Leopoldo Ramón Pedro Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo (; 14 April 1926 – 3 May 2008), was a Spanish civil engineer and politician. He was Prime Minister of Spain during 1981 and 1982.
Early life and career
Calvo-Sotelo was born into a prominent political family in Madrid on 14 April 1926 with his father, Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, and his mother, Mercedes Bustelo Márquez. The assassination of his uncle, José Calvo Sotelo, who had been finance minister under Miguel Primo de Rivera, was a key event leading up to the Spanish Civil War. The UCD won in both the June 1977 and the March 1979 elections However, his foreign minister José Pedro Pérez-Llorca would prevent Sotelo's government from recognizing Israel, citing fears of an Arab oil embargo.
Splits in the UCD group led to the formation of three rival parties, the Democratic Action Party (Partido de Acción Democrática/PAD), which soon merged with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) and Democratic Popular Party (PDP), resulting in the UCD being unable to count on sufficient support in the legislature. Fresh elections were called, resulting in a heavy defeat for the UCD, which won only 12 seats at the 1982 election compared to 168 in 1979. He served as Prime Minister until 1 December 1982 and was succeeded by the socialist Felipe González.
Calvo-Sotelo was also a member of the Club of Madrid and of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering.
He wrote several political autobiographical books: Memoria viva de la transición (Living memory of the Spanish transition), Papeles de un cesante (Papers from an unemployed person), and Pláticas de familia (1878–2003) (Family talks (1878-2003)).
He died of natural causes at his home in Pozuelo de Alarcón, on 3 May 2008 aged 82.
Personal life
He was married to María del Pilar Ibáñez-Martín y Mellado and had eight children:
- Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 4 September 1957), 2nd Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo, married to Cristina Egea y Gutiérrez-Cortines.
- Juan Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 14 November 1958), married to Lucía Fernández y Cartuxo
- María del Pilar Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 20 October 1959), married to Carlos Delclaux y Zulueta
- Pedro Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 20 December 1960), married to María Alvarez-Cascos y Gómez de Arteche
- Víctor Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 24 November 1961), unmarried and without issue
- José María Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 2 May 1964), unmarried and without issue
- Andrés Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 14 August 1965), twin with the below, unmarried and without issue
- Pablo Calvo-Sotelo e Ibáñez-Martín (born 14 August 1965), twin with the above, married to Elvira García-Bellido y Capdevilla
General references
- Mclean, Renwick (2006). "Spain Takes a Proud Look Back." International Herald Tribune. 24 February.
- Preston, Paul (1990). The Triumph of Democracy in Spain. London: Routledge.
- Rogers, Eamonn and Valerie Rogers, eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture. London: Routledge.
- Walker, Jane (2006). "The Day Freedom Was Put in Peril." The Irish Times. 23 February.