José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born August 4, 1960) is the Prime Minister of Spain. His party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, won the general election on March 14, 2004. Notable actions of his government have included withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq and legalizing same-sex marriages. Another notable government act was the removal of one of the last remaining statues of General Franco, the former fascist dictator.

Leader of the Socialists

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

Related Topics:
March 12 - 2000 - PSOE - José María Aznar - People's Party

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Zapatero decided to run for the leadership of the PSOE in its 35th Conference in June of that year. He started a newer, more centrist faction within the party called the Nueva Vía. On June 25, 2000 Zapatero announced his intention to run for the Secretary General at a meeting in León. In his speech, he made a declaration of principles:

Related Topics:
June - June 25 - 2000

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• To build a society that would accept all foreigners.
• To give priority to education and to create good jobs.
• To provide parents with more time to spend with their children and take care of elders.
• To promote culture.
• To convert Spain into a country admired for helping those with more needs.
• To help those with initiative and enterprising qualities.
• To foster democracy, to lend distinction to politics and to promote deeper values over temporary interests.

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).

Related Topics:
Dark horse - MP

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