Pedro González Zerolo is a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 lawyer and politician, currently a town councilman of the city of Madrid

Madrid

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...

, and a member of the Federal Executive Committee of 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...

 where he holds the position of Secretary for Social Movements and Relations with NGOs. He is a trustee of the Fundacion IDEAS, Spain's Socialist Party's think tank.

Zerolo was born in Caracas

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, where his father lived in exile from the Francoist

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...

 government. He studied law at the University of La Laguna

University of La Laguna

The University of San Fernando de La Laguna, also known as the ULL is situated in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife. It is the oldest university in the Canary Islands, and has the highest student population of any university in these islands. It is also considered the most...

 on Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

. After gaining his diploma, he moved to Madrid, where he continued his studies, focusing on comparative law

Comparative law

Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law of different countries. More specifically, it involves study of the different legal systems in existence in the world, including the common law, the civil law, socialist law, Islamic law, Hindu law, and Chinese law...

. At the same time, he collaborated with Catholic priest Enrique de Castro in a project to help the people of the poor Madrid barrio of Entrevías

Entrevías

Entrevías is a neighborhood in the district of Puente de Vallecas in the southeastern portion of Madrid, Spain.According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the population of Entrevías in 2006 was 37,790....

.

In 1992 he became a legal consultant for the Colectivo Gay de Madrid (Gay Collective of Madrid, COGAM). In late 1993, he was elected president of the organization.

He subsequently provided legal assistance to the Federación Estatal de Gays y Lesbianas (National Federation of Gays and Lesbians). In 1998 he became president of that organization, which is now known as the Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales

Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales

The Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales is the main LGBT organisation in Spain. FELGTB is characterised by demanding LGBT rights, at times through controversial campaigns...

(National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals, FELGTB). He was reelected in 2000 and 2002. In 2004 he joined the board of directors of the International Lesbian and Gay Association

International Lesbian and Gay Association

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is an international organization bringing together more than 750 LGBTI groups from around the world. It continues to be active in campaigning for LGBT rights on the international human rights and civil rights scene and...

.

At the invitation of the United Left

United Left (Spain)

The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...

 and the PSOE, Zerolo addressed the Spanish Congress of Deputies during the debate over civil partnerships. He also appeared in the Spanish Senate

Spanish Senate

The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election...

 to denounce discrimination against the gay community in Spain.

In 2001 and 2003 he participated in negotiations between opposition and the government deputies over five modifications to the Spanish Civil Code relating to same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage in Spain

Same-sex marriage in Spain has been legal since July 3, 2005. In 2004, the nation's newly elected social democratic government, led by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization, including the right of adoption by same-sex couples...

.

In the May 25th 2003 municipal elections Zerolo was asked to join the socialist list to the Madrid City Council, being elected as a councillor a later reelected in the 2007 elections. In the 36th Congress held in June 2004 of PSOE Zerolo was elected to the Federal Executive Committee of the party.

On October 1, 2005, Zerolo married Jesús Santos, his partner of ten years, in a civil ceremony.