Felipe González González (28 January 1947 – 24 February 2023) was a Mexican politician and businessman. A member of the National Action Party (PAN), he was

Governor of Aguascalientes List of Governors of the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. {{DEFAULTSORT:Governor Of Aguascalientes * Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguas ...

from 1998 to 2004 and served in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 2006 to 2012.

Early years

Felipe González was born in

Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes (''Virtue in the Water, Fidelity in the Heart'') , image_skyline = AGUASCALIENTES CITY.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: San Antonio de Padua Church, La Exedra (main square), Aguascal ...

, on 28 January 1947. His father died when he was 21, after which time he worked in the family business with his brothers.

Career

Business

González served most of his professional life as an entrepreneur in various sectors. In 1991, he was president of the Business Center of Aguascalientes (CEA). He also served as president of the Employers' Confederation of Mexico (Coparmex) in Aguascalientes, and as chairman of the board of

BBVA Bancomer 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 ...

and director of seven other banks. He served as president of the Sister City Committee, and was the founder and president of the Social Union of Businessmen in Mexico (USEM) in Aguascalientes. As president of the Association of Grocery Store Owners, González maintained a close relationship with the grocers of Aguascalientes. Among his many awards was the Business Award of Merit in 1993, awarded by the Confederation of Chambers of Commerce nationwide.

Education

González served as chairman of the board of the

Autonomous University of Aguascalientes , mottoeng = , established = 19 June 1973 , founder = C.P. Humberto Martínez de León , type = Public university , rector = Francisco Javier Avelar González ...

and of the National College of Professional Technical Education (CONALEP); he supported and promoted the creation of the

Panamerican University The Universidad Panamericana ( Spanish: ''Universidad Panamericana''), commonly known as UP, is a private Catholic university founded in Mexico City. It has four campuses: the main Mixcoac campus in the Benito Juarez borough of south-western Mexi ...

's Bonaterra Campus in Aguascalientes.

Politics

His first foray into politics was his nomination as the PAN's candidate for governor in Aguascalientes in 1998. After an intense campaign and an unprecedented mobilization of many population sectors in Aguascalientes, he secured a surprise victory over

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

(PRI) candidate

Héctor Hugo Olivares Ventura Héctor Hugo Olivares Ventura (born May 24, 1944) is a Mexican politician from the Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexi ...

with 53% of the vote (against Olivares Ventura's 36%), making him the state's first governor not to come from the ranks of the PRI. During his term as governor, he focused on the politics of industrialization and sought to attract international investment into the state. On 25 August 2004, he was appointed by President

Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...

as an assistant secretary at the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, a position where he remained until 9 January 2006. That year, he resigned to be nominated as a candidate for the

, representing the state of Aguascalientes, a position he was elected to until 2012 for the 60th and 61st legislatures. While in the Senate, he served as chairman of the Public Security Committee.

Personal life and death

González was married to Cony Ramírez Zermeño, with whom he had four children. He was a Grand Knight of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. He was vice president of the board of ''Corazón Amigo'', an organization that provides medical treatment to poor people. González died in the city of Aguascalientes on 24 February 2023, at the age of 76.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Gonzalez, Felipe 1947 births 2023 deaths National Action Party (Mexico) politicians Mexican businesspeople Senators of the LX and LXI Legislatures of Mexico People from Aguascalientes City Governors of Aguascalientes 20th-century Mexican politicians 21st-century Mexican politicians Politicians from Aguascalientes