Marcelino Oreja, 1st Marquis of Oreja

Marcelino Oreja y Aguirre, 1st Marquis of Oreja (born 13 February 1935) is a Spanish lawyer, diplomat and politician of the People's Party. He served as Foreign Minister of Spain between 1976 and 1980. Between 1984 and 1989 he was Secretary General of the Council of Europe. In 1989 he became member of the European Parliament and he served until 1993. In 1994 he was appointed European Commissioner for Transport and Energy and then European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy.

Marcelino Oreja Aguirre

Career

Oreja was born on 13 February 1935 in Madrid, his father was Marcelino Oreja Elósegui.

Oreja served as Spanish minister of foreign affairs from 1976 to 1980, during which time he signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations and was responsible for Spain joining the Council of Europe.[1] In 1976, he signed a treaty with the Vatican altering the Concordat of 1953 and depriving the Spanish king of the right to nominate Roman Catholic bishops in his country.[2]

He was Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 1984 to 1989.

He was elected to the European Parliament in 1989. His membership ended on 28 June 1993.[3]

In 1994 Oreja was appointed European Commissioner for Transport and Energy and then European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy.

At the end of his mandate, Oreja retired from political life, returning to Spain. He continued to be active in many fields, being appointed Head of the Institute for European Studies at the CEU San Pablo University Foundation, Vice-Chair of the BBV Foundation (1996) and Doctor Honoris Causa at Zaragoza and Seville Universities (1996).[4]

Other activities

Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies, Member of the Board of Trustees[5]
Spanish Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences (RACMP), Member
Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation (RAJL), Member

Recognition

On 8 April 2010 Oreja was made Marquis of Oreja.[6]

References

"Commission Member Biographies". Independent Commission on Turkey. British Council and the Open Society Foundation–Turkey. 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
Vatican, Spain Sign Pact Affecting Naming of Bishops The New York Times, 29 July 1976.
"Marcelino Oreja Aguirre". European Parliament. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
"Biography of Marcelino Oreja Aguirre" (PDF). CVCE.eu. 10 September 2012. p. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
Board of Trustees Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies.
R., Juan Carlos (9 April 2010). Caamaño Domínguez, Francisco (ed.). "Real Decreto 430/2010, de 8 de abril, por el que se concede el título de Marqués de Oreja a don Marcelino Oreja Aguirre" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (86): 32247. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 23 January 2015.

Political offices
Preceded by The Count of Motrico	Minister of Foreign Affairs 7 July 1976 – 8 September 1980	Succeeded by José Pedro Pérez-Llorca

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Commission Member Biographies". Independent Commission on Turkey. British Council and the Open Society Foundation–Turkey. 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.

[2] Vatican, Spain Sign Pact Affecting Naming of Bishops The New York Times, 29 July 1976.

[3] "Marcelino Oreja Aguirre". European Parliament. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

[4] "Biography of Marcelino Oreja Aguirre" (PDF). CVCE.eu. 10 September 2012. p. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2013.

[5] Board of Trustees Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies.

[6] R., Juan Carlos (9 April 2010). Caamaño Domínguez, Francisco (ed.). "Real Decreto 430/2010, de 8 de abril, por el que se concede el título de Marqués de Oreja a don Marcelino Oreja Aguirre" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (86): 32247. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 23 January 2015.