Javier Tusell Gómez (26 August 1945,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

- 8 February 2005, Barcelona) was a Spanish historian, writer and politician who served as a professor of

modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

at the

National University of Distance Education The National Distance Education University, known in Spanish as ''Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia'' (UNED), is a public research university of national scope. The university was founded in 1972 under the Ministry of Universities. ...

(UNED).Obituary
@ ''El Mundo''

Biography

His family moved to Madrid while he was still very young, and he obtained his degree in history and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Complutense University The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...

, where he studied with

José María Jover José María Jover Zamora ( Cartagena, 5 June 1920 - Madrid, 14 November, 2006) was a Spanish historian. Career He was the most influential figure in developing contemporary Spanish historiography. In 1949, he became professor of "Universal Histor ...

. While there, he was a member of the "Union of Democratic Students" and the "Union of Young Christian Democrats"; groups which opposed the

Francoist Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

"". He has been a teacher since receiving his doctorate in 1966; beginning as an assistant professor at his alma mater. In 1975, over some opposition, he was named an aggregate professor of modern history at the

Autonomous University of Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; , es, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; UAB), is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. ...

. Two years later, he obtained a professorship at the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

. In 1981, he became a professor at UNED; a position he held, with a brief interregnum, for the rest of his life. Attracted to politics, he joined the new Democratic People's Federation, led by

José María Gil-Robles José María Gil-Robles y Gil-Delgado (17 June 1935 – 13 February 2023) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament in the European People's Party group, and was President of the European Parliament from 1 ...

, in 1975. After the party's dissolution in 1977, he switched to the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

(UCD).Brief biography
@ MCN Biografías. In the first Post-Franco municipal elections (1979), he was elected a councilor (

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

) in Madrid on the UCD ticket. From then until 1982, he was also director general of the "Patrimonio Artístico, Archivos y Museos" at the Ministry of Culture. At this time, he oversaw negotiations between the family of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

to return Picasso's iconic painting, ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

'', to Spain. Its installation at the Museo del Prado would become a major symbol of the restoration of democracy. Despite this success, Tusell was dismissed by the Minister of Culture,

Soledad Becerril Doña María de la Soledad Becerril y Bustamante, Marquise consort of Salvatierra (born 16 August 1944 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish noble, politician and long serving member of the Spanish Congress of Deputies who belongs to the People's Party ...

, ostensibly over disagreements involving libraries and restoration procedures, but possibly because she felt that he had overstepped his authority. The dismissal, delivered by telephone, was protested by

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...

Pablo Serrano Pablo Serrano Aguilar, (8 March 1908, Crivillén, Teruel – 26 November 1985, Madrid) was a Spanish abstract sculptor. Personal life 1920–1925. Pablo Serrano studied as a boarder in the Escuelas Profesionales Salesianas in Sarriá (Barcel ...

, Antoni Tàpies and

Eduardo Chillida Eduardo Chillida Juantegui, or Eduardo Txillida Juantegi in Basque (10 January 1924 – 19 August 2002), was a Spanish Basque sculptor notable for his monumental abstract works. Early life and career Born in San Sebastián (Donostia) to P ...

. After briefly being a member of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

, he left politics and returned to his professorship duties at UNED. In 1999, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

appointed him as their representative to the " Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza". Apart from his activities as a teacher and writer, he was also a major contributor to periodicals such as '' El Mundo'', ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'', ''

La Vanguardia ' (; , Spanish for "The Vanguard") is a Spanish daily newspaper, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan (Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in Barcelona and i ...

'' and the now defunct ''

Diario 16 ''Diario 16'' (Spanish for "Daily 16" or "Newspaper 16") was a Spanish-language daily newspaper published in Madrid, Spain, between 1976 and 2001. The ''16'' of the title refers to the sixteen founders of Grupo 16, publishers of the weekly news m ...

'', as well as to the radio network

SER Ser or SER may refer to: Places * Ser, a village in Bogdand Commune, Satu Mare County, Romania * Serpens (Ser), an astronomical constellation of the northern hemisphere * Serres, known as Ser in Serbian, a city in Macedonia, Greece Organization ...

. At the beginning of 2002, he was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

, which led to his death three years later. He was married to the historian, Genoveva García Queipo de Llano (born 1945) and had two children.

Selected writings

English

* ''Spain: From Dictatorship to Democracy'' (translated by Rosemary Clark), John Wiley & Sons, 2011

Spanish

* ''Franco y los católicos: la política interior española entre 1945 y 1957'', Alianza, 1984 * ''Franco y Mussolini. La política española durante la segunda guerra mundial'' (co-authored with his wife), Peninsula, 2006 * ''La dictadura de Franco'', Alianza, 1989 * '' Carrero. La eminencia gris del régimen de Franco'', Temas de Hoy, 1993 * ''

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

. La restauración de la monarquía'', Temas de Hoy, 1995 * ''

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

. El rey polémico'', (co-authored with his wife), Penguin-Random House Español, 2012 * ''Tiempo de incertidumbre:

Carlos Arias Navarro Carlos Arias Navarro, 1st Marquis of Arias-Navarro (11 December 1908 – 27 November 1989) was one of the best-known Spanish politicians during the Francoist regime. Arias Navarro was a moderate leader in the last phase of Francoism and the be ...

entre el franquismo y la transición (1973-1976)'', Critica, 2003 * ''El aznarato: el gobierno del Partido Popular 1996–2003'', Penguin-Random House Español, 2012

References

External links

Writings by Tusell
@ Dialnet (

University of La Rioja The University of La Rioja (UR) is a public institution of higher education based in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. Inaugurated during 1992-1993 from various existing schools and colleges, it currently teaches Grades 19 adapted to the European Higher ...

)
Articles by Tusell
from ''El País''

@ Swotti {{DEFAULTSORT:Tusell, Javier 1945 births 2005 deaths National University of Distance Education faculty 20th-century Spanish historians Complutense University of Madrid alumni Spanish non-fiction writers Writers from Barcelona Deaths from leukemia Madrid city councillors (1979–1983) Academics and writers on the international relations of Spain Historians of the Spanish transition to democracy Historians of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera 20th-century Spanish journalists