José Antonio Alonso Suárez (28 March 1960 – 2 February 2017) was a

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 go ...

(PSOE) politician, cabinet minister and judge. He was born in León. A jurist (judge since 1985 after graduating from the

University of Leon A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' ...

, magistrate 1989 and criminal court judge with the

provincial court The provincial and territorial courts in Canada are local trial "inferior" or " lower" courts of limited jurisdiction established in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. These courts typically hear criminal, civil (or “ small claim ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

) and academic at the Law Faculty of the University of Leon before his political career, Alonso was elected to the

Spanish Congress 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 ele ...

as a member of the

in 2004, representing

León Province Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

and was re-elected in 2008.Spanish cabinet - key players, BBC News, 22 April 2004 Retrieved 2 June 2010
/ref> He later served as spokesman for the PSOE Parliamentary Group. From 18 April 2004 to 7 April 2006 he was the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in 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 electi ...

. Described by his ministerial colleagues as a man "driven by his strong ideological beliefs and professionalism", Zapatero is said to have chosen Alonso on the grounds that the latter would fight terrorism without compromising human rights. Alonso served as the

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

until 11 April 2008. Prior to his election he had been a critic of the People's Party's support for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and their alleged politicisation of judicial bodies. Alonso died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

on 2 February 2017 at the age of 56.

References

External links

Biography at Spanish Congress site
, - 1960 births 2017 deaths People from León, Spain Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Members of the 8th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 9th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Government ministers of Spain Defence ministers of Spain Deaths from lung cancer in Spain 20th-century Spanish judges Interior ministers of Spain 21st-century Spanish judges {{CastileLeón-politician-stub