Alejandro Fernández Sordo (1921–2009) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who was a member of the

FET y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FET y de las JONS), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

. He was one of the leading political figures in the

Franco regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

and also, in the transition period.

Early life and education

Fernández was born in Oviedo, Asturias, on 4 September 1921, but was raised in

Llanes Llanes (the ''Concejo de Llanes'', ''Conceyu de Llanes'' in Asturian language) is a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bound ...

. He graduated from the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo (, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres. History Th ...

with a bachelor's degree in law.

Career

Fernández was an academic and worked as a professor of administrative and trade union law at his alma mater. He served as a member of the National Catholic Association of Propagandists. He was the founder of the University Student Union (SEU) in

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

and worked as a press and propaganda delegate in that union. He also served as the councilor of the Oviedo City Council. He founded the National Union of Press, Radio, Television and Publicity in 1964 and was its first president. On 7 November 1969 he was appointed director general of the press at the

Ministry of Information and Tourism The Ministry of Information and Tourism () was a ministerial department of the Government of Spain created in 1951 during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to control information and the censorship of press and radio. The ministry also assume ...

and became a member of the Jury of Appeal of Professional Ethics of Journalists the same year. He was made the general secretary of the Trade Union Organization in October 1973. He served as the minister of trade union relations in the cabinet led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Carlos Arias Navarro Carlos Arias Navarro, 1st Marquess of Arias Navarro (11 December 1908 – 27 November 1989) was the Prime Minister of Spain during the final years of the Francoist dictatorship and the beginning of the Spanish transition to democracy. Arias ...

between 3 January 1974 and 11 December 1975. In 1976 he was appointed president of the Local Credit Bank and later, was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of a construction company, Huarte.

Personal life and death

Fernández married María de la Concepción Cabal Vega and had five children. He died in Madrid on 6 May 2009 and buried there next day.

Honors

Fernández was the recipient of the Order of Cisneros, the

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

and the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez Sordo, Alejandro 20th-century Spanish businesspeople 1921 births 2009 deaths Government ministers during the Francoist dictatorship University of Oviedo alumni Spanish jurists Academic staff of the University of Oviedo Order of Civil Merit members Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic FET y de las JONS politicians