Adolfo Suárez

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Adolfo Suárez González

Prime Minister of Spain
In office July 5, 1976 – February 25, 1981
Preceded by	Carlos Arias Navarro
Succeeded by	Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo

Born	September 25, 1932 Cebreros, Ávila province
Political party	UCD

Don Adolfo Suárez González, Duke of Suárez (in Spanish: Don Adolfo Suárez González, Duque de Suárez) (born September 25, 1932) was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. He studied Law at the Complutense University in Madrid and held several government posts during the late Francoist regime.

He became the Minister Secretary General of the National Movement (Movimiento Nacional), that acted as the single party, for 18 years and following the death of Franco in late 1975. For this reason, centrist and leftist supporters opposed his appointment as President of the Government by King Juan Carlos in July 1976. Suárez, as a nationalist, was chosen by the monarch to lead the country towards a democratic, parliamentary monarchy without annoying the powerful conservative factions (especially the military) in the country. Surprising many observers and political opponents, Suárez introduced Political Reform in 1976 as a first, decisive step in the Transition (La Transición) to democracy.

In 1977, he led the Democratic Center Union (Unión de Centro Democrático, UCD) to victory in Spain's first free elections in 41 years, and became the first democratically elected prime minister after the Franco regime.

His centrist government instituted democratic reforms, and his coalition won again the 1979 elections under the new constitution. Less successful as a day-to-day organizer than as a crisis manager, he was replaced as premier in 1981. In 1982 he founded Democratic and Social Center (Centro Democrático y Social, CDS) party, which never achieved the success of UCD. He retired from active politics in 1991, for political party and family reasons.

Suárez won the "Príncipe de Asturias a la Concordia" award in September 1996, in recognition of his important personal contribution to Spanish democracy. The King of Spain made him Duke of Suárez in 1981.

1 Family
2 Illness
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Family

Both his wife, Amparo Illana Elórtegui, and elder daughter, Marian Suárez Illana, suffered and died from cancers (in 2001 and 2004, respectively). Another daughter, Sonsoles Suárez Illana, became a TV news anchor for Antena 3. Son Adolfo Suárez Illana was chosen by José María Aznar as the People's Party (PP) candidate for the post of president of the Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha, but lost against incumbent José Bono, of the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE)^{[citation needed]}. Suárez has two more siblings, Laura and Javier.

[edit] Illness

On May 31, 2005, his son, Adolfo Suárez Illana, announced on Spanish television that his father was suffering from Alzheimer's disease (or a similar illness), which meant that he could no longer remember his period as prime minister of Spain. The announcement followed speculation about Suárez's health in the Spanish media.