network) between 1967–1968. Calvo-Sotelo was elected solicitor (Deputy) of Franco's Cortes, representing industrialists in the Union of Chemical Industries, in 1971. A monarchist, Sotelo was one of the founders of an association of politicians, mostly of Right
ists and Center Right
ists, which disguised as the Fedisa publishing firm helped Spain's peaceful transition into democracy.
Calvo-Sotelo was designated Minister of Commerce by Carlos Arias Navarro
to be in the first government of the Monarchy (December 1975 – July 1976). He advocated total destruction of Franco's ideals instead of mere superficial changes that politicians like Navarro planned. 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). The UCD won in both the June 1977 and the March 1979 elections and Calvo-Sotelo was elected MP for Madrid
.
Suárez decided to keep 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. After the resignation of Suárez on 29 January 1981, he was supposed to be appointed president on 23 February, and advocated Spain's proposed entry into NATO as soon as possible. However, on that date a session of the Congress of Deputies was interrupted by the attempted coup of 23-F
. After the failed coup, his appointment as Prime Minister was confirmed on 25 February by the vote of all the UCD members of the congress and 21 others as well, giving him a majority of 186 to 158. Splits in the UCD group led to the formation of three rival parties, the Democratic Action Party (Partido de Acción Democrática/PAD), which soon merged with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE) the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) and Democratic Popular Party
(PDP) resulting in the UCD being unable to count on sufficient support in the legislature. Fresh elections were called, resulting in a heavy defeat for the UCD, which won only 12 seats at the 1982 election compared to 168 in 1979. He served as president until 1 December 1982 and was succeeded by the socialist Felipe González
.
Calvo-Sotelo was also a Member of the Club of Madrid
and of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering. He died at his home in Pozuelo de Alarcón
, Madrid on 3 May 2008.
He was married to María del Pilar Ibáñez-Martín y Mellado and had eight children:
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
during the period of transition
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
after the end of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's regime.
Biography
Calvo-Sotelo was born into a prominent political family of and in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
on 14 April 1926. His father was writer Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo. His uncle José Calvo Sotelo
José Calvo Sotelo
José Calvo Sotelo, 1st Duke of Calvo Sotelo was a Spanish politician prior to and during the Second Spanish Republic...
was Finance Minister of Spain under Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
. Calvo-Sotelo graduated as a Civil Engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
by the School of Civil Engineers of Madrid now part of the Technical University of Madrid
Technical University of Madrid
The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid is a Spanish University, located in Madrid. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Technical Schools of Engineering and Architecture, originated mainly in the 18th century...
, working in the area of applications of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
to the industry.
He was president of RENFE
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
(Spanish national railroad network) between 1967–1968. Calvo-Sotelo was elected solicitor (Deputy) of Franco's Cortes, representing industrialists in the Union of Chemical Industries, in 1971. A monarchist, Sotelo was one of the founders of an association of politicians, mostly of Right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
ists and Center Right
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
ists, which disguised as the Fedisa publishing firm helped Spain's peaceful transition into democracy.
Calvo-Sotelo was designated Minister of Commerce by Carlos Arias Navarro
Carlos Arias Navarro
Don Carlos Arias-Navarro, 1st Marquis of Arias-Navarro, Grandee of Spain, born Carlos Arias y Navarro was one of the best known Spanish politicians during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco....
to be in the first government of the Monarchy (December 1975 – July 1976). He advocated total destruction of Franco's ideals instead of mere superficial changes that politicians like Navarro planned. Calvo-Sotelo was kept in the cabinet of Adolfo Suárez
Adolfo Suárez
Adolfo Suárez y González, 1st Duke of Suárez, Grandee of Spain, KOGF is a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and the key figure in the country's transition to democracy.-Parents:He is a son of...
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). The UCD won in both the June 1977 and the March 1979 elections and Calvo-Sotelo was elected MP for Madrid
Madrid (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Madrid is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It has the largest electorate of all the 52 districts. Madrid is the largest city...
.
Suárez decided to keep 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. After the resignation of Suárez on 29 January 1981, he was supposed to be appointed president on 23 February, and advocated Spain's proposed entry into NATO as soon as possible. However, on that date a session of the Congress of Deputies was interrupted by the attempted coup of 23-F
23-F
23-F was an attempted coup d'état in Spain that began on 23 February 1981 and ended on the following day. It is also known as El Tejerazo from the name of its most visible figure, Antonio Tejero, who led the failed coup's most notable event: the bursting into the Spanish Congress of Deputies by a...
. After the failed coup, his appointment as Prime Minister was confirmed on 25 February by the vote of all the UCD members of the congress and 21 others as well, giving him a majority of 186 to 158. Splits in the UCD group led to the formation of three rival parties, the Democratic Action Party (Partido de Acción Democrática/PAD), which soon merged with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(PSOE) the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) and Democratic Popular Party
Democratic Popular Party (Spain)
The People's Democratic Party was a christian-democratic Spanish political party.It was part of the Democratic Centre Union until 1982, when it entered into alliance with the Popular Alliance , which received the second largest number of votes in 1982 and 1986 elections.In 1989 the party, along...
(PDP) resulting in the UCD being unable to count on sufficient support in the legislature. Fresh elections were called, resulting in a heavy defeat for the UCD, which won only 12 seats at the 1982 election compared to 168 in 1979. He served as president until 1 December 1982 and was succeeded by the socialist Felipe González
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. To date, he remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of Spain, after having served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996.-Early life:Felipe was...
.
Calvo-Sotelo was also a Member of the Club of Madrid
Club of Madrid
The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 countries, the Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government.Among...
and of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering. He died at his home in Pozuelo de Alarcón
Pozuelo de Alarcón
Pozuelo de Alarcón is a suburb of over 85,000 inhabitants near the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. It is surrounded by large Mediterranean pine-tree forests: la Casa de Campo, el Monte del Pardo and el Monte del Pilar...
, Madrid on 3 May 2008.
He was married to María del Pilar Ibáñez-Martín y Mellado and had eight children:
- Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 4 September 1957), 2nd Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo, married to Cristina Egea y Gutiérrez-Cortines. - Juan Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 14 November 1958), married to Lucía Fernández y Cartuxo - María del Pilar Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 20 October 1959), married to Carlos Delclaux y Zulueta - Pedro Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 20 December 1960), married to María Alvarez-Cascos y Gómez de Arteche - Víctor Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 24 November 1961), unmarried and without issue - José María Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 2 May 1964), unmarried and without issue - Andrés Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 14 August 1965), twin with the below, unmarried and without issue - Pablo Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (b. LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 14 August 1965), twin with the above, married to Elvira García-Bellido y Capdevilla