Fernando Álvarez de Miranda

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Fernando Álvarez de Miranda, 1982

Fernando Álvarez de Miranda y Torres (born January 14, 1924 in Santander , Cantabria , † May 7, 2016 in Madrid ) was a Spanish politician of the Unión de Centro Democrático (UCD), who was president of the Constituent Assembly ( Congreso de los Diputados de la Transición ) and was one of the co-authors of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Spain . The specialist in public law, human rights and European community law was later ambassador to El Salvador between 1986 and 1989 and ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo) from 1994 to 1999 .

Life

Lawyer and deportation during Franquism

After attending school, Álvarez de Miranda studied law at the Complutense University in Madrid and at the University of Zaragoza . After completing his studies, he accepted a professorship in public law at the Complutense University of Madrid in 1950 , where he taught until 1962. In 1952 he was admitted to the bar at the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid and then practiced as a lawyer for more than fifty years , increasingly specializing in public law. His commitment to European unity began in the early 1960s when he was invited by the Council of Europe's Committee of Countries in 1961 to report on the political situation in Spain.

After attending the IV Congress of the European Movement in Munich in June 1962 , he was arrested by the Francisco Franco government and deported to the island of Fuerteventura . After his release in 1964 he became a private advisor to the Count of Barcelona Juan de Borbón y Battenberg .

Transition in Spain and President of the Chamber of Deputies

After the end of Franquism , Álvarez de Miranda founded the Christian Democratic People's Party Partido Popular Demócrata Cristiano (PPCD) during the transition to democracy in 1976 , which on May 3, 1977 joined eleven other parties to form the tactical electoral alliance Unión de Centro Democrático led by Adolfo Suárez ( UCD). On July 5, 1977 he became a member of the Constituent Assembly of this transitional phase and took over the office of President of this Congreso de los Diputados de la Transición on July 14, 1977 , which he held until January 2, 1979. During this time he was also Chairman of the Speaker Committee (Junta de Portavoces) from August 1, 1977 to January 2, 1979, and Chairman of the Permanent Committee (Diputación Permanente) from November 16, 1977 to March 23, 1979 . November 1977 to January 2, 1979 chairman of the Interior Committee (Comisión de Gobierno Interior) and finally between February 13, 1978 and January 2, 1979 also chairman of the Committee for Internal Affairs (Comisión de Reglamento) . In these functions he was instrumental in the creation of the constitution of the Kingdom of Spain, which came into force on December 29, 1978.

In the election of March 1, 1979, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives and belonged to it during the first legislative period from March 23, 1979 to August 31, 1982. During this time he was spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Committee (Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores) from May 10, 1979 to August 31, 1982, and at the same time, between May 10, 1979 and March 11, 1982, spokesman for the Justice Committee (Comisión de Justicia) . In addition, he acted from June 4, 1979 to November 18, 1981 as spokesman for the Standing Committee and then between November 19, 1981 and March 11, 1982 as spokesman for the Committee for the Ombudsman (Comisión del Defensor del Pueblo) . Most recently, he was spokesman for the Constitutional Committee (Comisión Constitucional) from March 3 to August 31, 1982 , and chairman of the Committee of Inquiry into Human Rights (Comisión de Investigación Derechos Humanos) between March 11 and August 31, 1982 .

At the same time, Álvarez de Miranda continued his European political commitment during this time and acted as President of the Spanish Council of the European Movement between 1978 and 1986 and in 1982 also became one of the Vice-Presidents of the International Executive Council of the European Movement. In 1979 he assumed the presidency of the Humanism and Democracy Foundation (Fundación Humanismo y Democracia) and, as such, was part of the Amnesty International delegation , which investigated the human rights situation in Guatemala in 1980 and 1981 . He was also chairman of the Spanish delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1979 and during this time he took part in various congresses.

Ambassador and Ombudsman

In 1986 Álvarez de Miranda received his accreditation as ambassador to El Salvador and held this diplomatic post until 1989. After his return he was elected member of the Council of State (Consejo de Estado) , the highest advisory body of the government. In 1992 he was appointed a member of the European Union's Committee of Experts for the Multiannual Program for Human Rights in Central America .

As the successor to Álvaro Gil-Robles , the specialist in public law, human rights and European Community law was appointed ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo) on November 30, 1994 and held this position until November 30, 1999, before this post on June 15, 2000 was taken over by the former Justice Minister Enrique Múgica . During his tenure as ombudsman, he advocated an improvement in the widow's pension and submitted the first report on violence. He also complained about the delay in paying compensation for expropriations and called for the right to free public defense for immigrants.

In 1999 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Miguel Hernández Elche for his longstanding service. At the age of almost 80, he completed postgraduate studies in European law at the University of Luxembourg, founded in 2003 . In 2005 he received another honorary doctorate from the IE University in Segovia and in 2009 from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares and the University of Rey Juan Carlos .

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personal data
SURNAME Álvarez de Miranda, Fernando
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Álvarez de Miranda y Torres, Fernando (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish politician and lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Santander , Cantabria
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 2016
Place of death Madrid