Alfonso Cortina de Alcocer (13 March 1944 – 6 April 2020) was a Spanish businessman. He was chairman and chief executive officer of

Repsol YPF Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

, Spain's largest oil and gas group.

Biography

Cortina was born on 13 March 1944 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. His father

Pedro Cortina Mauri Pedro Cortina y Mauri (18 March 1908 in La Pobla de Segur – 14 February 1993 in Madrid) was a Spanish politician and diplomat who served as the last Minister of Foreign Affairs under Francisco Franco between 1970 and 1975 and the first one wi ...

, originally from

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, was

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

during the Francoist dictatorship. His maternal grandfather

Alberto Alcocer y Ribacoba Alberto Alcocer y Ribacoba (1886–1957) was a Spanish politician. Born in Orduña, Biscay, he was son to Celestino Alcocer y Valderrama (1855-1924), the Carlist politician, Cortes deputy in 1907 and 1910, and the Carlist jefe for Old Castille. A ...

, originally from

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, was

Mayor of Madrid The Mayor of Madrid presides over the Madrid City Council, the government body of the capital city of Spain. The mayor has the duty of boosting the local policies, it directs the action of the other executive bodies, leads the Local Executive Admin ...

in the 1920s and again in the 1930s. His brother Alberto Cortina and cousin

Alberto Alcocer Alberto Alcocer Torra (born December 17, 1942, in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish businessman who, along with his cousin Alberto Cortina, owns Alcor Holding, a patrimonial society that owns 12.5% of Grupo ACS, the largest Spanish construction compan ...

are both noted business executives, known collectively as 'The Albertos' due to their shared career path and prominence in public life. He graduated in

Industrial Engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex process (engineering), processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, kno ...

and held a further degree in

Economic Sciences Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. He began his career in the banking sector, where he held various positions at

BBVA Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, Spain. It is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and is present ...

, Banco Zaragozano and Banco Central. Alfonso Cortina de Alcocer became president of the Spanish oil firm

Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

in 1996 despite his lack of experience in the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...

. *1968–1982: Banco de Vizcaya Group (various positions including engineer, vice chairman, and managing director). *1984–1990: Portland Valderrivas (vice president). *1990–1996: Portland Valderrivas (president). *1996–2004: Repsol YPF (President, Chairman, and CEO) He also served as Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor for Spain and Latin America,

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

Europe. He died on 6 April 2020 of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

at the age of 76.

References

1944 births 2020 deaths Spanish business executives Rothschild & Co people Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain Spanish people of Catalan descent Spanish bankers Businesspeople from Madrid 20th-century Spanish businesspeople 21st-century Spanish businesspeople Spanish people of Basque descent Technical University of Madrid alumni Complutense University of Madrid alumni {{Spain-business-bio-stub