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		{{Infobox_President
		\| name=José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
		\| nationality=spain
		\| image=Zapatero.jpg
		\| order=
		\| term_start=], ]
		\| term_end=present
		\| predecessor=]
		\| successor=Incumbent
		\| birth_date=], ]
		\| birth_place=]
		\| dead=alive
		\| death_date=
		\| death_place=
		\| spouse=]
		\| party=]
		\| vicepresident=] and ]
		}}
		{{audio\|Es-zapatero.ogg\|'''José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero'''}}, also called ], (born ], ] in ]) is the ] of ] since his party, the ] (PSOE), won the ] on ], ]. Notable actions of his government have included withdrawing Spanish troops from ] and legalising ]. He also presided over the Spanish Parliament's approval of the new ] and the ] ceasefire.

		In April 2006, Zapatero garnered a 53.9% approval rating, while the opposition leader, ] of the ] (PP), was given 39.7% .

		== Personal life and youth ==
		Zapatero was born in ] to an affluent family with a long history of left-wing politics. His father, Juan Rodríguez García-Lozano, is a prominent lawyer. His paternal grandfather, ], a ] captain who was killed by Nationalists during the ].

		Zapatero grew up in ]. At the ] of that city, he studied law, graduating in 1982. While working there as an associate professor, he was elected to Parliament in 1986.

		Zapatero is married to ], the daughter of a military officer (Rafael Espinosa Armendáriz) . Zapatero has two daughters, Laura (1993) and Alba (1995).

		== Zapatero enters politics ==
		Zapatero, accompanied by his family, attended his first political rally on ], ]. It was a meeting organised by the PSOE in ]. At the rally, ], the Socialist leader and future ], gave a stirring speech, which had a profound impact upon Zapatero. He enrolled later the party in 1979, and in ] became the head of the party's youth wing. In ], he was elected to represent the province of ] in the ] (Parliament), becoming its youngest member. In ], Zapatero was appointed Secretary General of the PSOE in León. He was reelected in 1994 and in 1997.

		== Leader of the PSOE ==
		On ], ], the ] lost its second successive election to the PP under ]. Zapatero kept his seat, but the Socialist Party won only 125 seats, 16 fewer than in 1996. The defeat was particularly bitter as the PP unexpectedly obtained an absolute majority.

		Zapatero decided to run for the leadership of the PSOE in its 35th Conference in June of that year. He started a new faction within the party called the ''Nueva Vía''. Zapatero was a "]" candidate. His critics pointed to his inexperience while his backers argued that he had a reformers' image and was the only ] among the candidates. (All the Spanish opposition leaders have been MPs before winning the elections.) Zapatero won by a small margin (414 votes out of 995; José Bono received 405).

		== Opposition leader ==

		===Early clashes===

		Zapatero's first clash with the government was about the perceived inability of the government to control the rise of fuel prices. He asked for a reduction in the excise taxes in order to compensate for ] price increases. At the end of the same year, ] came back into the spotlight after an outbreak in 1996. Zapatero repeatedly criticised the government's management of the crisis arguing that it was out of control.

		In 2000, the British nuclear submarine ] docked at ] in order to have its reactor repaired. Aznar claimed that there was no risk to the population, but Zapatero criticised Aznar for his inability to try to make the British government move the submarine elsewhere.

		===Iraq and foreign policy===

		The main source of friction between Aznar and Zapatero was ]. Opinion polls showed that a clear majority of Spanish voters (more than 90%) were against the American-led invasion.

		On ], ] a ] ] plane carrying Spanish soldiers returning from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey. The plane had been hired by a ] agency. Zapatero blamed Aznar and his government for neglecting the plane insurance and safety. It was not until after the March 2004 elections that it became known that there had been a large number of mistakes in identifying the bodies. The accident became similar to the ] in the political arena.

		===Terrorism===

		In 2000 after several fatal terrorist attacks by the Basque terrorist organization ], Zapatero proposed the "Pacto de las Libertades contra el Terrorismo," or the "Pact of the Liberties against Terrorism." At first, some prominent Popular Party politicians, like ], opposed Zapatero's proposal saying it accomplished little, but the agreement was signed in December of 2000. The main aim of the accord was to foster unity between the PP and the PSOE in the fight against terrorism. It included clauses to ensure that policies towards terrorism would not be used as a weapon for political gain.

