Suarez, Adolfo

Born in Cebreros . His father, Ippolito Suárez Gerra, was a low-ranking civil servant, and his mother, Herminia González Prados, belonged to a family that enjoyed great political influence in Cebreros. He received a law degree, became a Licentiate in Law at the University of Salamanca and a Doctor of Law (with distinction) from the Complutense University of Madrid . He engaged in advocacy and became a member of the Spanish Institute of Procedural Law and a corresponding member of the Institute of Political Sciences ^[2] .

He began a political career under the leadership of Fernando Herrera Tejedor, functionary of the regime of Francisco Franco , associated with the religious organization Opus Dei, and at one time held the post of civilian governor of Avila - the native province of Suarez. In 1958, Suárez joined the National Movement Party (Phalanx), the only legally operating under the Franco regime . From 1961, he served as head of the technical cabinet of the deputy general secretary of the National Movement, from 1964 to 1968 worked on Spanish radio broadcasting and television, from 1967 - Procurator of the Cortes (member of parliament) from Avila, from 1968 to 1969 - civil governor of Segovia , with 1969 to 1973 - Director General of the Spanish Broadcasting and Television, then was President of the National Tourism Company.

In March 1975 he took the post of Deputy Secretary General of the National Movement. From December 1975, the Minister - Secretary General of the National Movement in the first government, formed after the death of Francisco Franco, ^[3] replaced his deceased political mentor Fernando Herrera Tejedora. Received this appointment on the recommendation of Torcuato Fernandez-Miranda , who was at that time chairman of the Royal Council and chairman of the Cortes, one of the closest associates of King Juan Carlos I who took the throne.

Fernandez-Miranda, a staunch supporter of the dismantling of the Franco regime, recommended his protégé, a little-known in the country of Suarez, to the post of Prime Minister. In June 1976, he drew public attention by quoting a poem by Antonio Machado , a Republican supporter during the Civil War, who died in exile in France in his speech in the Cortes.

On July 3, 1976, he was appointed premier by decree of King Juan Carlos I (instead of the staunch francist Carlos Arias Navarro ). Later, the king he explained the appointment of Suarez:

As head of government, Suárez implemented a large-scale project for Spain’s transition from an authoritarian state to a political democracy. Already in July 1976, a partial amnesty was declared convicted of political crimes, which was expanded in March 1977 . In 1976, a law on political reform was adopted, approved the same year in a referendum. The multi-party system was restored in the country, and on April 1, 1977, the National Movement was abolished. On April 9 of the same year, the government of Suarez legalized the Communist Party , which had already taken on the position of Euro - communism - this was one of the most difficult steps of his cabinet, which even some reformists opposed (for example, Fernandez-Miranda, who even resigned as chairman of the Royal Council). Then the “vertical” Francoist trade unions controlled by the authorities were liquidated and the activities of independent trade unions were allowed. In its activities, Suárez relied on the support of the First Deputy Prime Minister, General Manuel Gutierrez Mellado , who ensured loyalty to the ongoing reforms by the armed forces.

On June 15, 1977, the first multiparty parliamentary elections were held after 1936, which were won by the Union of Democratic Center coalition created in the same year, which, along with former Francoists, included representatives of center-left and centrist political forces. In August, the coalition was transformed into a party and Suarez became its first chairman. Suarez himself was elected to parliament as a deputy from Madrid (he remained a deputy until 1991). Partial autonomy was granted to Catalonia ( September 29, 1977) and the Basque Country ( December 31, 1977), which was evidence of a break with the Francoist policy of strict unitarism . In October 1977, the country's main political forces signed the so-called “ Moncloa Pact ” ( es: Pactos de la Moncloa , after the name of the seat of government in Madrid), which provided for a set of policy and economic measures to complete the country's transition to democracy. In particular, the Covenant provided for parliamentary control over the media, the reorganization of law enforcement forces, the liberalization of legislation on meetings and assemblies, the democratization of the social welfare system and the education sector, tax reform, etc. The Moncloa Pact became a classic example of national consensus for the implementation of common tasks in a “transitional” society.

In 1977, Spain established diplomatic relations with the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp . In foreign policy, the policy of rapprochement with the EEC and NATO prevailed, which would make it possible to improve matters towards the economy and stabilize the internal political situation.

On October 31, 1978, the parliament adopted the broad rights and freedoms that guaranteed the country's population the democratic constitution of the country, which was approved by referendum on December 6, 1978. On March 1, 1979, on the basis of the new Constitution, elections were held to the Cortes, which was again defeated by the SDC, after which Suarez again headed the government. However, on January 29, 1981, he resigned from the post of head of government. Strengthening the position of left-wing political forces, primarily the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), was accompanied by the “amendment” of the SADC, for the majority of whose leaders Suarez was not a sufficiently conservative politician. In addition, many socio-political problems of the country have sharply worsened.

