Everything about Adolfo Su Rez totally explained
Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez, Grandee of Spain (
Spanish:
Don Adolfo Suárez González, I Duque de Suárez, Grande de España) (born
September 25,
1932) was Spain's first democratically elected
prime minister after the
dictatorship of
Francisco Franco, and a key figure in the country's transition to democracy.
Life
Suárez studied Law at the
Salamanca University in
Salamanca and held several government posts during the late Francoist regime.
He became the Minister Secretary General of the
National Movement (
Movimiento Nacional), that acted as the single party, for 18 years and following the death of Franco in late
1975. For this reason, centrist and leftist supporters opposed his appointment as President of the Government by King
Juan Carlos in July 1976. Suárez, as a
nationalist, was chosen by the monarch to lead the country towards a democratic, parliamentary
monarchy without annoying the powerful conservative factions (especially the military) in the country. Surprising many observers and political opponents, Suárez introduced Political Reform in 1976 as a first, decisive step in the
Transition (
La Transición) to democracy.
In
1977, he led the
Democratic Center Union (
Unión de Centro Democrático, UCD) to victory in Spain's first free elections in 41 years, and became the first democratically elected prime minister after the
Franco regime.
His
centrist government instituted democratic reforms, and his coalition won again the 1979 elections under the new constitution. Less successful as a day-to-day organizer than as a crisis manager, he resigned as premier in 1981. In 1982 he founded
Democratic and Social Center (Centro Democrático y Social, CDS) party, which never achieved the success of UCD. He retired from active politics in 1991, for political party and family reasons.
Suárez won the "
Príncipe de Asturias a la Concordia" award in
September 1996, in recognition of his important personal contribution to Spanish democracy. The King of Spain made him
Duke of Suárez in
1981. On
June 8,
2007, he was named Knight of the
Order of the Golden Fleece.
Family
Both his wife, Amparo Illana Elórtegui, and elder daughter, Marian Suárez Illana, suffered and died from
cancer (in
2001 and
2004, respectively). Another daughter, Sonsoles Suárez Illana, became a TV
news anchor for
Antena 3. Son Adolfo Suárez Illana was chosen by
José María Aznar as the
People's Party (PP) candidate for the post of president of the
Autonomous Community of
Castilla-La Mancha, but lost against incumbent
José Bono Martínez, of the
Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE). Suárez has two more siblings, Laura and Javier.
Illness
On
May 31,
2005, his son, Adolfo Suárez Illana, announced on Spanish television that his father was suffering from
Alzheimer's disease (or a similar illness), which meant that he could no longer remember his period as
prime minister of Spain. The announcement followed speculation about Suárez's health in the Spanish media.
Footnotes
Further Information
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