		===Prestige oil tanker accident===

		In November ], the oil tanker ] suffered an accident in international waters near ], causing a large ] that damaged the coastlines of Galicia, other parts of northern ] and ], and the south Atlantic coast of ]. Zapatero and many technicians blamed the government's management during the accident, especially the government's decision to pull the tanker away. Zapatero argued that had the ship been allowed to enter a harbor, the worst of the catastrophe could have been prevented. The accident and its consequences became a major issue for the whole country.

		===Intermediate regional elections===
		In the run up to the general election of March ], there were several regional elections during Zapatero's time as the opposition leader. A regional election was held in the Basque country on ], ] where the Socialists lost one seat. On ], ], ] held a regional election. The PP, led by ], obtained a new, absolute majority. The Socialist Party increased its seats from 15 to 17. On ], ], regional elections were held across much of Spain. The Socialist Party received a larger share of the popular vote. On ], ] a regional election was held in Catalonia. The results of the Socialist Party were worse than expected but it could finally take hold of the regional government after almost 20 years of control of the Institutions by the ] Catalan nationalist coalition, ] thanks to an alliance with pro-Catalan independence party ] and the green- left party ].

		== The 2004 General election ==
		Entering the ] on ], ], opinion polls were favourable to the PP which was hoping to regain its absolute majority or lose it narrowly. However, Zapatero's PSOE won. It is generally accepted that the ] on ], ] - three days before the elections - and the accusations from the PSOE of ill management of the crisis by the PP's government, were the main factor in the political landslide and the by then unexpected PSOE's victory.

		Zapatero won the election by obtaining 164 seats, more than any other party. Zapatero still lacked the necessary majority to ensure his appointment as Prime Minister (176 are needed). Zapatero began negotiating with possible coalition partners, eventually gaining the support of the ] and the ]. This is not a permanent coalition, so before every major vote the PSOE negotiates with their coalition partners.

		Zapatero became the first Prime Minister to have an equal number of male and female ministers in his cabinet.

		== Prime ministership: domestic policy ==
		Much of Zapatero's work has been on social issues, including divorce and homosexual marriage. He has also made it clear that he values funding of research and development and higher education and believes them to be essential for Spain's economic competitiveness. At the same time, he has increased the minimum wage and pursued other classically socialist policies. He has also announced his intention to undertake limited reforms to the Spanish Constitution, though no specifics have been made available.

		=== Same-sex marriage ===

		The legalisation of ] became law on ], ] and includes adoption rights as well as other rights that were previously only available to heterosexual couples.

		=== Regional territorial tensions ===

		Zapatero has often declared that his government will not be "soft on terrorism" and will not allow regional nationalists to endanger Spanish unity.

		On ] ] in a rally in ] during the election campaign that took ] to power in the ], Rodríguez Zapatero pronounced a famous promise to approve the ]:
		:''I will support the reform of the Statute of Catalonia that the Parliament of Catalonia approves.''

		In ], a controversial proposal to reform the Catalan statute arrived at the Spanish parliament after being passed in Catalonia. Zapatero, who had often expressed his support for a change of the statute (although he did not entirely support the draft passed by the Catalan Parliament), became on ], ] (Spain's national holiday), the first prime minister ever to be booed during the traditional military parade in ].

		=== Spanish Civil War remnants ===

		In October ] Zapatero's government undertook the task of morally and legally rehabilitating those who were suppressed during and after the ], by instituting a Memory Commission chaired by Vice-Prime Minister ].

		On ], ], Zapatero's government ordered the removal of the last remaining statue of former dictator ] that remained in Madrid.

