Manuel Marín
Encyclopedia
Manuel Marín González is a Spanish politician
, former President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain
. He was a long-time member of the European Commission
, and President during the interim Marin Commission
following the Resignation of the Santer Commission
, of which he was a member.
, Castile-La Mancha. He studied law at Madrid's Complutense University
, then went on to take a Diploma in European Community Law at Nancy University
, France, and the Certificate of Advanced European Studies
at the College of Europe
, Bruges
, Belgium. As from 1974 he was already a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(the PSOE) and in that connection he was elected in 1977 to the Spanish Congress of Deputies, and re-elected in 1979 and 1982. It is in this context that his interest in European affairs began to show. During this period in the Congress he was a member of both the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees of the Congress, and became Spokesman for the PSOE
in the Foreign Affairs Committee. He also became International Policy Secretary of the Federal Committee of the Socialist Workers Party
and Vice-Chair of the Union of Socialist Parties of the European Community
, as well as being a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
from 1 January 1978 to 1 April 1983.
, a politically visible appointment because successful negotiations were seen as a seal of approval of Spain's transition from a dictatorship under Franco to a genuine parliamentary democracy. In this sense the clear victory of the PSOE in the 1982 elections demonstrated the political maturity of the country, and gave Marin the political cards needed to demonstrate the importance, both to Spain and to Europe more widely, of Spanish membership.
The negotiations were successful, and on 1 January Spain joined the European Community at the same time as Portugal
. Marin was nominated as Spain's first member of the European Commission
and major Commissioner (larger countries at that time nominated two European Commissioners, generally one from the governing party and one from the Opposition); he was appointed a Vice-President of the European Commission, which was the first Commission presided over by Jacques Delors
. Marin was given the portfolio of Social Affairs, Education and Employment – subjects which until his arrival (the mandate of the first Delors Commission
had begun the previous year in 1985) had been handled by Peter Sutherland
. Although Marin was responsible for a number of important initiatives (for example, he was the Commissioner responsible for the presentation of the proposal for the Erasmus Programme
, which still runs today and has acquired iconic status as a symbol of European integration), in many ways his initial priority was the successful integration of Spain into the life of the European Communities.
Marin was reappointed into the second Delors Commission
from 1989–1992, again as Vice-President but this time with a portfolio which interested him more: development cooperation and the Common Fisheries Policy
. Although these two may seem very disparate, the link between them lies in the fact that the fishing fleets of European Community Member States fished traditionally in the waters of many developing countries (in particular, the substantial Spanish fishing fleet did so) and in this period negotiations over compensation to those developing countries became inevitably linked to the European Community's wider development policy. During this mandate Marin interested himself in relations with Africa and travelled widely there.
Marin was appointed in due course to the third Delors Commission
(1993–1994) with responsibility for development and cooperation, economic external relations with southern Mediterranean countries, Latin America, Asia, African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and humanitarian aid.
Marin's final term in the European Commission was in the Santer Commission
from 1995 until 1999. Among the changes brought by the Maastricht Treaty
was the election of Commission Vice-Presidents by Commission members (they had formerly been nominated by European Community Governments jointly). Marin was one in a field of four candidates for two Vice-President posts, and was elected behind Leon Brittan, defeating Édith Cresson
and Martin Bangemann
. His initial portfolio in this mandate was External relations with Southern Mediterranean countries, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia (except Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) including development aid; in this period difficulties in implementing the EU's "mediterranean strategy" under his leadership began to lead to complaints of incompetence and of fraud.
In late 1998 charges of incompetence, cronyism, nepotism and fraud against the European Commission
increased. President Jacques Santer fought off an attempt to dismiss the Commission, but in January 1999 had to agree to the appointment of an Independent expert group to examine the Commission's accounts. Following the biting report of the group, which (among other things) criticised Marin for his lack of responsibility, the Santer Commission resigned en bloc on 15 March 1999.
Marin's role in the downfall of the Santer Commission is still not clear. He has been strongly attacked for cronyism and nepotism in the European Parliament
.
