González was born inBellavista, Seville, the son of a small dairy farmer. He has a sister called Lola González Márquez, married to Francisco Germán Palomino Romera, by whom she has two sons, Felipe and Germán Palomino González.[1] He studied law at theUniversity of Seville and started his career as an attorney specialising in labour law. While at the university he met members of the clandestine socialist trade unionUnión General de Trabajadores (UGT). He also contacted members of the PSOE and started taking part in the party's clandestine activity, necessary under the dictatorship of Franco. During that time he adopted the aliasIsidoro[2] and moved to Madrid. He was elected Secretary General of the Party at theSuresnes Congress, in France.
By the time of Franco's death, González had become the most prominent figure among the left wing of the democratic opposition to the regime, and played a critical role, along with then serving Prime MinisterAdolfo Suárez, in theSpanish transition to democracy. During the Suárez government, General and Deputy Prime MinisterManuel Gutiérrez Mellado asked González not to raise the debate of the Civil War and Francoist repression until the death of those of his generation.[3][4]
In the first democratic general election after Franco's death, held in 1977, the PSOE became the second most-voted for party, and this served González to appear as a young, active and promising leader. However, he did not win the 1979 election and had to wait for 1982 and the dissolution of theUnion of the Democratic Centre party to come into office.
In the1982 general election held on 28 October 1982, the PSOE gained 48.3% of the vote and 202 deputies (out of 350). On 2 December González becamePresident of the Government of Spain, withAlfonso Guerra as his deputy. He was the first socialist to hold the post since theSpanish Civil War, and his government was the first since then in which none of its members had served under Francoism.[5]
With a large majority in the Congress of Deputies, popularly known as "the roller" (Spanish:el rodillo),[6] González's election was met with tremendous expectation of change amongst Spaniards. Under his government, a wide range of social reforms were introduced.[7][8] Various labor measures were passed,[9] university education was reformed and expanded, thesocial security system was extended[10][11] and a partial legalisation of abortion became law for the first time, despite opposition from theCatholic Church. González pushed for reforms and a restructuring of the economy.
Also, from 1982 to 1994, Spanish social expenditure as a percentage of the European level rose from 63.7% to 87.6%.[12]
On 23 February 1983, the Government passed a lawnationalising the companyRumasa, a private business that includedmerchant banking interests, on the grounds that it was at the point of bankruptcy and the government needed to protect the savings of depositors and the jobs of its 60,000 employees, a decision that aroused considerable criticism and a judicial conflict over the law that was only resolved, in favour of the government, in December 1986.
In the1986 general election held on 22 June 1986, the PSOE gained 44.1% of the vote and 184 deputies in Parliament. González was elected prime minister for the second time. During this second term, Spain joined theEuropean Economic Community (EEC) in 1986. González supported Spain remaining inNATO that same year in areferendum reversing his and the party's earlier anti-NATO position.
On 29 October 1989, he won the1989 general election with 39.6% of the vote and 175 seats,[13] his third successive mandate. However, he lost the outright majority he had held since 1982.
On 6 June 1993, González won the1993 general election with 38.8% of the vote and 159 deputies. His fourth victory was marred by the fact he was forced to form a pact with nationalist political parties fromCatalonia andBasque country in order to form a new government.
Towards the end of 1995, there was a debate about whether González should lead the PSOE in the forthcoming general elections. The People's Party intensified its campaign to associate his period in office with a poor economic situation (although unemployment had begun to decline and the economic reforms of the previous decade initiated a lasting period of economic growth)[14] and with accusations ofcorruption andstate terrorism scandals, including allegations of waging a dirty war against the terrorist groupETA by means of theGAL. There was speculation in the press aboutJavier Solana as a possible replacement, but Solana was appointed Secretary General of NATO in December 1995.
In June 2020, theCIA declassified information confirming that Felipe González had authorised the creation of the GAL.[15]
Left with no other suitable candidate, the party was again led by González and in the1996 general election held on 3 March 1996, they gained 37.4% of the vote and 141 deputies. They lost the election to thePeople's Party whose leaderJosé María Aznar replaced González as prime minister (presidente in Spanish, not to be confused with the English use of the term) on 4 or 5 May 1996.
