Pedro Morenés y Álvarez de Eulate, (born 17 September 1948) is a Spanish politician who was

minister of defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

and Ambassador of Spain to the United States of America. Prior to his appointment as minister, he was president of

Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro (), commonly known as Puerta de Hierro, is a private country club based in Madrid, Spain. It owes its name to the nearby Puerta de Hierro (Madrid), iron memorial arch. Notorious for being associated with the Monar ...

, from 2006 to 2011.

Early life and education

Morenés was born in

Las Arenas Areeta (''Las Arenas'' in Spanish) is a neighbourhood of Getxo (Biscay, Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain). It is an affluent residential area that was built over the sands of a beach where the Gobela Creek died into a di ...

, province of Vizcaya, on 17 September 1948. He is the second son of Don José María de Morenés y Carvajal, 4th Viscount of Alesón (son of the Count and Countess of the Asalto,

Grandees of Spain Grandees of Spain () are the highest-ranking members of the Spanish nobility. They comprise nobles who hold the most important historical landed titles in Spain or its Spanish Empire, former colonies. Many such hereditary titles are held by extend ...

) and Doña Ana Sofía Álvarez de Eulate y Mac-Mahón. He studied law at the

University of Navarra The University of Navarra is a private Catholic research university located on the southeast border of Pamplona, Navarre, Spain. It was founded in 1952 by Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, the founder of '' Opus Dei'', as a corporat ...

and business administration at the

University of Deusto The University of Deusto (; ) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The University of Deusto is the oldest private university ...

. He obtained a master's degree in ship management and economics at the Bremen Institute of Shipping Economics.

Career

Morenés began his career as lawyer in 1979. After working private law firms, he became the head of the Legal Services branch of the Shipbuilding Division in the National Industry Institute (INI) in 1991. He also became a professor of vessel chartering and shipping freight in the Spanish Maritime Institute of Madrid and in the European Institute for Maritime Studies. In 1994, he was named as the managing director of the commercial branch of the Shipbuilding Division in the National Industry Institute (INI) and member of its steering committee. Next, he was appointed Secretary of State for Defence in the Ministry of Defence in May 1996. Four years later, in May 2000, he was appointed Secretary of State for Security in the Ministry of the Interior. His tenure lasted two years, and in August 2002, he became Secretary of State for Scientific and Technological Policy in the Ministry of Science and Technology. His tenure lasted until March 2005. He served as the secretary general of the Businessmen Association from March 2005 to June 2010. In January 2009, he was also appointed chairman of the Board of Directors of Construcciones Navales del Norte, and served there until January 2011. Then he began to serve as the chairman of MBDA Spain, a missile systems firm, in June 2010 and of Segur Ibérica, a private security firm, in January 2011. His tenure lasted until December 2011. He was appointed Defence Minister on 21 December 2011. Morenés labelled the mission in Afghanistan as war, breaking a taboo in 2012.

Honours

* : ** Knight of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Zaragoza (14/11/1966). ** Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (07/05/2004).Boletín Oficial del Estado
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Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morenes, Pedro 1948 births Living people Ambassadors of Spain to the United States Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Ministers of defence of Spain Secretaries of State of Spain University of Deusto alumni