After the resignation of the Santer Commission, Marin took over as interim President of what became known, sometimes ironically, as the Marin Commission
. Marin was charged with the interim presidency of the Commission on a "care and maintenance" basis until a new Commission could be appointed. The Prodi Commission was eventually appointed in November of that year.
Marín returned to Spain. He was elected in Ciudad Real
for the PSOE in the general elections of 12 March 2000 and 14 March 2004. Following the latter he was elected as Speaker of the Spanish Congress of Deputies
. He is also a member of the Global Commission on International Migration.
Manuel Marín is married with two children.
Politics of Spain
The politics of Spain take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the Head of State and the President of the Government is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is vested in the government...
, former President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation in constituencies matching the Spanish provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...
. He was a long-time member of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, and President during the interim Marin Commission
Marín Commission
The Marín Commission is an interim European Commission that served in office from 16 March 1999 to 12 September 1999. It consisted of its president, Manuel Marín, and the other commissioners....
following the Resignation of the Santer Commission
Santer Commission
The Santer Commission was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer ....
, of which he was a member.
Early life and introduction to politics
Marin was born in Ciudad RealCiudad Real
Ciudad Real is a city in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, with a population of c. 74,000. It is the capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It has a stop on the AVE high-speed rail line and has begun to grow as a long-distance commuter suburb of Madrid, located 115 miles to the north. A high capacity...
, Castile-La Mancha. He studied law at Madrid's Complutense University
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
, then went on to take a Diploma in European Community Law at Nancy University
Nancy-Université
Nancy-Université federates the three principal institutes of higher education of Nancy, in Lorraine, France:* Henri Poincaré University : natural sciences, wrapping several faculties and engineering schools...
, France, and the Certificate of Advanced European Studies
Certificate of Advanced European Studies
The Certificate of Advanced European Studies is a postgraduate qualification, equivalent to a master's degree, that was awarded by the College of Europe, a postgraduate elite school in Bruges, Belgium, from its foundation in 1949 until the late 1980s, upon completion of its 1-year programme...
at the College of Europe
College of Europe
The College of Europe is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with the main campus in Bruges, Belgium...
, Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Belgium. As from 1974 he was already a member of 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...
(the PSOE) and in that connection he was elected in 1977 to the Spanish Congress of Deputies, and re-elected in 1979 and 1982. It is in this context that his interest in European affairs began to show. During this period in the Congress he was a member of both the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees of the Congress, and became Spokesman for the PSOE
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...
in the Foreign Affairs Committee. He also became International Policy Secretary of the Federal Committee of the 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...
and Vice-Chair of the Union of Socialist Parties of the European Community
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
, as well as being a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
from 1 January 1978 to 1 April 1983.
Marín and Europe
Following the Socialist success in the Spanish general elections of 1982 Marin joined the government as State Secretary for Relations with the European Communities – effectively, as Chief Negotiator for Spain's admission to the European CommunitiesEuropean Communities
The European Communities were three international organisations that were governed by the same set of institutions...
, a politically visible appointment because successful negotiations were seen as a seal of approval of Spain's transition from a dictatorship under Franco to a genuine parliamentary democracy. In this sense the clear victory of the PSOE in the 1982 elections demonstrated the political maturity of the country, and gave Marin the political cards needed to demonstrate the importance, both to Spain and to Europe more widely, of Spanish membership.
The negotiations were successful, and on 1 January Spain joined the European Community at the same time as Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Marin was nominated as Spain's first member of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and major Commissioner (larger countries at that time nominated two European Commissioners, generally one from the governing party and one from the Opposition); he was appointed a Vice-President of the European Commission, which was the first Commission presided over by Jacques Delors
Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...
. Marin was given the portfolio of Social Affairs, Education and Employment – subjects which until his arrival (the mandate of the first Delors Commission
Delors Commission
The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided...
had begun the previous year in 1985) had been handled by Peter Sutherland
Peter Sutherland
Peter Denis Sutherland, KCMG is an Irish international businessman and former Attorney General of Ireland, associated with the Fine Gael party . He is a barrister by profession, and is also Senior Counsel at the Irish Bar...