The Gonzalez government left behind a deep impact on the Spanish real economy, such as the expansion of the networks of highways and airports and the creation of new infrastructures, includinghigh-speed rail in Spain. Gonzalez-led cabinets were the first to implement a national, comprehensive infrastructure program that included not only public works but also theatres, museums, and secondary schools. In addition, a comprehensive welfare state was established,[16] while improvements were made to social programmes such as pensions and unemployment benefits. A 40-hour workweek was introduced, while entitlement to paid holidays was extended to up to 30 days per year. Pension funds were also established, together with provisions for social tourism. In addition, the school-leaving age was raised from 14 to 16, while the number of educational grants was multiplied by eight.[17]
Unemployment protection was expanded[18] and a national education system for children under the age of six was established. Cash benefits in social housing,universal healthcare and education were introduced, along with earnings-based benefits for widowhood, sickness, disability and retirement. A Ministry of Social Affairs was also set up, allowing for social services to be decentralised in the early Nineties and to be available to all citizens, rather than only to those with social security.
The pension system was extended to needy people, universal public schooling was expanded for all children under the age of 16, and new universities were established. Healthcare was reformed, with Gonzalez creating theNational Health Service and accelerating the development of primary care medicine based on health centres, where integral primary care for adults, pregnant women and paediatric patients was provided. Gonzalez presided over an increase in youth and women's participation in government.[citation needed] State-runTelevisión Española reached a high level of quality under the direction of Pilar Miró. Private television channels were also permitted in 1990, ending the state monopoly.[citation needed]
Felipe González meets withShimon Peres in 1986, establishing diplomatic relations betweenSpain andIsrael, a historic step that would lead to theMadrid Conference of 1991 peace talks between Israel and Palestine
Felipe González also secured Spain's entry into the EEC, which the country joined in 1986, and consolidated democratic government.[further explanation needed][19] Together withFrançois Mitterrand andHelmut Kohl, he revitalized efforts to push forEuropean integration and extension of state power. He was a supporter of Kohl's drive for a united Germany, counteracting British and French hostility.[citation needed]
González also started diplomaticrelations with Israel, which had never been established by Franco because ofantisemitism. Franco's successorAdolfo Suárez also refused to recognize Israel, while González' predecessorLeopoldo Calvo-Sotelo would also fail to establish relations with Israel.[20] Gonzalez's time as Prime Minister of Spain also marked a significant reversal in Spain's relations with Israel, with González even becoming the first Spanish head of state to visit Israel in December 1991.[21] He had also previously visited Israel in the 1970s under an assumed name.[22] Spain and Israel would establish diplomatic relations on 17 January 1986.[22] Due to his prestige,[citation needed] Spain also hosted theMadrid Conference of 1991 peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis; these were chaired by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush of the United States and Soviet PresidentMikhail Gorbachev. The bilateral Israeli–Palestinian negotiations eventually led to the exchange of letters and the subsequent signing of theOslo I Accord, on the lawn of the White House on 13 September 1993. The negotiations that emanated from the Madrid conference, led to theIsrael–Jordan peace treaty in 1994. The Israeli–Syrian negotiations included a series of follow-on meetings, which according to some reports, came quite close, but failed to result in a peace treaty.[citation needed]
In the fight against terrorism, an intense police campaign secured several victories that left the terrorist organisation ETA severely debilitated. In his earlier years ETA killings totalled dozens per year (the1987 Hipercor bombing attack in Barcelona alone killed more than 10 people), while in his latter years ETA killed far fewer. During his time as Prime Minister a group called GAL was active as a gangster-style force targetingetarras (ETA members). Several innocent people were killed and the subsequent investigations ended with some police officers and the Minister of Internal Affairs, José Barrionuevo, condemned to jail. The Constitutional Court later ratified the sentence. Among successful operations were the capture of the ETA central arsenal and archives in Sokoa (France) and the capture of the organisation's ruling body in 1992.[citation needed]
However, in the final years of his mandate several cases of corruption, the most notable of which were the scandals involving Civil Guard DirectorLuis Roldán, further eroded popular support for the PSOE. Nonetheless, González and most of his ministers generally managed to leave office with their reputations intact, although they had performed poor oversight of some lower ranking public servants, according toMaría Antonia Iglesias (La memoria recuperada. Lo que nunca han contado Felipe González y los dirigentes socialistas, 2003); Iglesias is very close, though, to the PSOE official line, as she served as head of the public TV broadcaster Televisión Española after appointment to the post by one of Gonzalez's cabinets.[citation needed]
González ended his fourth term on 5 May 1996. Since September 1996, he has headed the Madrid-based Global Progress Foundation (FPG). At the beginning of the 34th PSOE National Congress on 20 June 1997 he surprisingly resigned as leader of the party. He also resigned from the federal executive committee, though retaining his seat in the Congress. With no clear successor, he continued to exert enormous influence over the party. He was only replaced at the 35th party Congress in July 2000 whenJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero became the leader.
