Manuel Fraga Iribarne

Manuel Fraga Iribarne (born November 23, 1922 at Vilalba, Galicia) is a Spanish politician. Fraga's career as one of the key political figures in Spain straddles both General Franco's dictatorial regime and the subsequent democracy. He was also popularly known as "Don Manuel". The "Don" is an honorific title, usually applied to refer to a graduate of High School. The reason of applying this title to Fraga may be related to the fact that caciques in Galicia where named "Don" for centuries.

Under Generalisimo Franco's dictatorship

Trained in law, economics and political science, Fraga began his political career in 1945, during Francisco Franco's fascist dictatorship. Between 1962 and 1969 he served as minister for Propaganda and Tourism, and played a major role in the revitalization of Spanish tourist industry, leading a campaign under the slogan Spain is different!. In 1966 he dispelled fears of a nuclear accident at Palomares by swimming in the allegedly contaminated water. He also introduced a new censorship law which technically allowed greater freedom of the press.

Fraga being Franco's minister is known for the phrase "La calle es mía" (The street is mine). This phrase was his answer to the police repression during protests in the streets. He claimed that the streets did not belong to "people" but to the State. In fact, to those who usurpated the State thanks to a coup d'État.^*

The First Government of the Monarchy

After a brief period as Spain's ambassador in the United Kingdom, which ended with Franco's death (1975), Manuel Fraga was appointed vicepresident and Interior Minister (Ministro de Gobernación) in 1976, under Carlos Arias Navarro's government, the first with Juan Carlos I as chief of state. Until that moment, Fraga was known as a heavy-handed politician, though also seen as one of the reformers seeking a liberalisation from within the regime, but the drastic measures he took as chief of state security during the first days of the Spanish transition to democracy damaged his popularity at a great level. He was attributed the phrase "¡La calle es mía!" ("The streets are mine!") and since then associated by the press and public with the violent repression of the Franco era.

Alianza Popular

Fraga was one of the writers of the new Spanish constitution approved in 1978. Along with other former members of Franco's regime, he quickly founded a right-wing party called People's Alliance (Alianza Popular - AP), led by Fraga himself as its president. The party was ignored in its first years, but after the 1982 crisis and breakup of the Democratic Center Union, the moderate-conservative party which had won the first two democratic presidential elections, AP became the second party in Spain, and Fraga was considered Leader of the Opposition to the Socialist government. Nevertheless, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party was enjoying great popularity and an absolute majority winning strike (in the 1982, 1986, and 1989 elections), as AP and its president were generally viewed as too reactionary to be an alternative. Under this critical circumstances, Fraga resigned the presidency of the party in 1986.

Partido Popular

Fraga came back in charge in 1989, determined to stop AP's crisis. With the addition of several lesser Christian democratic parties and the remnants of the Democratic Center Union, he refounded the People's Alliance as the People's Party (Partido Popular - PP). Later in the same year, Fraga encouraged the election of José María Aznar as the party's new president. Fraga was then appointed as honorary president of the PP.

President of Galicia

Manuel Fraga returned to his Galician homeland in 1990, winning that year's presidential election by a landslide, as head of the People's Party in Galicia (PPdeG). He remained in charge for almost 15 years until the PPdeG lost its overall majority in the Galician election of 2005. Fraga saw his credibility damaged in late 2002, when an oil tanker ship called Prestige sank near the Galician coast causing a massive oil spill that affected the shoreline in the northwest of the region. Fraga was said to be slow to react and unable, or even unwilling, to handle the situation. In 2004, a power struggle between factions of PPdeG further hurt the party's image. Subsequently, in the autonomous elections of 2005, Fraga and the PPdeG lost their absolute majority in the Parliament of Galicia, and despite winning elections with a 45% victory, a coalition of the left government of PSdeG and radical left nationalists BNG was formed with socialist Emilio Pérez Touriño as the new president. Fraga remains in the political scene out of Galicia, as member of the Senate in Madrid. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, a 44 year old Galician Popular Party member is the PPdG head since late 2005.

Overview

Fraga was one of the writers of the democratic constitution and spent part of his political career lessening the censorship law during dictatorship. He is renowned for his temper tantrums in public at not being referred to or addressed as Don Manuel. He most famously shouted during a television interview, completely unaware the camera was filming and the show was being broadcast live on air. Manuel Fraga Iribarne was probably one of the most important and yet controversial politicians in modern Spain, winning several elections in Galicia.

External links

PPdeG's official website for the 2005 elections (in Galician)
Biography of Manuel Fraga (in English)

References

^* [http://http://www.libertaddigital.com/php3/noticia.php3?cpn=1276254234 Libertad Digital Article

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Manuel Fraga Iribarne