		=== Reform of the education system ===

		Just after he took office, Zapatero repealed the law reforming the Education System passed by the previous government and, in November ], he introduced his own reform project. The project is opposed by the PP, the Catholic Church, the Muslim community, several parents' associations and an important part of the educational community, often for disparate reasons. Complaints against the reform include the limits it imposes upon the parent's freedom to choose a school, the decrease in academic status of voluntary religious education, the introduction of a compulsory course ("Education for Citizenship") and a perceived ineffectuality of the reform in terms of combating poor educational results. The last complaint would be reinforced by the fact that, in the last few years, Spain has ranked poorly amongst the developed countries in the quality and results of its education.

		After the demonstration took place the government held a series of meetings with many of the organizations that initially opposed the reform, reaching agreements with some of them (especially parents and teachers associations). Some others, most prominently the People Party and the Catholic Church, remain staunchly opposed to it.

		== Foreign policy ==
		Zapatero favours a multilateral approach to foreign policy with the ] playing a fundamental role. He has also affirmed his view that a strict respect of international law is essential for keeping the peace. The first time he spoke before the ], he proposed an ] as a way to solve the world's problems.

		Foreign policy is the area where Zapatero differs most sharply from his predecessor. Aznar defended a foreign policy based on two pillars: A strong alliance with the US, and a peripheral European strategy where Spain would emphasise its friendship with European countries like Italy, the UK, and Poland in order to counterbalance French and German power within the EU. Whereas Zapatero has forged closer relationships with France and Germany, a distancing of position from the US and a strengthening of ties with ] where Spanish companies have huge investments.

		=== European Union ===

		Zapatero has preferred to focus on what have traditionally been considered the core countries of the EU, France and Germany. With regard to the EU, Zapatero accepted the distribution of power within the ] of the European Union proposed by Germany and France{{fact}}. After signing the treaty in Rome with the other EU leaders, Spain was the first country to hold a referendum to ratify the constitution which was approved on ], ].

		=== Iraq and relations with the US ===

		During the electoral campaign, Zapatero promised to recall the troops in Iraq. The withdrawal aroused a great deal of both international support and criticism, with the latter fearing that it could be perceived as a victory for terrorists and the former that it was a blow to US geostrategic plans. Some months later, Zapatero's government agreed to increase the number of Spanish soldiers in ] and to send troops to ] in a show of willingness to allot resources to international missions.

		On ], ], with the withdrawal already finished, Zapatero's government voted in favour of the which included provisions that asked member states and NGOs to contribute military and economic assistance to Iraq. However, in a later visit to Tunisia, Zapatero asked all countries with troops in Iraq to withdraw their soldiers. This drew an angry response from the ], and the American ambassador to Spain refused to go to the annual National Holiday military parade to protest Zapatero's comments.

		Relations between President Bush and Zapatero were still strained by the end of 2004. When Bush won re-election, Zapatero's congratulatory call was not passed directly to Bush{{fact}} — unlike many other important world leaders' calls (such as ] and ]). Zapatero's message was later passed on by ] who visited Bush's Texas ranch a week after the US elections.

		=== Latin America ===

		Another change in policy with regard to his predecessor is Zapatero's decision to approach leftist leaning leaders like himself such as ] of ]. Zapatero has also played an important role in the improvement of relations between ]'s ]n government and the ]. At the end of March ], Zapatero travelled to Venezuela for a deal that allowed for the sale of Spanish military ships and aircraft to Venezuela. The decision was criticised by the US government. Zapatero has stated that the equipment has no offensive capabilities. In January ] the US ] blocked the sale of various transport planes by arguing that they contained US military technology. In the same month Evo Morales chose to visit Spain and Rodriguez Zapatero as the only European stop on his world tour before assuming the Bolivian presidency.

		=== The Middle East ===

		Zapatero has been accused by his opponents of "anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and Israelophobia." He is alledged to have said "At times one can even understand that there might be people who could justify the Holocaust." He has allowed himself to be photographed wearing a keffiyeh.