The socio-economic situation of the country remained extremely difficult. Inflation reached 16%, unemployment 20%. Criminality and political terrorism grew (primarily from the Basque separatists ). Premier Suarez was made a complaint ^[5] in the sense that political democratization is carried out at the expense of the economy and social stability.

The well-known Spanish journalist José Luis de Vilalonga described the situation in which Suárez found himself by the end of his premiership:

After Suarez resigned during the approval of the new head of government in the country, an unsuccessful military coup attempt took place . On February 23, 1981, at six twenty minutes past evening, a group of gendarmes led by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tehero burst into the meeting room of the Cortes, when the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, Landelino Lavilla, voted on the candidacy of the new Prime Minister. Tehero, climbed the steps of the podium and, being on a par with the chairman, shouted: “Everyone - be silent! On the floor! Everything is on the floor! ” ^[6] . Suarez, like other deputies who were taken hostage by the rebels, behaved bravely, refusing to lie on the floor at their request. Trying to take control of the situation, Tehero declares that he obeys the orders of the king. Juan Carlos I learns about what is happening on the radio and contacts General Alfonso Armada , Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces, to learn more. They wanted to restore francism ^[7] . According to the plan of the conspirators, the Armada was to become the new president. He went to the palace of Zarzuela , under the pretext of establishing a monarchy in the country, to incline the king to his side and to issue the necessary orders of the army on his behalf. In this case, the success of the coup was guaranteed, since the king since the time of Franco was the permanent commander. In this situation, Juan Carlos I summoned a television crew to the palace and in the uniform of the captain-general delivered a speech to the people, in which he condemned the coup d'état. On February 24, the parliament building leaves the army, and then, left without support, Antonio Tehero himself surrenders. The coup attempt is foiled.

The USSR Ambassador to Spain, Yuri Dubinin, in his memoirs gave this portrait of Suarez:

In 1981, King Juan Carlos I awarded the title of duke and grandee of Spain to Suarez for his services in ensuring the transition of Spain to democracy. In 1982, he left the ranks of the SADC and founded the Democratic and Social Center , which was located in the center-left part of the political spectrum and was close to the Socialists in its program. However, under the conditions of polarization of the sympathies of the Spanish voters between the PSOE and the conservative Popular Party, he could not achieve great success, although he was elected to the Cortes from his party in 1982 , 1986 and 1989 . In 1991, he left politics.

Suárez was elected President of the International Council of the Institute for European-Latin American Relations ( IRELA ), Vice-President and President of the Liberal International (1989-1992).

Suárez received a number of high differences for his contribution to the development of Spanish democracy. In 1996 he was awarded the prize of the Prince of Asturias , which is called the "Spanish Nobel Prize" ^[8] . He became a doctor of honoris causa of the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of La Coruna , the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the Polytechnic University of Valencia , the National University of Asuncion ( Paraguay ). In June 2007 , the 30th anniversary of the first post-Franco democratic elections, Suárez was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece .

In 2007, the TV channel Antena 3 conducted a survey within the framework of the project “The Most Famous Spaniard”, which resulted in Suarez taking the fifth place among prominent persons in the entire history of the country, and the first place among the elected rulers of Spain ^[3] .

Suarez was married to Amparo Iliana. The family had five children - the sons of Adolfo Suárez Iljan (leader of the People’s Party) and Francisco Javier and daughters Maria Amparo, Sonsols and Laura. The family life of Suarez was tragic: his wife and eldest daughter Maria were diagnosed with cancer, and they died, respectively, in 2001 and 2004 . Suarez’s departure from politics was largely associated with the desire to devote himself to caring for his sick wife. His other daughter, Sonsols, also suffered cancer. These dramatic events strongly undermined the health of Suarez. On May 31, 2005, Adolfo Suarez’s son, in an interview with Spanish television, reported that his father had already suffered from Alzheimer's disease for two years. According to Suarez Jr., his father "does not remember that he was the chairman of the government, does not recognize anyone, and only reacts to the manifestations of affectionate attitude towards himself." ^[9]

On March 21, 2014, it was announced that Adolfo Suárez was dying in the hospital of Madrid ^[10] . His son, Adolfo Suárez Iljan, said that, despite improvements in the course of the treatment of pneumonia, his father’s neurological illness was progressing, saying that “the end was inevitable.” According to him, death can occur in the next 48 hours, and the family hopes that the patient “will not suffer and will leave in peace. The last two days were very happy, the father was surrounded by members of his family and smiled at us more than in the past five years. When I came here, he still smiled at me. Without his help, Spain would never have flown so high and far. ” He also thanked the media for the way they behaved in a situation with his father’s illness, and asked them to make a “last effort”, saying that he was “at the limit” and if he could not report his father’s death, the doctors would do it . He said that the unctional rite had already been held, and recalled that the family had been preparing for this day for 11 years: “it is never easy. Now everything is in God's hands. ” The state of health of Suarez was reported to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and King Juan Carlos . In the last hours, Adolfo Suárez received relatives and close friends ^[11] .

