ADOLFO

SUÁREZ

SUMMARY

1. INTRODUCTION.

2. THE SPANISH TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY.

3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT.1) Spanish First General Election (1977).

4. HIS LIFE.1) Childhood and youth.

2) First political career.

3) President of Spain.

4) Later Life.

5. HIS IDEOLOGY.1) References.

6. CONCLUSIONS.

1.INTRODUCTION

Who was Adolfo Suárez? What did he do?

He becamethe main

character in the SpanishTransition toDemocracy

ADOLFO SUÁREZAdolfo Suárez was the president of Spain after a

really difficult period of hard dictatorship. So, he

was the president of the government from 1977 to

1981 and he became a really important character

because he introduced democracy and freedom in

Spain. He was also important because he won the

first free elections after the dictatorship and he

developed a program to turn Spain into a

democratic country.

TRANSITION

1975-1986

2.THE SPANISH TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY

Francoist Spain

1936-1975Spain today1986-2014

Franco’sDeath

1975 1977 1978 1981 1982 1986

Enthronement of Juan Carlos 1

Franco’s

Death

SpanishConstitution

Spanish 1st General Election

23-F

Spanish 2nd General Election

Spanish NATO membershipreferendum

Spain in European

Comissions

The TransitionThe transition started in 1975 and it ended in 1986. It’s important to say that during this period of time

many different and important events happened.

Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator died in 1975

Juan Carlos I was proclaimed king.

The Spanish first general election took place. Adolfo Suarez was appointed President. In 1978, the

Spanish Constitution was written

1981, a military coup that began on February 23 and ended the following day kept Congress people

and the whole country under curfew.

1982 the Spanish 2nd general elections took place

3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Francisco Franco

Juan Carlos 1

3.1 .Spanish 1st General Election (1977)

Felipe González

Adolfo SuárezSantiago Carrillo Manuel Fraga

Jordi Pujol Juan de Ajuriaguerra

4.HIS LIFE

4.1. Childhood and youth

Born in Cebreros, Castilla-Leon, onSeptember 25, 1932. He studied Lawat Salamanca University. He marriedAmparo Illana and had 6 children.

LIFE

Adolfo Suárez was born in Cebreros, Castilla y

Leon, on September 25, 1932. He was the eldest

of four brothers. Suárez was never a good

student. He went through several schools, he

never read and in his free time he used to go to

parties, practice sports and card games. Adolfo

Suárez was a Catholic, like his mother

YOUTH

He studied law at Salamanca, majoring with

difficulties. His first paying job was at the Charity

of Ávila, when his father ran away from home as a

result of a business scandal and had to care for

his family.

4.HIS LIFE4.2. First Political

Career

He was appointed CEO of theSpanish Radio Televisionnetwork and Minister andSecretary General of theMovement in the firstgovernment under therestored Monarchy

4.HIS LIFE4.3. President of Spain

(1)

He stood as the winner of thefirst free elections afterFranco’s regime in 1977

Presidency

When in 1976 King Juan Carlos I asked him to form the government and

dismantle Franco’s government, Suárez was completely unknown to the

majority of the Spanish people.

In 1977, for the first time in Spain since 1936, free elections were held.

Adolfo Suárez stood as the winner, leading a group called Unión de

Centro Democrático.

In 1979, Adolfo Suárez won a general election for the second time, and

began his third term as Prime Minister.

5.HIS LIFE

4.3. President of Spain (2)

With politicaltension, heresigned on January29 (1981).

VIDEO

4.HIS LIFE4.4. Later

Life

In 2005 his son announced hisfather was suffering fromAlzheimer, and he could nolonger remember his period asPrime Minister of Spain.

Final yearsAfter leaving his political activity, the former prime

minister was kept out of public life and devoted

most of his time caring for his wife, sick with

cancer, until her death. His eldest daughter, Maria

Amparo Suárez Illana, a lawyer, also died of

cancer. Adolfo Suárez, who developed Alzheimer,

died in March 2014 (this sentence has been added

since our Comenius meeting was in February and

he died in March)

5.HIS IDEOLOGY AND HIS REFERENCES

Political outcomeAdolfo Suarez was one of the characters that

marked our transition to democracy. He always

had a good relationship with the crown, and can

be considered one of the pillars of our democratic

history. After a 36-year dictatorship, one of his

ideas was to return democracy to Spain and to

return sovereignty to the Spanish people. Along

with King Juan Carlos I, he played an important

role in the transition from authoritarianism to

democracy.

6.CONCLUSIONS

ConclusionsAdolfo Suarez was Spain’s first democratically

elected Prime Minister who oversaw the

transition from the country’s Franco years. He

pointed out in his farewell speech that no other

person in the previous 150 years had

democratically ruled Spain for so long. But

considerable though that achievement was, others

– such as being the co-founder of modern Spanish

democracy itself – were more important.

Conclusions

Much of the credit for what was an overwhelmingly

and surprisingly peaceful change of political

system in Spain has to go to Súarez. He was

described as he was dying by his former press

officer, Santiago Gonzalez, as “probably the most

important politician we’ve had in recent times.”