Enrique Barόn Crespo (born 27 March 1944) is a Spanish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. He is a member of 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 ...

and was a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...

for the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all the European Economic Area, European economic area states (EEA) plus the Unit ...

group until 2009. Enrique Barón graduated in law from the University of Madrid and in business administration at

ICADE ICADE is the brand name by which two schools of the Comillas Pontifical University, located in Madrid (Spain), are known. It stands for '' Instituto Católico de Administración y Dirección de Empresas'' (''Catholic Institute of Business Adminis ...

, in Madrid, and

ESSEC Founded in 1907, ESSEC Business School (École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) is a French higher education institution specialising in business and management. It is a grande école, a type of institution known for select ...

, in Paris, business schools, in 1965. As a practising lawyer, he specialised in labour law and acted for defendants in political cases (1970–1977). He was a Deputy in the

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...

(1977–1987) representing

Madrid region The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

and was Minister of Transport, Tourism and Communications (1982–1985). In that period he proposed the dismantlement of many miles of both major and secondary railway routes. The proposal was based on reports that understated the importance of these lines. After election to the European Parliament he was

President of the European Parliament The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...

(1989–1992), and was PES Group chairman from 1 November 1999 to 15 July 2004. He was Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (1992–1995). Barόn is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Global Panel Foundation and the Advisory Board of think tank Gold Mercury International, London, UK. He is an active player in the Brand EU initiative to improve the management and promotion of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

brand and monitor its progress. In March 2008, Barón Crespo was received by the Italian President

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...

together with the CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini and the General Director Giorgio Zappa, at the end of the concerto for the 60th birth anniversary of the Italian arms manufacturer

Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest ...

. In 1985, Barón resigned as a minister and became a member of the European Parliament after Spain joined the European Union (EU), or what was then the European Community (EC), in 1986. As early as 1987, he ran for President of the European Parliament, but after three rounds of voting, he was defeated by only five votes to his British opponent, Charles Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb. On 25 July 1989, he was elected on the very first ballot as the youngest President of the European Parliament. He relinquished this office - as is customary in the European Parliament - after a two-and-a-half-year term.

References

External links

* Th
private papers
an
interviews
of Enrique Barόn Crespo are deposited at th
Historical Archives of the EU in Florence

European Parliament: Your MEPs

European Parliament Office in Spain
1944 births ESSEC Business School alumni Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Living people Madrid city councillors (2003–2007) 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) MEPs for Spain 1986–1987 MEPs for Spain 1987–1989 MEPs for Spain 1989–1994 MEPs for Spain 1999–2004 MEPs for Spain 2004–2009 People from Madrid Presidents of the European Parliament Spanish economists Spanish Socialist Workers' Party MEPs {{EU-org-bio-stub