Adolfo Suárez died on March 23, 2014 at the ^{age of} 82 ^{[12] [13] [14]} at the CEMTRO Clinic in Madrid ^[3] . At 15 hours 14 minutes, the spokesman for the family Suarez Fermina Urbiola said: “at the request of the family, I report the death of Adolfo Suarez. Thank you for your care and support. ” The head of the clinic, Dr. Pedro Guillen, said that “life is a sequence of events. We have done everything possible to ensure that Don Adolfo and his family did not feel any lack. In turn, Dr. Isabel de la Azuela explained that no additional measures were taken and Suarez was treated according to the standard scheme: “he was calm and surrounded by family members” ^[15] . Prominent political and public figures of Spain and the whole world responded to Suarez’s death. The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso , expressing condolences on Twitter, called Suarez a "key figure in the history of Spain" and "inspirer" of modern European politicians ^[16] . Juan Carlos I said that: “he was always and in everything faithful to the crown in the full sense of the word: he defended democracy, the rule of law, the unity and diversity of Spain”. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rahoi appealed to the Spanish people: “The time has come to express all the depth of our gratitude and respect to this man who reconciled all, who made the development of democracy in Spain possible and opened the door to Europe for her.” Tennis player Rafael Nadal paid the debt to memory, writing on his twitter: “Thanks to Adolfo Suarez for all the work done for the good of all Spaniards. My condolences to the members of his family ” ^[17] .

In Spain, a three-day mourning was declared. The coffin with the body of Suarez for a public farewell was installed in the hall of the Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Cortes Generales of Spain . More than 12 thousand people came to say farewell to Suarez despite the rain. The farewell ceremony was stopped at 2:18 at the request of the members of the Suarez family after the last person had said goodbye to the ex-prime minister. The ceremony was attended by former prime ministers José Luis Zapatero , José Maria Aznar and Felipe González Marquez , the royal family ^[18] , press secretary of the People’s Party Alfonso Alonso, press secretary of the socialist group in Congress Soraya Rodriguez, deputy from the People’s Party Beatrice Rodrigues Salmones, bullfighter Juan José Padilla, relatives and family friends, the son of Adolfo Suárez Ilyana and his wife and some of their grandchildren. Suarez's family was accompanied by Congress President Jesús Posada, who said: “It seems to me very correct that many citizens came to thank him, because we owe him everything that Spain has been for the last forty years.”

On March 25, the ceremony opened at 8:00 and closed at 10:00, and an hour later, a farewell ceremony with state honors was held at Cibeles Square ^[19] . After the mourning ceremony, the farewell was held in his hometown of Avila . At the end of the requiem mass in the cathedral, the body of Suarez was interred in his inner gallery. The words “Consent became possible” ^[20] are engraved on the gravestone.

On April 1, the state mourning ceremony in memory of Adolfo Suarez took place at the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid . King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia , the heads of state and government of many countries, took part in the memorial service ^[21] .

In early 2009, the People’s Party of Spain made a proposal to the Congress to give the name of Adolfo Suárez to Madrid’s Barajas International Airport. According to representatives of the party, he played a key role in establishing a democratic regime in the country, and this contribution cannot remain unmarked descendants. Even before the consideration of the draft decree, the party’s general secretary, José Luis Iilon, considered it necessary to inform the relatives of the former prime minister about this initiative of the “populists”, who expressed his warm appreciation to him. At the same time, the autonomy authorities of Castilla y León began building a museum in Avila dedicated to the life of the former head of the Spanish government ^[22] .

Already after the death of Suarez, the Spanish government reported that Barrahas Airport would be named Adolfo Suarez. Streets, squares and parks of Spanish cities will also be named in his honor ^[18] . The Ministry of Development of Spain approved the initiative of the country's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who proposed to rename the airport in honor of Suarez. Now the airport will be officially called “Adolfo Suarez, Madrid-Barajas”. Previously, this idea was already supported by the mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella , saying that “the airport is something symbolic for Madrid and for Spain, and Adolfo Suárez is undoubtedly a special person for our democracy” ^[23] .