Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo y Peralta-Ramos, 15th Marchioness of Casa Fuerte (born 15 October 1974) is a Spanish journalist, historian, and politician of the People's Party. She has served as

Member of the Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has 350 members elected from fifty-two constituencie ...

since 21 May 2019 for

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

and was

Spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

of her party in Congress until 21 August 2020. She is of Spanish and French-Argentine descent. She was the Member of Congress for the constituency of

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 ...

in the 9th and 10th Legislatures of 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, ...

. She is the current Director of International Relations of

FAES The FAES (Fundación para el Análisis y los Estudios Sociales or "Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies" in English) is a Spanish think tank. It is a non-profit liberal-conservative organisation with strong links to the People's Party (Spai ...

. Since her return to journalism she has written for the daily newspaper ''El Mundo''.

Biography

Álvarez de Toledo was born in Madrid to a French father and an Argentine mother. She is the daughter of Juan Illán Álvarez de Toledo y Giraud, the 14th Marquess of Casa Fuerte, who fought as part of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and of Patricia Peralta-Ramos y Madero. She is a citizen of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. After spending the first seven years of her childhood in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, she moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and enrolled in Northlands School. She returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for her university studies. She obtained a BA in

Modern History The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

with honours at New College,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, and was made an honorary senior scholar at New College. In 2000 she obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

with her dissertation on

Juan de Palafox Juan de Palafox y Mendoza (26 June 1600 – 1 October 1659) was a Spanish politician, administrator, and Catholic clergyman in 17th century Spain and a viceroy of Mexico. Palafox was the Bishop of Puebla (1640−1655), and the interim Archb ...

Viceroy of New Spain This article lists the viceroys who ruled the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1821 in the name of the monarch of Spain. In addition to viceroys, this article lists the highest Spanish governors of the viceroyalty, before the appointment o ...

, under John H. Elliott. She married Spanish businessman (and her distant cousin) Joaquín Güell (from the family of the Marquesses of Comillas and Counts of Güell) on 20 October 2001. They had two daughters but they divorced in January 2018. After obtaining her PhD, she became an editor for the daily newspaper '' El Mundo'' in September 2000. She was also a guest on the

Cadena COPE COPE, an acronym for Cadena de Ondas Populares Españolas ("People's Radiowaves of Spain Network") formerly called Radio Popular, is a Spanish language radio station. It is the second most listened to in Spain's generalist radio. Owned by the S ...

talk show ''The Morning'', hosted by

Federico Jiménez Losantos Federico Jorge Jiménez Losantos (born 15 September 1951), also known by his initials FJL, is a Spanish radio presenter and right-wing pundit, being most known for his successful radio talk show ''Es la mañana de Federico''. He is also a TV ho ...

Political career

In 2006 she was appointed

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the leader of the People's Party (PP), Ángel Acebes, with the task of advising Acebes regarding political strategy, managing his agenda and coordinating his speeches in parliament. She obtained

Spanish nationality The Spanish nationality legal framework refers to all the laws, provisions, regulations, and resolutions in Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes ...

in 2007 and stood for the 2008 general election as a member of the People's Party for the constituency of Madrid, as number nine on the list, becoming a Member of Parliament in the 9th Cortes Generales. She served as a Deputy Spokesperson of the People's Party Parliamentary Group. She was re-elected in 2011. As a result of her father's death in Paris in 2012, she inherited the title of Marchioness of Casa Fuerte a year later. She is the 15th holder of the title. In 2014 she wrote an article in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' protesting the separatist direction in which

Catalan nationalism Catalan nationalism promotes the idea that the Catalan people form a distinct nation and national identity. A related term is Catalanism (, ), which is more related to Regionalism (politics), regionalism and tends to have a wider meaning, most pe ...

was perceived to be heading. In 2014 she launched the constitutionalist manifesto '' Free and Equal''. The manifesto rejected all concessions to the Catalan nationalists who desired independence. She was the spokesperson of the homonymous organisation which seeks to involve the Spanish citizenry in the defense of the constitutional provisions of equality for all

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

. Among the events organised by ''Free and Equal'' was the one which took place on 11 September 2014, the triennial of the defeat of the pro-Habsburg forces in

during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, in the

Círculo de Bellas Artes The Círculo de Bellas Artes is a private, non-profit, cultural organization that was founded in 1880. Its building, located in Madrid, Spain, was declared ''Bien de Interés Cultural'' in 1981. The CBA is a major multidisciplinary centre with one ...

, where she also gave a speech. In 2016 she criticised the Cabalgata de Reyes organised by the

City Council of Madrid The City Council of Madrid () is the top-tier administrative and governing body of Madrid, the capital and biggest city of Spain. The city council is composed by three bodies: the mayor, who leads the city council and the executive branch of it; ...

in a Tweet: "My 6-year old daughter: 'Mom, this Gaspar's costume isn't real' I will never forgive you for this, Manuela Carmena. Never." The Tweet received more than six thousand replies and twelve thousand retweets. On 8 March 2018, she criticised the feminist strike taking place on that same day in a newspaper article. In June 2018 she published an opinion piece after the dissolution of the Mariano Rajoy government resulting from the

no confidence motion A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

Arms

File:Coat of Arms of the Marquisate of Casa Fuerte.svg, Coat of Arms as Marchioness of Casa Fuerte
(2013–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez de Toledo, Cayetana 1974 births 20th-century Spanish historians 21st-century Spanish women writers Living people Marquesses of Spain Members of the 9th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 10th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Argentine nobility 21st-century Spanish journalists Spanish people of Argentine descent Spanish people of French descent 21st-century Spanish women journalists Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain) 20th-century Spanish women 21st-century Spanish women politicians Members of the 15th Congress of Deputies (Spain)