SPEAKER: FELIPE GONZALEZ MARQUEZ

Born in Seville on March 5th, 1942, he is a graduate in law and a labor lawyer. He joined the Young Socialist in 1962 and the PSOE in 1964. From 1965 to 1970, he was a member of the PSOE provincial committee in Seville and of a national committee.

In 1970, he was elected to membership of the executive committee. In October 1974, at the Suresnes Congress, he was elected secretary general of the PSOE.

At the 27th Congress held in December 1976, the first to take place in Madrid since the Civil War, albeit still illegally, he was re-elected secretary general.

When the PSOE was legalized in February 1977, he took part in the negotiations between the Oposition and the Suarez Government. In the first general election, held in June 1977, he was elected a deputy for Madrid.

After declining to stand again for election to the post of secretary general at the 28th Party Congress, in May 1979, he was nevertheless re-elected at the Extraordinary Congress held in September that same year.

In November 1980, he was appointed deputy chairman of the Socialist International. Subsequently, at the 29th Congress, held in October 1981, he was once again elected secretary general of the PSOE.

He headed the list of the candidates for election to Congress in the general election of October 1982, when the socialists obtained an absolute majority in Parliament. As a result, following his nomination by the King, he was invested in office as prime minister on December 1st, 1982.

In the election of June 22nd, 1986, the Spanish Socialist Party obtained an absolute majority once again, and he was re-elected by Parliament as prime minister on July 23rd that year.

The same thing happened after the general election of 1989, when on December 5th, 1989, he emerged successfully from the investiture debate and obtained the confidence of the House.

Following the latest general election held on June 6th, in which victory went once again to the PSOE, he was elected prime minister with the support of the Catalan and Basque nationalist parties, on July 10th, 1993.