		== References ==
		* (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. {{lang\|es\|''Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera''}}. 1st ed. updated. ({{lang\|es\|La Esfera de los Libros}}, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7.
		* http://www.es-israel.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2896
		* http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/20/news/spain.php

		==See also==
		* ]
		* ]
		* ]


		==External links==
		===Official===

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Revision as of 22:35, 17 August 2006

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
File:Zapatero.jpg

In office April 17, 2004 – present
Vice President	María Teresa Fernández de la Vega and Pedro Solbes
Preceded by	José María Aznar

Personal details
Born	August 4, 1960 Valladolid
Nationality	spain
Political party	PSOE
Spouse	Sonsoles Espinosa

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, also called ZP, (born August 4, 1960 in Valladolid) is the President of the Government of Spain since his party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), won the Spanish legislative election, 2004 on March 14, 2004. Notable actions of his government have included withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq and legalising same-sex marriage in Spain. He also presided over the Spanish Parliament's approval of the new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and the ETA ceasefire.

In April 2006, Zapatero garnered a 53.9% approval rating, while the opposition leader, Mariano Rajoy of the People's Party (PP), was given 39.7% .

Personal life and youth

Zapatero was born in Valladolid to an affluent family with a long history of left-wing politics. His father, Juan Rodríguez García-Lozano, is a prominent lawyer. His paternal grandfather, Juan Rodríguez Lozano, a Republican captain who was killed by Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War.

Zapatero grew up in León. At the University of that city, he studied law, graduating in 1982. While working there as an associate professor, he was elected to Parliament in 1986.

Zapatero is married to Sonsoles Espinosa Díaz, the daughter of a military officer (Rafael Espinosa Armendáriz) . Zapatero has two daughters, Laura (1993) and Alba (1995).

Zapatero enters politics

Zapatero, accompanied by his family, attended his first political rally on August 15, 1976. It was a meeting organised by the PSOE in Gijón. At the rally, Felipe González, the Socialist leader and future Prime Minister of Spain, gave a stirring speech, which had a profound impact upon Zapatero. He enrolled later the party in 1979, and in 1982 became the head of the party's youth wing. In 1986, he was elected to represent the province of León in the Cortes (Parliament), becoming its youngest member. In 1988, Zapatero was appointed Secretary General of the PSOE in León. He was reelected in 1994 and in 1997.

Leader of the PSOE

On March 12, 2000, the Spanish Socialist Party lost its second successive election to the PP under José María Aznar. Zapatero kept his seat, but the Socialist Party won only 125 seats, 16 fewer than in 1996. The defeat was particularly bitter as the PP unexpectedly obtained an absolute majority.

Zapatero decided to run for the leadership of the PSOE in its 35th Conference in June of that year. He started a new faction within the party called the Nueva Vía. Zapatero was a "dark horse" candidate. His critics pointed to his inexperience while his backers argued that he had a reformers' image and was the only MP among the candidates. (All the Spanish opposition leaders have been MPs before winning the elections.) Zapatero won by a small margin (414 votes out of 995; José Bono received 405).

Opposition leader

Early clashes

Zapatero's first clash with the government was about the perceived inability of the government to control the rise of fuel prices. He asked for a reduction in the excise taxes in order to compensate for crude oil price increases. At the end of the same year, Mad Cow Disease came back into the spotlight after an outbreak in 1996. Zapatero repeatedly criticised the government's management of the crisis arguing that it was out of control.

In 2000, the British nuclear submarine H.M.S. Tireless docked at Gibraltar in order to have its reactor repaired. Aznar claimed that there was no risk to the population, but Zapatero criticised Aznar for his inability to try to make the British government move the submarine elsewhere.

Iraq and foreign policy

The main source of friction between Aznar and Zapatero was Iraq. Opinion polls showed that a clear majority of Spanish voters (more than 90%) were against the American-led invasion.

On May 26, 2003 a Yakovlev Yak 42 plane carrying Spanish soldiers returning from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey. The plane had been hired by a NATO agency. Zapatero blamed Aznar and his government for neglecting the plane insurance and safety. It was not until after the March 2004 elections that it became known that there had been a large number of mistakes in identifying the bodies. The accident became similar to the Prestige in the political arena.

