Juan Fernando López Aguilar (born 10 June 1961) is a Spanish jurist and politician of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

(PSOE) who has been serving as a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

since 2009. He served as

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 the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. He also represented

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

in the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

between 1996 and 2007 and between 2008 and 2009.

Early life and education

López Aguilar was born in

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

. He holds a Ph.D. in Law from the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

(Italy) and for a long time he has been a Professor of

Constitutional Law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

at the

University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, also known as the ULPGC (''Spanish'' Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is a Spanish university located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital city of Gran Canaria island. It is the univ ...

. He also holds a master's degree in Law and Diplomacy from

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

. He funded his studies largely by working as a newspaper caricaturist and comic-book illustrator.

Political career

Member of the Spanish Parliament, 1996–2007

As a member of the Spanish parliament, López Aguilar served as his parliamentary group’s spokesperson on home affairs.

Candidate for President of the Canary Islands, 2006–2007

In November 2006, López Aguilar was chosen as the socialist candidate for the Presidency of the Canary Islands Government. He won the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative el ...

, but his majority was insufficient to defeat opposition manoeuvring that prevented him becoming leader of the regional government. Instead, he was later nominated to head the PSOE list in the 2009 European elections.

Member of the European Parliament, 2009–present

López Aguilar has been a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

since the 2009 European elections. He has since been a member of the

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is a committee of the European Parliament that is responsible for protecting civil liberties and human rights, as listed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. ...

, which he chaired during first term until 2014 and since 2019. In this capacity, he served as the parliament's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

on fundamental rights in Poland (2020) and on

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 identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

certificates (2021). In addition, López Aguilar served on the Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering (2012-2013) and the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (2016-2017) that investigated the Panama Papers revelations and tax avoidance schemes more broadly. Since 2014, López Aguilar also has been serving as vice-chairman of the parliament’s delegation to the

ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union (the Members of the European Parliament) and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states ("ACP c ...

. He has taken part in monitoring missions for the Ukrainian parliamentary elections in 2012, led by Pawel Kowal, and the Tajikistani parliamentary elections 2010. López Aguilar is a member of the

Spinelli Group The Spinelli Group is an initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate the endeavour for federalisation of the European Union (EU), by creating a network of citizens, think tanks, NGOs, academics, writers and politicians who support the idea o ...

, and the European Parliament Intergroup on Integrity (Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime).Members of the European Parliament on Integrity (Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime)

Other activities

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decisi ...

(ECFR), Member

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Aguilar, Juan Fernando 1961 births Living people Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Spanish Socialist Workers' Party MEPs University of Bologna alumni The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria faculty Government ministers of Spain Justice ministers of Spain Non-Inscrits MEPs Members of the 7th Parliament of the Canary Islands MEPs for Spain 2009–2014 MEPs for Spain 2014–2019 MEPs for Spain 2019–2024