Joaquín Almunia is a Spanish politician and member of the European Commission responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs. Born in Bilbao, he is married and has two children. He graduated in Law and Economics at the University of Deusto, and completed follow-up studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris and the “Senior managers in Government” program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Jaime Mayor Oreja is a Spanish and Basque politician who served as Interior Minister in the People's Party government of José María Aznar before resigning in February 2000 to stand for Basque President on May 13, 2000, a post he failed to win. He is known for his strongly anti-ETA views. He graduated in agronomic engineering. In 1977 he joined the Unión de Centro Democrático (UCD). On March 9, 1980 he became a member of the Basque parliament.

Julio Anguita González. Spanish politician and a former teacher. Mayor of Córdoba between 1979 and 1988, was chosen General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) in 1988. Later he became leader of the leftist coalition Izquierda Unida ("United Left" IU). He was a member of the Cortes between 1989 and 2000, during which period IU improved its electoral results, obtaining 10% of the vote in March, 1996.

Francisco Frutos Gras (born 1939) is a Spanish politician and a member of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC, Catalan referent of the Communist Party of Spain, PCE) since 1963, is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) since 1998 and member of the Cortes as member of Izquierda Unida (IU) since 1993.

José Calvo Sotelo was a Spanish political figure prior to and during the Second Spanish Republic. His murder by a commando unit of the Assault Guards, a special police corps created to deal with urban violence, just the day after a harsh confrontation in Parliament, aroused suspicions of a government involvement in the crime and helped precipitate the Spanish Civil War.

Pío Baroja y Nessi was a Spanish writer, one of the key novelists of the Generation of '98. Although educated as a physician, Baroja only practised this trade briefly. He also managed the family bakery for a short time and ran unsuccessfully on two occasions for a seat at the Cortes (Spanish parliament) as a Radical Republican. Baroja's true calling, however, was always writing, which he began seriously at the age of 13.

Dolores Ibárruri Gómez, also known as "La Pasionaria" (the passion flower) (December 9, 1895-November 12, 1989), was a Spanish political leader. She was Secretary General of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) (1944-1960), President of the Communist Party of Spain (1960-1989), and a member of the Cortes (1936 and 1977-1979). Born into a poor Carlist mining family in the town of Gallarta (municipality Abanto Zierbena), Vizcaya province, …

Julián Besteiro Fernández was a Spanish socialist politician and university professor. Born in Madrid, he was educated in the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, and studied in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Madrid, as well as at the Sorbonne in 1896, the Universities of Munich, Berlin and Leipzig in 1909-1910. In 1908, he joined the Partido Radical (Radical Party) established by Alejandro Lerroux.

Francisco Fernández Ordóñez was a Spanish politician who became Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) government of Felipe González from 1985 until shortly before his death from a terminal illness in 1992. He studied law in Madrid and at Harvard University in the United States before joining the Ministry of Economics in 1959, becoming their assistant secreatry in 1973 and President of the National Institute of Industry in 1974, …

Diego Martínez Barrio was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic, and was briefly appointed Prime Minister of Spain by Manuel Azaña after the resignation of Santiago Casares Quiroga, on July 19 1936 - three days after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. A member of the Radical Republican Party, he was the Minister in the Alejandro Lerroux government, although later he left the party due to his dissatisfaction with the politics of Lerroux.

José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones was a prominent Spanish politician in the period leading up to the Spanish Civil War. Gil-Robles received his masters degree in 1919 and in 1922 he gained by examination the chair of political law in the University of La Laguna (Tenerife). During the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera he was secretary of the Catholic-agrarian national Confederation and member of the Writing Council of "El Debate".

Enrique Barόn Crespo is a Spanish politician and lawyer. He is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and sits with the Party of European Socialists group in the European Parliament. Barón Crespo graduated in law from the University of Madrid, in 1965. As a practising lawyer, he specialised in labour law, and acted for defendants in political cases (1970-1977). He was a Deputy in the Cortes (1977-1986) and was Minister of Transport, …

Manuel Alonso Martínez was a Spanish jurist and politician, and the principal redactor of the Spanish Civil Code of 1888/89. After working as a Burgos attorney, he entered public service in 1854 as a member of the Cortes. Serving variously as minister for development, governor of Madrid, minister of finance and minister of justice in the time of 1855 to 1888, he was instrumental in pursuing the codification of Spanish civil law.