Terrorism

In 2000 after several fatal terrorist attacks by the Basque terrorist organization ETA, Zapatero proposed the "Pacto de las Libertades contra el Terrorismo," or the "Pact of the Liberties against Terrorism." At first, some prominent Popular Party politicians, like Mariano Rajoy, opposed Zapatero's proposal saying it accomplished little, but the agreement was signed in December of 2000. The main aim of the accord was to foster unity between the PP and the PSOE in the fight against terrorism. It included clauses to ensure that policies towards terrorism would not be used as a weapon for political gain.

Prestige oil tanker accident

In November 2002, the oil tanker Prestige suffered an accident in international waters near Galicia, causing a large oil slick that damaged the coastlines of Galicia, other parts of northern Spain and Portugal, and the south Atlantic coast of France. Zapatero and many technicians blamed the government's management during the accident, especially the government's decision to pull the tanker away. Zapatero argued that had the ship been allowed to enter a harbor, the worst of the catastrophe could have been prevented. The accident and its consequences became a major issue for the whole country.

Intermediate regional elections

In the run up to the general election of March 2004, there were several regional elections during Zapatero's time as the opposition leader. A regional election was held in the Basque country on May 13, 2001 where the Socialists lost one seat. On October 21, 2001, Galicia held a regional election. The PP, led by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, obtained a new, absolute majority. The Socialist Party increased its seats from 15 to 17. On May 25, 2003, regional elections were held across much of Spain. The Socialist Party received a larger share of the popular vote. On November 16, 2003 a regional election was held in Catalonia. The results of the Socialist Party were worse than expected but it could finally take hold of the regional government after almost 20 years of control of the Institutions by the centrist Catalan nationalist coalition, Convergència i Unió thanks to an alliance with pro-Catalan independence party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and the green- left party Iniciativa per Catalunya.

The 2004 General election

Entering the Spanish legislative election, 2004 on March 14, 2004, opinion polls were favourable to the PP which was hoping to regain its absolute majority or lose it narrowly. However, Zapatero's PSOE won. It is generally accepted that the Madrid Bombings on March 11, 2004 - three days before the elections - and the accusations from the PSOE of ill management of the crisis by the PP's government, were the main factor in the political landslide and the by then unexpected PSOE's victory.

Zapatero won the election by obtaining 164 seats, more than any other party. Zapatero still lacked the necessary majority to ensure his appointment as Prime Minister (176 are needed). Zapatero began negotiating with possible coalition partners, eventually gaining the support of the United Left and the Republican Left of Catalonia. This is not a permanent coalition, so before every major vote the PSOE negotiates with their coalition partners.

Zapatero became the first Prime Minister to have an equal number of male and female ministers in his cabinet.

Prime ministership: domestic policy

Much of Zapatero's work has been on social issues, including divorce and homosexual marriage. He has also made it clear that he values funding of research and development and higher education and believes them to be essential for Spain's economic competitiveness. At the same time, he has increased the minimum wage and pursued other classically socialist policies. He has also announced his intention to undertake limited reforms to the Spanish Constitution, though no specifics have been made available.

Same-sex marriage

The legalisation of same-sex marriage became law on July 1st, 2005 and includes adoption rights as well as other rights that were previously only available to heterosexual couples.

Regional territorial tensions

Zapatero has often declared that his government will not be "soft on terrorism" and will not allow regional nationalists to endanger Spanish unity.

On 13 November 2003 in a rally in Barcelona during the election campaign that took Pasqual Maragall to power in the Generalitat, Rodríguez Zapatero pronounced a famous promise to approve the Statute of Catalonia:

I will support the reform of the Statute of Catalonia that the Parliament of Catalonia approves.

In October 2005, a controversial proposal to reform the Catalan statute arrived at the Spanish parliament after being passed in Catalonia. Zapatero, who had often expressed his support for a change of the statute (although he did not entirely support the draft passed by the Catalan Parliament), became on October 12, 2005 (Spain's national holiday), the first prime minister ever to be booed during the traditional military parade in Madrid.

Spanish Civil War remnants

In October 2004 Zapatero's government undertook the task of morally and legally rehabilitating those who were suppressed during and after the Spanish Civil War, by instituting a Memory Commission chaired by Vice-Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega.

On March 17, 2005, Zapatero's government ordered the removal of the last remaining statue of former dictator Francisco Franco that remained in Madrid.

