Enrique Múgica Herzog (20 February 1932 – 11 April 2020) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. An opponent of

Francoist Spain 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 ...

, he spent three years in prison. He was one of the leaders of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), in Franco's time. He managed the establishment of diplomatic relations between

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 ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He was a member of the PSOE,

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 ...

(1988–1991),

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

(representing

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

1977–2000) and

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

(2000–2010). He was born in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantique ...

. His father was a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

violinist who was killed during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and his mother was a

Frenchwoman French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from nor ...

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

origin. His brother Fernando was murdered by

ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...

in February 1996.

Francoism

Despite allegedly not being a communist, his opposition to the Francoist system led Múgica to join the outlawed PCE in 1953, where he remained for a decade. In February 1956 Múgica,

Javier Pradera Francisco Javier Pradera Gortázar (28 April 1934 – 20 November 2011) was a Spanish anti-Franco activist, journalist, political analyst and publisher. Pradera was a journalist and columnist for ''El País'', based in Madrid. Pradera worked ...

and Ramón Tamames wrote a manifesto calling to a National University Congress not subjected to the authority of SEU,

Falange Falange () is the name of a political party whose ideology is Falangism. Falange primarily refers to: * Falange Española, a Spanish political party active 1933–1934, it merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) * Falange ...

's student union. This led to the first public university protest against the Francoist regime, and following a clash with Falangist activists they were arrested along with other opposing figures. This incident led to the destitution of Education Minister

Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez Cortés ( Hoyo de Manzanares, Madrid, 2 August 1913 - Madrid, 27 August 2009) was a Spanish politician and jurist. He was minister of Education under Franco (1951-1955) but he drifted apart from the Francoist State since 19 ...

, the decline of SEU which was sidelined from the Youth Front for losing the grip on the student body, and the start of the organized university protest movement. For his actions Múgica was imprisoned for three months in

Carabanchel Prison Carabanchel Prison () was a prison located in the Carabanchel neighbourhood of Madrid, Spain. It was opened in Francoist Spain in 1944 to house political prisoners after the Spanish Civil War. Carabanchel Prison was one of the biggest prisons in ...

Transition to democracy and first PSOE government

In the first democratic elections Múgica was elected as a deputy for PSOE in the Congress, where he would serve for the next 23 years. In the late 1970s he additionally served as PSOE's Secretary for Political Relations. In 1980 he and

Joan Reventós Joan Reventós i Carner (; 26 July 1927 – 13 January 2004) was the 10th President of the Parliament of Catalonia (1995–1999). He had previously been Minister without Portfolio, from 1977 to 1980. Reventós joined the PSUC in 1976 and the fol ...

met general

Alfonso Armada Alfonso Armada Comyn, 9th Marquis of Santa Cruz de Rivadulla (12 February 1920 – 1 December 2013) was a Spanish military officer involved in both the Spanish Civil War and the 1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt. Biography Armada was born int ...

in a lunch organized by

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

's mayor Antonio Ciurana. According to Múgica, Armada was "deeply worried" about the autonomous system and terrorism and asked them for an UCD–PSOE coalition led by an independent figure but didn't propose himself nor anyone else from the military for such role. Months later Armada took part in the 1981 attempted coup d'état. In 2009 former

Catalan President The president of the Government of Catalonia (, ) is head of government of Catalonia, leading the executive branch of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalan government. It is one of the bodies that the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia stipul ...

Jordi Pujol Jordi Pujol i Soley (, born 9 June 1930) is a retired Catalan politician who was the leader of the party Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) from 1974 to 2003, and President of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1980 to 2003. Early life ...

claimed in the second volume of his memories that in 1980 Múgica had proposed to him to have Prime Minister

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...

replaced by a democratically leaning military. Múgica denied such claim as a "made up fancy". Commanding officer involved in the coup Ricardo Pardo Zancada recognized in his book that Armada contemplated Múgica as Minister of Health in the hypothetical government that emerged from the coup. In 1979 he was a founding executive of the Amistad España–Israel association, and he and his brother Fernando had a leading role in convincing

Felipe González Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a retired Spanish politician who was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996 and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. He is the longest-serving democratically- ...

to establish diplomatic relations with Israel and managing the process, which was finally sealed in 1986. Múgica was highly attached to Israel and as a Jew he felt proud to be "part of a people always in search of freedom and wisdom", listing Spain, the Basque Country and Israel as his "three loves".

