Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Rubalcaba in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 21 December 2011 – 26 July 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarchs | Juan Carlos I Felipe VI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Mariano Rajoy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mariano Rajoy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Pedro Sánchez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 February 2012 – 26 July 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | José Antonio Griñán | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Elena Valenciano | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Pedro Sánchez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1951-07-28)28 July 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 10 May 2019(2019-05-10) (aged 67) Majadahonda,Community of Madrid, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cause of death | Stroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | PSOE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Complutense University of Madrid Lic., PhD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (Spanish pronunciation:[alˈfɾeðoˈpeɾeθruβalˈkaβa]; 28 July 1951 – 10 May 2019) was a Spanish statesman, politician andchemist who served asDeputy Prime Minister of Spain from 2010 to 2011, and previously asMinister of Education from 1992 to 1993, asMinister of the Presidency from 1993 to 1996, asMinister of the Interior from 2006 to 2011 and as actingMinister of Defence between May and June 2008.[1]
He also served asLeader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2014 and as Secretary-General of theSpanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 2012 to 2014. He obtained a PhD in Organic Chemistry at theComplutense University of Madrid.
He was born in the village of Solares, in theMedio Cudeyo municipality,Santander province. He moved aged 3 toSalamanca, Madrid, with his family and studied at theColegio del Pilar.[2] His father was anIberia pilot, and his grandfather was aRepublican captain.[3] He joined thePSOE in 1974, and, being a keen athlete at school, ran the 100 metres in 10.9 seconds at the national championships.[4][5] He married chemist Pilar Goya, a childhood friend with whom he reconnected at university.[6] He achieved a chemistry doctorate at theComplutense University of Madrid, and in his previous academic career, he became a senior lecturer inorganic chemistry in 1984.[7] He also worked at theUniversity of Konstanz and theUniversity of Montpellier, where his main contributions to the scientific field were his studies onreaction mechanisms.[8]
Rubalcaba's early involvement in politics began in the wake of the murder of fellow Colegio del Pilar alumniEnrique Ruano [es] by the Francoist secret police.[9]
He spoke fluent Spanish, English and French, and had a working knowledge of German from his time lecturing at Konstanz.[10]
He representedToledo in Congress from 1993 to 1996,Madrid from 1996 until 2004,Cantabria from 2004 to 2008 and, despite not beingAndalusian, was put forward for thesafe parliamentary seat ofCádiz in the 2008 election, which he won.[11][12][13]
WithFelipe González's election win in1982, Rubalcaba took on various posts in theEducation Ministry, including Director of the Technical Cabinet for the Secretary of State for Universities and Investigation.[14]
Rubalcaba was appointedSecretary of State for Education in 1986 and in 1992 he was promoted toMinister of Education and Science[15] byPrime MinisterFelipe González. After the1993 general election he was appointedMinister of the Presidency and Relations with the Cortes andSpokesperson of the Government[16] until 1996 when his party lost thegeneral election. He was re-elected as the representative forMadrid. As a Minister he had to face the accusations that involved the government of Felipe González with theGAL paramilitary group, as well as to use his negotiation skills to get both parties around the table when neither party co-operated.[17][18]
In 1997, Rubalcaba was appointed as a member of thePSOE executive, and his inclusion was seen as a sign of his role to play in the next era outside of government. His bipartisanship made him one of the main Congress figures keeping in touch withETA following a truce agreed in 1999. WhenJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was elected leader in 2000, Rubalcaba joined the party's federal committee, playing a key role in the party's road map back to government. He brought the PSOE andPP together in December 2000 to agree to work with each other to fight against ETA.
For the2004 Spanish general election, Rubalcaba was responsible for the electoral strategy of thePSOE. Some political analysts attribute him a decisive role in the socialist victory.[19]
After the investiture of theCortes Generales, Pérez Rubalcaba was appointed Leader of the Socialist Group in theCongress of Deputies. On 11 April 2006 he replacedJosé Antonio Alonso as head of theMinistry of the Interior. It was in this ministry where he gained popularity within his party, thanks, among other measures, to the change of direction in the fight against terrorism that led to the end of the violence ofETA. However, several media and political parties accused Rubalcaba of being involved in theFaisán case, about an extortion network of ETA, a fact that has not been verified.[20]
After the socialist victory in thegeneral elections of 2008, Pérez Rubalcaba kept his ministerial portfolio, remaining Interior Minister during the IX Legislature.[21] Between 20 May and 30 June 2008 he assumed the duties ofMinister of Defence temporarily whenCarme Chacón was on maternity leave, combining these functions with his work as Interior Minister.[22][23]
On 21 October 2010 he replacedMaría Teresa Fernández de la Vega asDeputy Prime Minister and Spokesperson of the Government, combining this with his responsibilities as head of the Interior portfolio.[24][25]
On 10 January 2011, ETA declared that their September 2010 ceasefire would be permanent and verifiable by international observers.[26] On 20 October 2011, the Basque terrorist group, after 43 years of activity and more than 800 deaths in Spain, announced its definitive cessation of violence.[27]
As minister he also had to face the high accident rate on Spanish roads. His attempts to solve it were the most successful in history in reducing the number of fatalities, and became a benchmark at European level.[28]
As it became increasingly likely that Zapatero was not going to seek re-election, Rubalcaba became the favourite to succeed him, withCarme Chacón as his only rival in the primaries. Nevertheless, in May 2011, Chacón announced that she was withdrawing from the race, and in June Rubalcaba was chosen unopposed as the PSOE's candidate for Prime Minister at the2011 general election.[29] On 8 July 2011, he resigned from his duties in the government in order to focus on the election campaign. The PSOE lost the 2011 elections in a landslide, getting the worst results in PSOE's history.[30] Later studies, however, suggested that Zapatero's second government and its handling of theGreat Recession turned off potential voters more than Rubalcaba as a potential Prime Minister.[31]
He applied to succeed José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as PSOE's General Secretary and won the vote, held on 6 February 2012.[32] He received 487 votes against 465 for Carme Chacón.[33][34]
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Due to the bad results of the party in the2014 European Parliament election, Rubalcaba resigned on 26 May 2014.[35] He delayed his resignation for a few months to ensure his party voted 'yes' toJuan Carlos I's abdication.[36] After a leadership election, Rubalcaba was succeeded by the newly elected Secretary GeneralPedro Sánchez on 13 July 2014.
In September 2016 it was announced that Pérez Rubalcaba would return to his position as Chemistry professor at theComplutense University of Madrid.[37] He also joined the editorial board ofEl País, of which he was part until July 2018.[38]
Rubalcaba's successor Pedro Sánchez offered him the chance to run as PSOE candidate for the Mayor of Madrid in the2019 Madrid City Council election, but he declined.[39]
Rubalcaba was admitted to the Puerta de Hierro Hospital, inMajadahonda, on 8 May 2019 when he had suffered a severe stroke after teaching in the university.[40][41] He died two days later, aged 67. The PSOE cancelled all the acts of the first day of the campaign for local elections.[42][43][44] He had a funeral with state honours at the Congress of Deputies.[45][46]
On 3 November 2020, Interior MinisterFernando Grande-Marlaska announced that he would posthumously award Rubalcaba with the police force's highest honours, to commemorate his work against organised crime and terrorism, in particular against ETA during Zapatero's government.[47]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Education 1986–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Education and Science 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of the Presidency 1993–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 2006–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition 2011–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theSocialist Parliamentary Group in theCongress of Deputies 2004–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party 2012–2014 | Succeeded by |