. Although Marin was responsible for a number of important initiatives (for example, he was the Commissioner responsible for the presentation of the proposal for the Erasmus Programme
Erasmus Programme
The Erasmus Programme , a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union student exchange programme established in 1987...
, which still runs today and has acquired iconic status as a symbol of European integration), in many ways his initial priority was the successful integration of Spain into the life of the European Communities.
Marin was reappointed into the second Delors Commission
Delors Commission
The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided...
from 1989–1992, again as Vice-President but this time with a portfolio which interested him more: development cooperation and the Common Fisheries Policy
Common Fisheries Policy
The Common Fisheries Policy is the fisheries policy of the European Union . It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch what amounts of each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions...
. Although these two may seem very disparate, the link between them lies in the fact that the fishing fleets of European Community Member States fished traditionally in the waters of many developing countries (in particular, the substantial Spanish fishing fleet did so) and in this period negotiations over compensation to those developing countries became inevitably linked to the European Community's wider development policy. During this mandate Marin interested himself in relations with Africa and travelled widely there.
Marin was appointed in due course to the third Delors Commission
Delors Commission
The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided...
(1993–1994) with responsibility for development and cooperation, economic external relations with southern Mediterranean countries, Latin America, Asia, African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and humanitarian aid.
Marin's final term in the European Commission was in the Santer Commission
Santer Commission
The Santer Commission was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer ....
from 1995 until 1999. Among the changes brought by the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
was the election of Commission Vice-Presidents by Commission members (they had formerly been nominated by European Community Governments jointly). Marin was one in a field of four candidates for two Vice-President posts, and was elected behind Leon Brittan, defeating Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson is a French politician. She was the first and so far only woman to have held the office of Prime Minister of France.- French Prime Minister :Cresson was appointed to the prime ministerial post by President François Mitterrand on 15 May 1991...
and Martin Bangemann
Martin Bangemann
Martin Bangemann is a German politician and a former leader of the FDP . He studied Law in Tübingen and Munich, earned a Dr. jur. in 1962, and qualified as an attorney in 1964...
. His initial portfolio in this mandate was External relations with Southern Mediterranean countries, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia (except Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) including development aid; in this period difficulties in implementing the EU's "mediterranean strategy" under his leadership began to lead to complaints of incompetence and of fraud.
In late 1998 charges of incompetence, cronyism, nepotism and fraud against the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
increased. President Jacques Santer fought off an attempt to dismiss the Commission, but in January 1999 had to agree to the appointment of an Independent expert group to examine the Commission's accounts. Following the biting report of the group, which (among other things) criticised Marin for his lack of responsibility, the Santer Commission resigned en bloc on 15 March 1999.
Marin's role in the downfall of the Santer Commission is still not clear. He has been strongly attacked for cronyism and nepotism in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
After the resignation of the Santer Commission, Marin took over as interim President of what became known, sometimes ironically, as the Marin Commission
Marín Commission
The Marín Commission is an interim European Commission that served in office from 16 March 1999 to 12 September 1999. It consisted of its president, Manuel Marín, and the other commissioners....
. Marin was charged with the interim presidency of the Commission on a "care and maintenance" basis until a new Commission could be appointed. The Prodi Commission was eventually appointed in November of that year.
Life after Europe
Following the appointment of the Prodi CommissionProdi Commission
The Prodi Commission was the European Commission in office between 1999 and 2004. The administration was led by former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.-History:...
Marín returned to Spain. He was elected in Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Ciudad Real 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 is one of the five electoral districts that correspond to the provinces of Castilla La Mancha. With nearly 55,000 voters out of the...
for the PSOE in the general elections of 12 March 2000 and 14 March 2004. Following the latter he was elected as Speaker of the Spanish Congress of Deputies
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation in constituencies matching the Spanish provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...
. He is also a member of the Global Commission on International Migration.
Manuel Marín is married with two children.