Faustino Rodríguez-San Pedro was Mayor of Madrid in 1890, and a deputy in the Spanish National Congress, and then a political minister in the governments of Francisco Silvela y Antonio Maura. He was a lawyer who joined the Conservative party at that time. He is great grandfather of current Spanish politician and IMF chief Rodrigo Rato.

Antero Rubín Homet was a Spanish general and politician noted for his long service in Cuba. He fought in the Spanish American War, served in the Cortes Generales, and spent his last lap of life as Senator for the province of Zamora. Rubín's father, a career officer who served served with distinction under General Prim in the 1860 war against Morocco, steered Rubín toward a military career. Rubín enrolled in the Spanish Army May 11, 1868, and in 1869, at the age of 16, …

Federico Degetau y González was a Puerto Rican politician, lawyer, writer, author, and the first Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States House of Representatives. Degetau was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and attended the common schools and the Central College of Ponce. He completed an academic course at Barcelona, Spain, and was graduated from the law department of the Central University of Madrid.

Segundo Ruiz Belvis (May 13, 1829 - November 3, 1867), born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, was a dedicated abolitionist who also fought for Puerto Rico's right to independence. Ruiz Belvis received his primary schooling in Aguadilla. He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Caracas of Venezuela. He also obtained his law degree from the Central University of Madrid in Spain.

Pascual Cervera y Topete (February 18, 1839 - April 3, 1909) served as Almirante (or Admiral) of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles. Cervera was a highly decorated veteran of the Spanish Navy, and served with some distinction during the Carlist Wars before retiring from the active service to act as head of Spain's Ministerio de Marina, …

Josep Suñol i Garriga, also known as Josep Sunyol, was a Catalan lawyer, journalist, politician and president of FC Barcelona. Sunyol was born in Barcelona and came from both a wealthy family and a long line of Catalan political militants. He was a member of "Acció Catalana", a left-wing/anarchist group and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya.

Augusto Barcía Trelles was a Spanish politician and was the Prime Minister of Spain from May 10 1936 to May 13 1936. He was also a lawyer and a Freemason. In the Congress he was against the law of the terrorism of Maura (1908). He was a deputy in the Cortes from 1916 to 1923. During the Second Republic he affiliated himself with the Republican Left, to which he headed in the Cortes of 1935.

Afonso III, King of Portugal, or "Affonso" (Archaic Portuguese), "Alfonso" or "Alphonso" or the "Brave", the fifth King of Portugal (May 5 1210 in Coimbra - February 16 1279 in Alcobaça, Coimbra or Lisbon) and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, since 1249. He was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal and his wife, Urraca, princess of Castile; he succeeded his brother, King Sancho II of Portugal on 4 January, …

Josep Tarradellas i Joan was a Catalan politician. In 1931 he became general secretary of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. He also was deputy at the Cortes this year, Government and Sanity councillor when Francesc Macià was President of the Generalitat de Catalunya as well as Public Services, Economy and Culture councillor during the Spanish Civil War. Exiled to France since 1939, he became President of the Generalitat de Catalunya when Josep Irla resigned, in 1954.

Dr. Pablo de la Llave was a Mexican Catholic priest, politician, and naturalist. He was born to a wealthy family and grew up in Córdoba, Veracruz. After a brilliant university career, he became a teacher in the national college of St. John Lateran and doctor of theology at what was then the University of Mexico. He was a famous preacher and made some translations from Hebrew. He went to Europe and lived for some time in Paris, …

Don Miguel Ricardo de Álava y Esquivel, Marquess de Álava was a Spanish General and statesman. He was born at Vittoria (Álava) in 1770. Álava served first in the Navy, and had risen to be captain of a frigate when he exchanged into the army, receiving corresponding rank. He was present as a Marine at the Battle of Trafalgar on board the flagship of his uncle Admiral Álava. In politics he followed a very devious course.