The politician and lawyer José María Gil-Robles y Gil-Delgado, son of the also politician José María Gil Robles -historical leader of the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights (CEDA)- and president of the European Parliament between 1997 and 1999, has died this Monday at 87 years of age.
Born in Madrid in 1935, when he was just a few years old, he left Spain with his family -as exiles- to live in Biarritz and, later, in Portugal. In the latter country he studied the Spanish Baccalaureate with private teachers, including his father, and he took the self-examination at the Instituto de Ciudad Rodrigo, in Salamanca.
Subsequently, he graduated in Law with an Extraordinary Award from the University of Salamanca and began his professional activity as Lawyer of the Courts (1959) and directed the 'Foreign Legislation Bulletin'. Between 1959 and 1964 he was a professor of Political Law at the Complutense University.
Between 1959 and 1997 and from 1999 onwards he practiced law and since 1974 he has published various legal works related to the restoration of democracy and parliamentary and public law. In 2004 he obtained the "Jean Monnet" Chair at the Complutense University (Faculty of Political Science and Sociology) and in 2006 he was appointed director of the "Truyol Serra" Center of Excellence at the Complutense University.
Regarding his political career, during the Transition he founded the Popular Democratic Federation and also formed, together with Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez's Democratic Left, the Federation of Christian Democracy.
Later he joined the Popular Democratic Party of Óscar Alzaga, through whose hand he came to Alianza Popular, which later became the PP. In 1989 he became a member of the European Parliament as an independent for the PP and in 1997 he became the president of the European Parliament, a position he held until 1999. He was the second Spaniard to direct the institution - the first was Enrique Barón between 1989 and 1992 - and he continued as an MEP until May 4, 2004, when he said goodbye to the Chamber, after 15 years of service, with a speech in which he highlighted the presence of 10 new members in the EU.
As president of the European Parliament, he participated in some of the key moments in European history, such as the negotiations that would give rise to the Treaty of Amsterdam, the approval by the European Parliament of the launch of the euro, the appointment of the first president of the European Central Bank and the launch of the EU Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) or the efforts of the European Union to prevent genocide in Kosovo.
He was also in charge of the European Parliament when the bloc resignation of the Commission led by Jacques Santer took place, in which Parliament played a key role of control and accountability of the European Commission that would set a precedent for the following community executives .
After leaving the presidency of the European Parliament, he held the presidency of the International European Movement. It was later, in 2005, when he was Honorary President of the International European Movement and a year later, President of the Board of Trustees of the European Parliament Model programme. From 2008 to 2015 he chaired the Jean Monnet Foundation.
His decorations include, in chronological order, the Schuman Medal, awarded by the Group of the European People's Party (1995), the Cross of Agricultural Merit, the Grand Cross of Isabel la Católica and the Grand Cross of Civil Merit (Spain).
In addition to the Francisco Morazán Grand Cross, awarded by the Central American Parliament (1997); the Great Cross of the Order of Merit, from Chile; the Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator San Martín, from Argentina; the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay; the title of adopted son of the city of Salamanca (Spain); the Grand Cross of the Order of Antonio José Irizarri (Guatemala) (1999); the Legion of Honor (France) (2000); the Gold Medal of the European Parliament (2000); the Galician Silver Medal (2000) and the European Merit Medal (Spain) (2009).
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has published a tweet in which she has lamented the death of the Spanish politician and lawyer, and has stated that Gil-Robles "led Parliament in times of change with great determination to make this institution more strong and close to the citizens".
Likewise, he has been "sad" by the news and has sent his deepest condolences to family and relatives.
For his part, the General Director of Communication and Spokesman of the European Parliament, the Catalan Jaume Duch, has also lamented the death of José María Gil-Robles on Twitter.
"José María Gil-Robles has left us, a great president of the European Parliament, but above all a teacher and a friend, an example of service to European ideals, a man of dialogue, open, conciliatory, intelligent, wise and fun," he wrote on the social network. "It was an honor to work with him", she has concluded, since they both coincided for a few years working in the Eurochamber.
The president of the PP and leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has also lamented the death of José María Gil-Robles. In a message on Twitter, he wanted to convey "my condolences and all my affection" to the family of the lawyer and politician, who died this Monday.
"A great president of the European Parliament, defender of democracy and EU values. Rest in peace", concluded Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Other political figures such as the president of the Congress, Meritxell Batet; the 'popular' MEP Dolors Montserrat; and the president of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, have also conveyed their condolences on Twitter.