Reform of the education system

Just after he took office, Zapatero repealed the law reforming the Education System passed by the previous government and, in November 2005, he introduced his own reform project. The project is opposed by the PP, the Catholic Church, the Muslim community, several parents' associations and an important part of the educational community, often for disparate reasons. Complaints against the reform include the limits it imposes upon the parent's freedom to choose a school, the decrease in academic status of voluntary religious education, the introduction of a compulsory course ("Education for Citizenship") and a perceived ineffectuality of the reform in terms of combating poor educational results. The last complaint would be reinforced by the fact that, in the last few years, Spain has ranked poorly amongst the developed countries in the quality and results of its education.

After the demonstration took place the government held a series of meetings with many of the organizations that initially opposed the reform, reaching agreements with some of them (especially parents and teachers associations). Some others, most prominently the People Party and the Catholic Church, remain staunchly opposed to it.

Foreign policy

Zapatero favours a multilateral approach to foreign policy with the United Nations playing a fundamental role. He has also affirmed his view that a strict respect of international law is essential for keeping the peace. The first time he spoke before the UN General Assembly, he proposed an Alliance of Civilizations as a way to solve the world's problems.

Foreign policy is the area where Zapatero differs most sharply from his predecessor. Aznar defended a foreign policy based on two pillars: A strong alliance with the US, and a peripheral European strategy where Spain would emphasise its friendship with European countries like Italy, the UK, and Poland in order to counterbalance French and German power within the EU. Whereas Zapatero has forged closer relationships with France and Germany, a distancing of position from the US and a strengthening of ties with Latin America where Spanish companies have huge investments.

European Union

Zapatero has preferred to focus on what have traditionally been considered the core countries of the EU, France and Germany. With regard to the EU, Zapatero accepted the distribution of power within the European Constitution of the European Union proposed by Germany and France. After signing the treaty in Rome with the other EU leaders, Spain was the first country to hold a referendum to ratify the constitution which was approved on February 20, 2005.

Iraq and relations with the US

During the electoral campaign, Zapatero promised to recall the troops in Iraq. The withdrawal aroused a great deal of both international support and criticism, with the latter fearing that it could be perceived as a victory for terrorists and the former that it was a blow to US geostrategic plans. Some months later, Zapatero's government agreed to increase the number of Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan and to send troops to Haiti in a show of willingness to allot resources to international missions.

On June 8, 2004, with the withdrawal already finished, Zapatero's government voted in favour of the UN Security Council Resolution 1546 which included provisions that asked member states and NGOs to contribute military and economic assistance to Iraq. However, in a later visit to Tunisia, Zapatero asked all countries with troops in Iraq to withdraw their soldiers. This drew an angry response from the President Bush, and the American ambassador to Spain refused to go to the annual National Holiday military parade to protest Zapatero's comments.

Relations between President Bush and Zapatero were still strained by the end of 2004. When Bush won re-election, Zapatero's congratulatory call was not passed directly to Bush — unlike many other important world leaders' calls (such as Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac). Zapatero's message was later passed on by King Juan Carlos who visited Bush's Texas ranch a week after the US elections.

Latin America

Another change in policy with regard to his predecessor is Zapatero's decision to approach leftist leaning leaders like himself such as Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Zapatero has also played an important role in the improvement of relations between Fidel Castro's Cuban government and the European Union. At the end of March 2005, Zapatero travelled to Venezuela for a deal that allowed for the sale of Spanish military ships and aircraft to Venezuela. The decision was criticised by the US government. Zapatero has stated that the equipment has no offensive capabilities. In January 2006 the US Department of Defense blocked the sale of various transport planes by arguing that they contained US military technology. In the same month Evo Morales chose to visit Spain and Rodriguez Zapatero as the only European stop on his world tour before assuming the Bolivian presidency.

The Middle East

Zapatero has been accused by his opponents of "anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and Israelophobia." He is alledged to have said "At times one can even understand that there might be people who could justify the Holocaust." He has allowed himself to be photographed wearing a keffiyeh.

References

(OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7.
http://www.es-israel.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2896
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/20/news/spain.php