In 1999 González was put in charge of the party's Global Progress Commission in response toglobalisation. The commission's report formed the basis of the closing declaration of the 21st Socialist International Congress on 8–9 November 1999. In the2004 general elections, González stood down as a deputy in the Spanish Parliament.
On 27 July 2007, the Spanish government appointed him a plenipotentiary and extraordinary ambassador for the bicentenary celebrations in commemoration of the independence of Latin America. The celebrations will begin in September 2010 in Mexico.[24]
Felipe González (2014)
At a summit held in Brussels on 14 December 2007, heads of state and government of European Union member states appointed González chairman of athink tank on the future of Europe. The group, consisting of up to nine prestigious personalities commissioned to draw up a report, by June 2010, on the challenges facing the European Union from 2020 to 2030, will also look at how to achieve a closer understanding between citizens and the Union.[25]
In December 2014, Colombian PresidentJuan Manuel Santos granted González Colombian nationality.[26]
From 2010 to 2015, González was appointed independent director inGas Natural-Fenosa, one of the leading energy companies in Spain, being one of the best-known high-profile cases ofrevolving doors in Spanish politics.[27]
Since 2015 he has taken an active role in criticising the emerging partyPodemos, which he considers a populist threat, and has actively lobbied the PSOE against approaching Podemos for any possible government coalition.[28] González supported PSOE candidatePedro Sánchez in the2015 and2016 general elections, but in the aftermath Sánchez announced talks with Podemos and Catalan separatist parties. González then supportedSusana Diaz faction in a bitterinternal struggle which ended with PSOE facilitating the investiture of the conservative government and the dismissal of Pedro Sánchez.[29]
In 2015 González travelled to Venezuela to supportLeopoldo López and other imprisoned opposition leaders.[30] His involvement came at the same time mainstream media and political parties were accusing emerging Podemos of having links with the Venezuelan government.[31]
González is a member of theClub of Madrid,[32] an independent non-profit organisation composed of 81 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 57 different countries.
In 2015, González was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award for Public Service in the Americas Award by theInter-American Dialogue for his tireless, effective, and ongoing public service and commitment to democracy in Latin America.[33]
González marriedMaría del Carmen Julia Romero y López inSeville on 16 July 1969 and has three children: Pablo González Romero, David González Romero and María González Romero (lawyer). He divorced Carmen Romero in 2008. In 2012 he married Mar García Vaquero.[35]
One of his hobbies is tendingbonsai trees. During his tenure atMoncloa, he received and cultivated several of them, mostly Mediterranean species, that he later donated to theRoyal Botanic Garden of Madrid.
His wife Mar García Vaquero is named in thePanama Papers scandal in 2016.[36]
^Jáuregui, Fernando; Vega, Pedro (10 October 1982)."El día en que 'Isidoro' se hizo con el PSOE".El País (in Spanish). Retrieved23 June 2024.Pero Carmen, entre socarrona y queriendo llevarle la corriente al viejo dirigente, reacciona de inmediato y, por un extraño reflejo, se acuerda de un pariente lejano. "También le suelen llamar Isidoro". "Está bien; para nosotros serás Isidoro en lo sucesivo", zanja Llopis.
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