Francisco Fernández Ordóñez (22 June 1930 – 7 August 1992) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

politician who was the minister of foreign affairs in the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(PSOE) government of

Felipe González Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a retired Spanish politician who was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996 and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. He is the longest-serving democratically- ...

from 1985 until shortly before his death from a terminal illness in 1992.Gobiernos de España (1931–2008)
Terra

Early life and education

Fernández Ordóñez was born on 22 June 1930. He studied law in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

Minister of Finance and Justice

After graduation, Fernández Ordóñez joined the ministry of economy in 1959, becoming the assistant secretary in 1973 and president of the National Institute of Industry in 1974, but resigned the same year for political reasons. He then founded the tiny Social Democratic Party. In 1977, his party joined the larger Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), led by

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...

, serving under him as the

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

from 1977 until 1980, and then as the

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, in which position he legalized

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

Foreign Affairs

In 1982 he resigned from office and from the UCD in protest over a case of police torture, creating the small, new Democratic Action Party (Spain) (PAD). He then joined the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), becoming one of its deputies in the

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

when it won the general election of 28 October 1982. He was made president of the Banco Exterior de España until 1986 and was made later

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. In the Congress he sat as a deputy for

from 1977 to 1979 and from 1982 onwards and represented

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

between 1979 and 1982.

Later life

Fernández Ordóñez died on 7 August 1992 of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at the age of 62.

References

External links

Biography at Spanish Congress site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez Ordonez, Francisco 1930 births 1992 deaths Economy and finance ministers of Spain Foreign ministers of Spain Harvard Law School alumni Members of the constituent Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 1st Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 2nd Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 3rd Congress of Deputies (Spain) Justice ministers of Spain Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain) politicians