Justice Minister

Múgica was the first Jew to take part in the Spanish government since the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

. Under his tenure the law regulating anonymous societies and demarcation and judicial plan were approved, and the penal reforms leading to the creation of the ''Juzgados de lo Penal'' were carried out. He harshly opposed the insubordinate movement against the then compulsory

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, admonishing them that the full weight of law would fall on them for "using

conscientious objection A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

to destabilize the democratic state and being supported by radicals and violent lements. In September 1990 he was questioned in the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

Loyola de Palacio Ignacia de Loyola de Palacio y del Valle Lersundi (16 September 1950 – 13 December 2006) was a Spanish politician. She was among the first women to rise to political prominence in Spain during the early years of reconstituted democracy. She ...

for allegedly replying to

Cristina Alberdi Cristina Alberdi (22 February 1946 – 27 June 2024) was a Spanish politician and lawyer. She served as minister of social affairs from 1993 to 1996. Education and career Alberdi was born in Los Rosales, a small town of the province of Seville ...

's petition to increase the female representation in the

General Council of the Judiciary The General Council of the Judiciary (, CGPJ) is the national council of the judiciary of Spain. It is the constitutional body that governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as courts, and judges, as it is established by the Spanish Constitut ...

as quoted: "Have they installed kitchens in the new offices?". Múgica apologized to those offended while defending his comment as a joke, which De Palacio harshly criticized. He was dismissed in March 1991 along with several other ministers. His meeting with González was reported in the press to have been the most difficult of the round as he had expected to receive a different portfolio and his expression was of "disbelief mixed with anger" after realizing he would not.

Ombudsman

Múgica left PSOE in 2000 after being chosen as Spain's ombudsman. He was the first ombudsman to serve for two terms, extending his service until 2010. He favored restoring formal address in schools in order to improve the classroom environment, arguing that students addressing teachers as ''usted'' instead of ''tú'' doesn't imply a "breach" in their relation but "mutual respect". He supported the 2010 Abortion Law except for the clause allowing girls between the age of 16 – 18 to abort without the knowledge or authorisation of their parents, and expressed that he didn't "give a damn about being

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

or not" for it.

Political controversies

During his ten-year service Múgica remained outspoken in political matters. In 2004, he defended the construction of the

Israeli West Bank barrier The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...

by the

Government of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...

, arguing that it was Palestinian terrorism that "legitimized the fence", which generated great controversy due to the position he held. Likewise his controversy with the anti-bullfighting movement, his disapproval of the

Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006 () provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations under the Spanish Constitution of 1978. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia, the political institutions of the Ca ...

(against which he filed an appeal of unconstitutionality) in 2006, his statements against the

Historical Memory Law Law 52/2007, commonly known as Historical Memory Law (Sp: ''Ley de Memoria Histórica''), recognises and broadens "the rights and establishes measures in favour of those who suffered persecution or violence during the civil war and the dictator ...

, his refusal to appeal the Aliens Act of 2000 (which the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

would later amend) or opposition to contacts between the government of

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

and ETA.

Death

Enrique Múgica died on 10 April 2020 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mugica, Enrique 1932 births 2020 deaths Politicians from San Sebastián Justice ministers of Spain Government ministers of Spain Ombudsmen in Spain Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians 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) Members of the 4th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 5th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 6th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Basque Jews Spanish Jews Jewish socialists Spanish people of French-Jewish descent Spanish people of Polish descent People of Polish-Jewish descent Spanish prisoners and detainees Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain