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### Viewing cable 08MADRID552, SPANISH CABINET MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES - ZAPATERO'S

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08MADRID552 | 2008-05-19 16:04 | 2010-12-06 12:12 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Madrid

`

    VZCZCXRO7829
    PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
    DE RUEHMD #0552/01 1401613
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    P 191613Z MAY 08
    FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4785
    INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
    RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3425

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 MADRID 000552

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE, ALSO FOR INR/B

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: PGOV PINR SP
    SUBJECT: SPANISH CABINET MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES - ZAPATERO'S
    NEW TEAM

    REF: MADRID 449

    MADRID 00000552 001.2 OF 011

    ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. President Zapatero's center-left Spanish
    Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was the victor in the March 9
    general election. This cable gives brief biographies for the
    cabinet members in Zapatero's second administration.
    Overall, the cabinet reflects Zapatero's campaign promises to
    focus on innovation, equality and the environment. This is
    the first Spanish cabinet with more women than men. Several
    key players from the first Zapatero administration will keep
    their jobs, including Vice Presidents de la Vega and Solbes,
    Foreign Minister Moratinos, and Interior Minister Rubalcaba.
    An important change is the shift of Carme Chacon from
    Minister of Housing to Minister of Defense. Two new
    Ministries have been added: a Ministry of Equality and a
    Ministry of Science and Innovation. Other Ministries were
    restructured. For example, The Ministries of Environment and
    Agriculture merged. The Ministry of Education, Social
    Affairs and Sports restructured to include social affairs,
    but gave up its science portfolio. The Labor Ministry
    assumed responsibility for immigration affairs. Biographies
    will be posted to the Embassy Madrid Intellipedia page for
    future reference and periodic updates. END SUMMARY.

    ¶2. (U) Zapatero's new cabinet is:
    First Vice President for the Presidency Maria Teresa
    Fernandez de la Vega;
    Second Vice President for Economy and Finance Pedro Solbes;
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos;
    Minister of Justice Mariano Fernandez Bermejo;
    Minister of Defense Carme Chacon;
    Minister of Interior Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba;
    Minster of Public Administration Elena Salgado;
    Minister of Public Works (Fomento) Magdalena Alvarez;
    Minister of Environment and Marine and Rural Environs
    (Agriculture) Elena Espinosa;
    Minister of Equality Bibiana Aido;
    Minister of Education, Social Affairs and Sport Mercedes
    Cabrera;
    Minister of Labor and Immigration Celestino Corbacho;
    Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce Miguel Sebastian;
    Minister of Science and Innovation Cristina Garmendia;
    Minister of Housing Beatriz Corredor; and
    Minister of Health Bernat Soria;
    Minister of Culture Cesar Antonio Molina.

    --------------------------------------------- ----
    Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega
    First Vice President, Minister of the Presidency,
    and Spokesperson of the Government
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶3. (U) Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega continues as First
    Vice President for a second term. In 2004, she became the
    first woman to occupy a Vice Presidency in Spain. As Vice
    President and Minister of the Presidency, de la Vega
    coordinates the "political" ministries with a primary focus
    on Justice, Defense, Equality, Education and Foreign Affairs.

    ¶4. (U) During the 2000-2004 legislature, de la Vega served as
    PSOE Secretary General in Congress and led the opposition
    party's attacks against the PP's Aznar administration. In
    this position, she also coordinated the PSOE members in
    Congress to achieve a unified legislative program. She has
    been elected as Congresswoman three times: in 1996 for Jaen,
    in 2000 for Segovia, and in 2004 for Madrid.

    ¶5. (U) From 1994-96 de la Vega served as Secretary of State
    for Justice with Justice Minister Alberto Belloch, a position
    she held until 1996. During that time she managed the
    reform of the Penal Code. De la Vega promoted the active
    participation of State prosecutors in criminal investigation,
    while maintaining the ultimate control of magistrates in the
    judicial process.

    ¶6. (U) De la Vega began her political career with the Catalan
    Socialist Party, but in 1979 moved her affiliation to a
    political movement called "Justicia Democratica", a group of
    judges, prosecutors, and lawyers that played an important
    role in Spain's transition to democracy after Franco's
    regime. When the Socialist Party (PSOE) won its first
    national elections in 1982, de la Vega served as Chief of
    Cabinet to Socialist Minister of Justice Fernando Ledesma.
    In 1985 she was appointed Director General of Services in the
    Justice Ministry and under her leadership the number of
    judges doubled. From 1988 to 1990 she worked in the
    Secretariat of Labor Magistrates and in 1990 she was
    appointed spokesperson of the General Council of Judicial

    MADRID 00000552 002.2 OF 011

    Authority.

    ¶7. (U) She was born in Valencia in 1949. She studied Law and
    received her PhD from the University of Barcelona. She
    taught Labor Law at the University of Barcelona. She is a
    specialist in Human Rights and International Juridical
    Cooperation with additional training from the University of
    Strasbourg.

    --------------------------------------------- -----
    Pedro Solbes
    Second Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶8. (U) As Vice President for Economic Affairs, Solbes is
    supposed to exercise control over all the economic decisions
    of the GOS, except foreign and domestic trade, tourism, and
    energy, which fall to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and
    Commerce.

    ¶9. (SBU) Solbes had reportedly seriously considered leaving
    the government at the end of Zapatero's previous term. He is
    65, and his wife wanted him to retire. Zapatero convinced
    him to stay, and his presence on the ticket was considered to
    be an important appeal to the business community, some of
    whose members have portrayed Solbes as the only bulwark
    preventing Socialist ministers from overspending. Zapatero
    is reported to have promised Solbes increased authority.

    ¶10. (SBU) In Zapatero's first term, Solbes often was at odds
    with the economic office of the presidency, which tended to
    favor more interventionist policies. Sebastian has now been
    named Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Commerce, and
    individuals linked to Sebastian have been named to other
    ministries. After Sebastian's appointment was announced,
    Solbes told the press, "I am the Economic Vice President. I
    am the one who makes decisions on economic policy. I am the
    one who signs the economic draft laws. This is a coalition
    government between me and the rest." Solbes had clashed with
    Sebastian in 2005-06 over the German company E.ON's bid to
    acquire Spain's Endesa; Solbes had not objected to the bid,
    while Sebastian influenced GOS attempts to block the bid and
    later helped broker the eventually successful purchase by
    Italy's Acciona and Spain's Acciona. After Zapatero was
    re-elected, Solbes had reportedly asked Zapatero to give him
    the energy portfolio as well, but the portfolio remained in
    Sebastian's ministry.

    ¶11. (U) Solbes has traditionally emphasized the importance
    of fiscal responsibility and maintaining Spain's budget
    surplus. With the economy expected to grow much more slowly
    in 2008, unemployment rising, and inflation relatively high,
    he will face pressure to spend more, and he has emphasized
    for months that the budget surpluses of Zapatero's first four
    years have given the GOS more margin to maneuver in the
    difficult times expected ahead. He already has announced 10
    billion euros in tax cuts and spending increases for 2008,
    with about 8 billion expected for 2009. He also will be
    expected to address the housing slowdown, which has increased
    unemployment and caused serious difficulties for construction
    and real estate firms, along with their creditors.

    ¶12. (U) A civil servant since 1968, Solbes, in 1982 as
    Technical Secretary General, was one of the seven people who
    negotiated Spanish accession to the European Community. He
    was Secretary General of Economy and Finance from 1982 to
    1985 and Secretary of State for European Community Relations
    starting in 1985. He was named Minister of Agriculture, Food
    and Fisheries in 1991 and Minister of Economy and Finance in
    ¶1993. In September 1999, Solbes became the European
    Commissioner responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs.
    He earned praise for his sense of duty and his courage for
    denouncing the institutional rupture that occurred when the
    Council of Ministers refused to sanction France and Germany
    for exceeding European Stability & Growth Pact budget deficit
    limits.

    ¶13. (U) Pedro Solbes was born in Pinoso (Alicante province)
    in 1942. He graduated in European economy from the
    Universite Libre de Bruxelles and earned a degree in law and
    a doctoral degree in Political Science from the Complutense
    University of Madrid. He is married to Pilar Castro
    Rodriguez and has three children (Teresa, Miguel and Lucia).
    He speaks French and English.

    ---------------------------
    Miguel Angel Moratinos
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    MADRID 00000552 003.2 OF 011

    ---------------------------

    ¶14. (U) Moratinos begins his second term in the Cabinet as
    the Spanish democracy's second-longest serving Foreign
    Minister. In the presidential investiture debate, Zapatero
    said that one of his priorities will be the Sub-Saharan
    Africa and in next few months, Moratinos is tasked with
    arranging high-level summits with Morocco and Algeria.
    Moratinos traveled to several Latin America countries in
    April to forge ties in advance of the May EU-Latin America
    Summit. Some of the pending issues Moratinos faces from the
    last legislature are Spanish foreign service reform,
    development assistance credits reform, and construction of a
    new building to house his Ministry, which is currently in
    leased spaces.

    ¶15. (SBU) Moratinos was one of the key players behind the
    Madrid 1991 Peace Conference and considers himself an expert
    in Middle East policy. From 1991 to 1993, he was Director
    General of the Institute for Cooperation with the Arab World.
    From 1993 to 1996 he was Director General of Foreign Policy
    for North Africa and the Middle East. During the 1995
    Spanish EU Presidency, Moratinos managed all Middle East
    policy issues and was a frequent interlocutor with
    Washington. In June 1996, he was appointed Ambassador to
    Israel, a position he held for only six months. In December
    1996, he was appointed Special Representative of the European
    Union (EUSR) for the Middle East Peace Process. Moratinos
    managed the EU's relationship with Israel and Palestine, as
    well as other states in the region like Syria, Lebanon,
    Jordan, and Egypt. However, he created a perception that he
    maintained closer ties with Yassar Arafat than with Prime
    Minister Sharon. While Moratinos participated in the MEPP
    Quartet meetings, Israelis reportedly considered Moratinos
    excessively favorable to the Palestinian cause. Moratinos
    left the EUSR position in July 2003. His name was mentioned
    as a possible candidate for the UN High Commission for Human
    Rights following the death of Sergio Vieria de Mello.
    However, in October 2003 Moratinos returned to the Ministry
    of Foreign Affairs.

    ¶16. (U) Moratinos began his diplomatic career as Spain's
    Chief Director for the Eastern European Coordination Desk in
    1974-1979. He was First Secretary at the Spanish Embassy in
    Yugoslavia, where he later served as Charge d'Affaires from
    1980-1984. He was Political Advisor in Rabat (1984-1987) and
    Deputy Director General of North African Affairs in the
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1987-1991).

    ¶17. (U) Moratinos joined the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)
    in 2000 and in 2004 and 2008 won election as a Congressional
    delegate representing his hometown of Cordoba.

    ¶18. (U) Miguel Angel Moratinos was born in 1951. Moratinos
    holds a degree in law and political science and a diploma in
    international studies from the Spanish Diplomatic School. He
    is fluent in English and French. He understands Russian and
    Serbo-Croatian.

    --------------------------
    Mariano Fernandez Bermejo
    Minister of Justice
    --------------------------

    ¶19. (U) Mariano Fernandez Bermejo was appointed Minister of
    Justice in February 9, 2007, and is retained as a member of
    the new cabinet. The strong recommendation of Vice
    President Fernandez de la Vega ensured Fernandez Bermejo's
    appointment and he is expected to strengthen rapport and
    cooperation between the Ministry, the Prosecutor's Office and
    the Interior Ministry. He is reported to have a good working
    relationship with Interior Minister Rubalcaba and Secretary
    of State for Security Antonio Camacho.

    ¶20. (SBU) As a founding member of the Progressive Union of
    Public Prosecutors, Fernandez Bermejo is considered to be the
    guardian of the PSOE's judicial policy. Fernandez Bermejo
    will manage and attempt to inject change into a judicial
    system in which some "conservative" judges have not been
    supportive of GOS-sponsored initiatives, including homosexual
    marriage and autonomous community statutes.

    ¶21. (U) First-ranked in his professional certification exams,
    he began his career as a prosecutor in 1974 in Santa Cruz de
    Tenerife, then worked in territorial courts in Caceres and
    Segovia. From 1986 to 1989 he was Advisor to Minister of
    Justice Fernando Ledesma. In 1989, he was appointed
    Prosecutor of the Supreme Court. From 1992-2003, Fernandez

    MADRID 00000552 004.2 OF 011

    Bermejo served as Chief Prosecutor of the Madrid High Court
    of Justice. In 2004, he became Prosecutor of the Supreme
    Court.

    ¶22. (SBU) Fernandez Bermejo is known for taking tough stands
    and speaking out on issues. He is the only prosecutor who
    has taken a Minister to Court. In another example, when he
    led opposition to the Rapid Justice Law, the PP-led
    government retaliated by passing a law limiting prosecutors
    to five-year terms instead of lifetime appointments
    (effectively moving Fernandez Bermejo along in the system).
    Expressing his unhappiness with the PP maneuver at the time,
    Fernandez Bermejo said, referring to the Spanish Civil War
    and Franco's regime, "we fought against the parents, and now
    we have to fight against their children."

    ¶23. (SBU) He is considered to be a strong personality, not
    given to conciliation, and with a tendency to harsh
    assessments. "I am a leftist, and I behave like one," he
    admits. Perhaps due to these traits, Fernandez Bermejo has
    not received the support of the Concejo Fiscal, the advisory
    body that reviews judicial appointments, in either of his
    positions at the High Court or Supreme Court. According to
    the media, many Ministry of Justice civil servants, the
    judicial secretaries, and the judges believe that Fernandez
    Bermejo, while focused on policy matters, has not fulfilled
    his promises on wages or work conditions.

    ¶24. (U) Born in 1948 in Avila, Fernandez Bermejo received a
    Doctorate in Law from the Complutense University in 1969,
    followed by an advanced degree in Community Law in 1998. A
    Public Prosecutor since 1974, he is an expert on Penal Law.
    Fernandez Bermejo does not speak English.

    ----------------------------------
    Carme Chacon (new in this Ministry)
    Minister of Defense
    ----------------------------------

    ¶25. (U) Carme Chacon is the first woman Minister of Defense
    in Spanish history. She served as Housing Minister from 2007
    to 2008 and also was First Vice President of Congress from
    2004-2007. Her cabinet appointment was the surprise in
    Zapatero's second administration amidst widely varying
    speculation regarding who might be awarded the plum job.
    Zapatero made it clear he intended to put in place a broadly
    representative cabinet and Chacon brings ties to the Catalan
    constituency as well her deep-rooted PSOE political
    credentials. Jose Montilla, Secretary General of the Catalan
    Socialist Party (PSC) has been one of Chacon's strongest
    supporters. Chacon was one of the PSC members of Zapatero's
    "new team" after he won the PSOE party congress in 2000.

    ¶26. (SBU) Chacon lacks experience in military affairs (the
    same could be said of most of her predecessors), but she is
    reportedly viewed by Zapatero as a strong manager. Chacon
    was quick to visit Spanish troops deployed in Afghanistan and
    Lebanon and she is expected to visit Kosovo in the near
    future. Chacon served as an OSCE international observer in
    Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1996 and Albania in 1997. Her other
    credentials include representing the Socialist delegation in
    Spain's bipartisan Anti-terrorism Pact. She reportedly has a
    strong rapport with Interior Minister Rubalcaba.

    ¶27. (SBU) There was some buzz in conservative circles about
    Zapatero choosing a MOD who was a "pacifist." Asked about
    the label in a recent newspaper interview, Chacon said, in
    essence, that if being a pacifist meant valuing peace, then
    she was a pacifist. She went on to express her admiration
    for the Spanish troops she had just visited in Afghanistan.

    ¶28. (SBU) Chacon's priorities will reportedly be the
    Spanish military missions abroad, modernization, and
    personnel restructuring. The personnel restructuring will be
    a particular challenge as some senior officials disagree with
    plans to reduce the number of generals and there is
    controversy over proposals to adjust Spanish troop levels in
    Ceuta and Melilla.

    ¶29. (U) Carme Chacon was born in Espulgues de Llobregat,
    Barcelona, in 1971. She has a Law Degree from the University
    of Barcelona (1994) and a PhD Cum Laude for a thesis on
    federalism and human rights. Her post-graduate studies
    include: Victoria Manchester University (UK), Instituto de
    Federalismo de Friburgo (Switzerland), Osgoode Hall Law
    School of Toronto, University of Kingston, and the Universite
    Laval of Montreal (Canada). She has been professor of
    Constitutional Law at the University of Girona, Spain. She is

    MADRID 00000552 005.2 OF 011

    an expert in federalism and Quebec's status within Canada.
    She is married to Miguel Barroso, the Director of Casa
    America and himself a Zapatero insider. They are expecting
    their first child in June. Chacon speaks English.

    -----------------------
    Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba
    Minister of Interior
    -----------------------

    ¶30. (SBU) Interior Minister since 2006, Alfredo Perez
    Rubalcaba is Zapatero's main advisor on terrorism issues. He
    is also one of the six members of Zapatero's core team (the
    others are de la Vega, Solbes, Deputy Chief of Cabinet
    Jose-Enrique Serrano, Cabinet Aide Vidal Zapatero (a cousin),
    and PSOE campaign manager, Jose "Pepe" Blanco) that meets
    once a week to formulate policy. Rubalcaba is regarded as a
    skilled negotiator and parliamentarian. Beside the fight
    against ETA and Islamic terrorism, his other challenges will
    include perceptions that common crime is on the rise,
    continuing efforts to reduce traffic deaths and long-standing
    wage and work status disputes in the police forces.

    ¶31. (SBU) One of Rubalcaba's toughest jobs will continue to
    be overcoming the historic rivalry between Spain's principal
    police forces, the Civil Guard and National Police, both of
    which fall under his direction. Rubalcaba reportedly tried
    but failed to bring the Spanish intelligence service DNI
    under his control (it is currently in the MOD).

    ¶32. (SBU) Rubalcaba has played influential roles in PSOE
    internal operations and he directed electoral strategy for
    the PSOE's 2004 campaign. After the March 2004 elections,
    Rubalcaba was appointed PSOE's overall spokesman in Congress
    and maintained good personal rapport with his PP-counterpart
    Eduardo Zaplana despite many harsh political confrontations,
    a testament to his equanimity. Within the PSOE party
    structure, Rubalcaba is not close to Zapatero insider Pepe
    Blanco, and their relations can be tense. Some say Rubalcaba
    is the "Lord of the Government," and Blanco is the "Lord of
    the Party."

    ¶33. (SBU) During the Aznar administration, Rubalcaba
    served as PSOE's Media Relations Secretary and was lead
    negotiator on the bipartisan anti-terrorist pact and the
    political parties law. He served as Education Minister from
    1992 to 1993 after several years in key advisory roles. In
    1993 he was promoted to Minister of the Presidency and of
    Relations with the Parliament, in addition to being
    Government Spokesman (a period he describes as "the three
    worst years of my life."

    ¶34. (U) A member of Congress since 1993, Rubalcaba is
    reputed to have a good sense of humor. The media also notes
    Rubalcaba's strong work ethic, willingness to undertake
    additional assignments, and negotiation skills. According to
    the press, his friends praise his ability to resolve
    contentious issues and calm excited colleagues. His enemies
    describe Rubalcaba as manipulative and quick to exploit the
    weaknesses of others.

    ¶35. (U) Rubalcaba was born in Solares (Santander) in 1951.
    He joined the Madrid Socialist Federation in 1974 and became
    interested in politics near the end of the Franco regime.
    With his Doctorate in Chemistry from the Complutense
    University of Madrid, he taught Organic Chemistry there, as
    well as at the University of Contanza (Germany), and the
    University of Montpellier (France).

    --------------------------------
    Elena Salgado
    Ministry of Public Administration
    --------------------------------

    ¶36. (U) Appointed Minister of Public Administration on July
    6, 2007, Elena Salgado brings breadth and depth of experience
    to her portfolio. Enjoying a reputation for sound fiscal
    management, in this legislature she will have to deal with
    the extremely complicated local corporation funding law,
    facilitating an accord between the PSOE-led government and
    the PP-led opposition, and then negotiating its
    implementation between the national government, the
    autonomous communities, and the local governments. Salgado
    will also be charged with implementing Zapatero's announced
    reform of State Administration.

    ¶37. (U) Salgado served as Health Minister of Health from
    2004 to 2007, tasked with managing federal health and

    MADRID 00000552 006.2 OF 011

    pharmaceutical spending and expanding public health services.
    Salgado's efforts were deemed responsible for the unanimous
    passage of the smoking ban in workplaces and public spaces in
    ¶2005. During her stint at the Health Ministry, the press
    termed Salgado, "Minister Anti", referring to her positions
    against alcohol, smoking, and obesity. The Spanish
    Government presented Salgado as a candidate for the World
    Health Organization Presidency in September 2006, but she was
    not elected.

    ¶38. (U) Elena Salgado served as Secretary General for
    Communications in the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and
    Environment with Minister Jose Borrell in President Felipe
    Gonzalez's administration. She helped transform the National
    Postal Office and participated in the telecommunications
    liberalization process. She served as a member of the Board
    of Telefonica Hispasat, Retevision and Correos. She also
    approved the Sogecable (Prisa) and Telefonica merger to
    create Cablevision, although the proposal was rejected by the
    European Commission, leading to Cablevision's eventual
    dissolution.

    ¶39. (U) Her other public service credentials include
    Director General for Personnel Costs and Public Pensions in
    the Economy Ministry and Finance and Director of Studies in
    the Small and Medium Business Institute in the Industry
    Ministry. In 1996 she was President of the Lyric Theatre
    Foundation that manages the Royal Opera House. While she is
    not a PSOE member, Salgado does have close ties with party
    loyalists including Interior Minister Rubalcaba and her
    former boss Jose Borrell.

    ¶40. (U) In the private sector, Salgado served in advisory
    capacities with Arthur Andersen (1999-2000), Lenci Consulting
    SL (1997-2000), and the Social Council of the Universidad
    Politecnica (1999-2002). In 2002, Salgado was appointed CEO
    of Vallehermoso Telecom, but the press reported she was let
    go because she was too intransigent. In September 2003,
    Salgado was named President of 11811 Nueva Informacion
    Telefonica, the Spanish branch of the German multinational
    Telegate AG.

    ¶41. (U) Elena Salgado was born in Orense in 1949. She has
    a degree in industrial engineering with a specialization in
    Energy from the Universidad Politecnica, and another in
    economics from the Complutense University. Most of her
    professional life has been in the telecommunications world.
    She speaks English and French.

    -------------------------------------
    Magdalena Alvarez Arza
    Minister of Public Works (Fomento - also translated as
    Development)
    --------------------------------------

    ¶42. (SBU) Returning for her second cabinet term, Minister
    Alvarez is responsible for the government's 15-year,
    250-billion euro plan to expand the high-speed rail (AVE) and
    road networks, which the GOS says will give Spain more
    kilometers of high speed rail lines than any other country.
    She was widely criticized in 2007 after prolonged delays in
    the construction of the AVE line between Madrid and
    Barcelona, with the deaths of construction workers and
    construction accidents that interrupted service on several of
    Barcelona's commuter lines for six weeks. In November 2007,
    the Catalan legislature approved a motion calling for her
    resignation, and the national Senate approved such a motion
    in December. A similar motion in the national Congress (the
    more influential lower house) failed by only three votes in
    November. In addition to difficult relations with Catalonia,
    she also has had a tense relationship with Madrid Autonomous
    Community President Esperanza Aguirre. Many observers had
    thought it likely that Zapatero would replace Alvarez after
    the election. While she is known for her loyalty to
    Zapatero, some local press posit that the powerful President
    of Andalucia, Manuel Chaves, played a role in maintaining
    Alvarez's cabinet position. Wags claim Chaves recommended
    her to Zapatero years ago to get her out of Andalucia and he
    insisted Zapatero keep her in the cabinet (and in Madrid) in
    his second term. The eventual opening of the
    Madrid-Barcelona line just before the election, along with
    the opening in late 2007 of AVE lines to Malaga and
    Valladolid may have reduced the pressure on Alvarez.

    ¶43. (SBU) Alvarez, who joined the PSOE in 1997, served as a
    key advisor as Zapatero prepared his 2004 election bid. She
    has worked as a university economics lecturer and at
    positions in the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the

    MADRID 00000552 007.2 OF 011

    state agency of tax administration. She was councilor for
    economy and finance in the Andalucia Autonomous Community
    government from 1994 to 2004, developing a reputation for
    expertise on regional finance issues. According to the
    press, her husband, Juan Manuel Gonzalez-Aurioles, is
    director general of Emgrisa, a business related to the
    uranium enrichment and nuclear energy sector. Alvarez was
    born in San Fernando, Cadiz in 1952. She has an
    undergraduate degree and a PhD. in economic and business
    sciences, the former from the Complutense University of
    Madrid and the latter from the University of Malaga. She
    understands and speaks some English but prefers not to use it
    in meetings.

    ------------------------------------
    Elena Espinosa
    Minister of Environment, Rural, and Maritime Issues (merger
    of Environment and Agriculture)
    -------------------------------------

    ¶44. (SBU) Elena Espinosa was named Minister of Agriculture,
    Fisheries and Food when Zapatero took office in 2004. Most
    recently, she was voted a deputy in the National Congress in
    the 2008 election.
    At the start of Zapatero's second administration, Espinosa's
    ministry absorbs the functions of the former Environment
    ministry. The Agriculture Ministry, under her leadership,
    had been generally supportive of agricultural biotechnology,
    while the former Environment Ministry had generally opposed
    it. Espinosa takes on responsibility for Spain's drought and
    related water issues. She also gains responsibility for
    climate change, which has been elevated to having a separate
    secretary of state (deputy minister). She may have a role in
    deciding next steps as Spain's nuclear power plants approach
    the end of their scheduled operation; Zapatero has said that
    Spain will close the plants, but in recent weeks he has
    appeared to leave the door open for reconsideration.
    Espinosa has not taken anti-nuclear positions.

    ¶45. (U) Espinosa's public service began in 1985 in Vigo,
    Galicia under Felipe Gonzalez's PSOE-led government. From
    1988 through 1996, Espinosa was president of the Port
    Authority of Vigo, an active port that is the home to Spain's
    largest fishing fleet. Espinosa introduced port reforms
    that set her against the local PSOE party leadership. In
    1996, Espinosa served as labor advisor at the Galician
    Institute of Technical Medicine. She returned to the private
    sector and was the number two at the Rodman shipbuilding
    group from 1998 to 2004.

    ¶45. (U) Born in March 1960 in Galicia, Espinosa holds a
    degree in business and economics from the University of
    Santiago de Compostela. She is married. She does not speak
    English.

    ---------------------------------
    Bibiana Aido (new)
    Minister of Equality (new Ministry)
    ---------------------------------

    ¶47. (U) A new face in the Spanish cabinet, as head of a
    newly created Ministry, Bibiana Aido's challenges include
    establishing the new equality law, developing the dependent's
    law, and expanding social coverage for legal immigrants. The
    new ministry will incorporate the government's Youth
    Institute and the Women's Institute along with existing
    programs geared at ending violence, increasing the presence
    of women in the public life and the private sector workplace.

    ¶48. (U) Bibiana Aido will resign from the Andalucian
    Parliament seat she won in the March 2008 elections. A PSOE
    card holder since 1995, she is Secretary of Equality of the
    PSOE's Executive Commission of Cadiz. From February 2003 to
    July 2006 Aido served in the Andalucian regional Ministry of
    Culture and from July 2006 to March 2008 she directed the
    Andalucian Agency for the Development of Flamenco. According
    to the media, Andalucian President Manuel Chaves considers
    Aido as one of his potential successors. For that reason,
    Chaves supported her candidacy for a national-level political
    position that would bring her additional public recognition.
    Interior Minister Rubalcaba is also one of her mentors.

    ¶49. (U) Born in Cadiz in 1977 to a politically active
    family, she has degrees in Business Administration from the
    University of Cadiz and in International Business
    Administration from the University of Northumbria in
    Newcastle (UK). Aido speaks English.

    MADRID 00000552 008.2 OF 011

    ---------------------------
    Mercedes Cabrera Calvo-Sotelo
    Minister of Education, Social Policy, and Sports (Ministry
    reorganized)
    ----------------------------

    Mercedes Cabrera was appointed Minister of Science and
    Education in 2006 and will continue her work in the
    re-organized Ministry during Zapatero's second term. This
    Ministry now manages social policy that was previously
    directed in the former Labor Ministry (now Labor and
    Immigration Ministry). Cabrera will have to implement the
    Law of Dependence and Law against Gender Violence passed
    during the last legislature in coordination with her
    colleague, Equality Minister Aido. The Ministry lost its
    control over Spanish universities, which are now transferred
    to the newly created Ministry of Science and Innovation.

    In addition to her work reorganizing the Ministry's scope of
    work, Cabrera faces many of the same challenges including
    implementing the controversial "Citizens Education
    Curriculum," that is viewed by the opposition party as an
    "indoctrination" program and that has been contested in
    Courts by parents and parent associations. Cabrera will
    also manage efforts to minimize the Catholic Church's
    unhappiness for taking "catholic religion" out of the
    national curriculum.

    A long-time Zapatero confident, Cabrera helped write the PSOE
    2000 electoral program. She attended Colegio Estudio of
    Madrid. She received a doctorate in 1977. She became a
    university professor in 1996 and currently teaches at the
    University of Complutense. She has written a number of
    articles on business, politics, and economics, and has
    participated in an important number of conferences about
    history and economic in Spanish and foreign universities.
    Mercedes Cabrera Calvo-Sotelo was born in Madrid in 1951.
    She is married to Carlos Arenillas. She was the niece of
    Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, the recently deceased former President
    of Spain.

    ----------------------------------
    Celestino Corbacho Chaves (new)
    Minister of Labor and Immigration (Ministry reorganized)
    ----------------------------------

    A new member of Zapatero's cabinet, Celestino Chaves adds
    value with his close ties to the Catalan Autonomous
    Community. Active in national PSOE political structures
    since 2000, from 2004 to 2008, he headed the Barcelona
    provincial government. Celestino Corbacho is the longtime
    mayor of the municipality of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, a
    Barcelona suburb that has one of the highest concentrations
    of immigrants in Spain, with a reported 22.7 percent in 2006.
    He has been a member of the Socialist Party of Catalonia
    (PSC) since 1976 and has held several leadership positions in
    the PSC. He was elected a L'Hospitalet city councilor in
    1983 and was mayor from 1994 until 2008, being re-elected
    most recently in 2007. He served in the Catalan autonomous
    community legislature from 1992 to 1999 and was a member of
    the board of directors of the Federation of Municipalities of
    Catalonia from 1995 to 2004. Between 1999 and 2003 he was
    the President of the Metropolitan (Barcelona) Transportation
    Entity. Corbacho was born in Valverde de Leganes, Badajoz,
    on November 14, 1949. He is married with no children.

    ------------------------------------------
    Miguel Sebastian Gascon
    Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Commerce
    ------------------------------------------

    Miguel Sebastian is a Zapatero loyalist who was Director of
    the Economic Office of the President, with rank of Secretary
    of State (vice-minister), from 2004 until late 2006. He left
    that position when he accepted Zapatero's request to be the
    PSOE's candidate for mayor of Madrid in the 2007 election.
    He was not expected to defeat the popular PP incumbent
    Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, and his clear defeat does not seem to
    have damaged his influence over policy within the PSOE. In
    his Presidency position, Sebastian clashed with Second Vice
    President and Finance and Economy Minister Pedro Solbes,
    generally taking more interventionist positions than Solbes.
    Sebastian was closely involved in the GOS' efforts to prevent
    the German electric utility E.ON from purchasing Spanish
    utility Endesa, and he was reported to have helped broker the
    eventually successful bid by the Italian company Enel and
    Spain's Acciona to acquire Endesa. In the weeks after the
    March 9 election, he has been reported to be encouraging

    MADRID 00000552 009.2 OF 011

    deals among Spain's energy companies that would prevent
    France's EDF from taking over Spain's Iberdrola. As Minister
    of Industry, Tourism, and Commerce, he has formal
    responsibility for energy regulation, and he has named a
    former subordinate at the Economic Office of the President,
    Pedro Marin, to be Secretary General of Energy. (Solbes had
    reportedly sought to gain responsibility for energy in this
    government.) Two of the new ministers, Science and
    Innovation Minister Cristina Garmendia and Housing Minister
    Beatriz Corredor, are said to be Sebastian allies.

    Sebastian was born on May 13, 1957. He has a degree in
    Economic and Business Sciences from Madrid's Complutense
    University and a PhD. in economics from the University of
    Minnesota. His doctoral studies were partially financed by a
    Fulbright Scholarship. He has worked in the planning office
    of the Economy and Finance Ministry and the Central Bank's
    economic studies office. In the private sector, he was
    Director of Studies (chief economist) for Banco Bilbao
    Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and its predecessor. He is viewed
    as a competent and pragmatic economist who is also a PSOE
    partisan and is likely to take political considerations into
    account in setting policy. He speaks English and has
    emphasized the importance of encouraging Spaniards to learn
    English.

    -----------------------------------------
    Cristina Garmendia Mendizabal (new)
    Minister of Science and Innovation (new Ministry)
    -----------------------------------------

    Cristina Garmendia is a biotechnology business executive who
    is connected to new Minister of Industry, Tourism, and
    Commerce Miguel Sebastian. From 2005 through 2008 she was in
    the science and technology office within the Office for
    Economic Affairs of the President that was headed by
    Sebastian from 2005 through 2007. Sebastian is reported to
    have recommended her selection to President Zapatero. Some
    political analysts have speculated that her selection is also
    a reward for the excellent results the PSOE obtained in the
    Basque Country in the 2008 elections; Zapatero's previous
    Cabinet did not include any Basque ministers. According to
    press reports, she is not a member of the PSOE. Garmendia's
    ministry is a new one that has taken portfolios from several
    other ministries, including the Ministries of Health and
    Education. Press reports have described its creation as a
    sign of Zapatero's emphasis on encouraging research and
    development in order to boost Spain's productivity over the
    long term and contribute to economic growth. After being
    named Minister, Garmendia told a reporter that her ministry
    would work with the business sector, universities, and the
    public sector to take full advantage of scientific knowledge.

    Garmendia is from San Sebastian in the Basque Country. In
    1985 she received an undergraduate degree in biology with a
    specialization in genetics from the University of Seville.
    She obtained a PhD. in molecular biology from the Autonomous
    University of Madrid. In 1992 she received an Executive MBA
    from the University of Navarre's Institute for Higher
    Business Studies (IESE). From 1992 to 2001, she worked in
    the business development area of the Group Amasua, a fishing
    industry group, leaving as executive vice president and
    financial director. In 2000 she was a co-founder of the
    medical biotechnology company Genetrix, the first company
    hat emerged from research work conducted by Spain's National
    Center for Biotechnology. She was president and CEO of
    Genetrix from 2000 to 2008. She has been president of
    several other biotechnology companies and is president of the
    board of the Inbiomed Foundation, which has the first bank of
    adult stem cells in Spain. From 2005 to 2008, she was
    president of the Association of Biotechnological Enterprises
    (ASEBIO). Since 2006, she has been a member of the board of
    directors of the Confederation of Business Organizations
    (CEOE) umbrella business chamber. She has served on several
    academic, hospital, and foundation boards, professional
    bodies, and prize juries. She serves on the board of the
    foundation of the Botin banking family, members of which
    control San Sebastian-based Banco Santander and Madrid-based
    Bankinter. In January 2008, she was awarded the "Golden
    Drum," San Sebastian's highest honor, for the positive
    contribution she has made to the image of the city.
    Garmendia was born February 21, 1962. She is married with
    four children. She has traveled to the U.S. on business
    frequently and speaks English.

    -----------------------------
    Beatriz Corredor (new)

    MADRID 00000552 010.2 OF 011

    Minister of Housing
    -----------------------------

    Beatriz Corredor replaces now-Defense Minister Carme Chacon
    as Housing Minister. Corredor is reported to be a political
    ally of new Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Commerce
    Miguel Sebastian. She obtained a law degree from the
    Autonomous University of Madrid in 1991 and passed the
    examinations to become a member of the Body of Registrars at
    a relatively young age in 1993. She has held office at land
    registries in Valencia de Alcantara, Caceres; Campillos,
    Malaga; and Lillo, Toledo. She has lectured on law at the
    Universities of Castile-La Mancha and Ciudad Real and has
    spoken at seminars on issues such as mortgage clauses and
    secondary mortgage markets. She was the first woman board
    member for the examination to become a Registrar. She joined
    the PSOE in 2003 and became the Madrid City Councilor for
    Housing in September 2007.

    As Housing Minister, Corredor will have to address the
    aftereffects of Spain's multi-year housing boom and its
    sudden end in 2007; both the high prices that have made
    housing expensive for many Spaniards and the rapid decline in
    housing construction. She will seek to implement efforts
    begun by Chacon -- who was only Minister for nine months --
    to make housing more affordable by providing income-tested
    subsidies to young renters by making it easier for property
    owners to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent. Corredor
    also will seek to increase the amount of housing built with
    public subsidies, which may be a way to help the many real
    estate and construction companies that are in financial
    difficulties.

    Corredor was born in Madrid in July 1968. She is married and
    has three daughters. She speaks and understands basic
    English but needs an interpreter for nearly all purposes.

    ------------------------
    Bernat Soria Escoms
    Minister of Health and Consumption
    --------------------------

    Minister of Health since July 2007, Soria emphasized the
    importance of increasing Spanish research and development in
    his first term. Press reports indicate that in Zapatero's
    second administration, this aspect of his ministry's
    portfolio has been shifted to the new Ministry of Innovation
    and Technology.

    Soria is a medical doctor (University of Valencia) and a
    leading expert on stem cells. He has worked extensively in
    the U.S. and has a very positive image of the U.S. He
    coordinated the European Embryonic Stem Cell Network, taught
    physiology at Pablo de Olvide University in Alicante, and
    directed the Andalucian Center of Molecular Biology and
    Regenerative Medicine in Seville. From 2001-05, he conducted
    research in Singapore after the Health Ministry (during the
    Aznar government) opened a case against him for conducting
    research on stem cells acquired in the U.S. in apparent
    violation of Spanish law. He also has worked in laboratories
    in the UK, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as the
    U.S. He has received many professional awards and presided
    over several professional societies. Born in Carlet,
    Valencia in 1951, he is married with two children. He speaks
    English.

    ----------------------------
    Cesar Antonio Molina
    Minister of Culture
    ----------------------------

    Minister of Culture since July 6, 2007, Cesar Antonio Molina
    will continue his work on the Digital Canon, a Spanish tax
    levied on electronic devices, including blank DVDs,
    computers, IPODS, etc., that are capable of reproducing
    digital material. The tax revenues fund the powerful
    Spanish Authors Association and the law's application and
    funding distribution remain a controversial topic. Molina
    will also focus on grants for the Spanish film industry and
    expanding Spanish language internet usage.

    Previously, Molina directed the Cervantes Institute from
    2004-2007. From 1996 to 2004 he directed the Circulo de
    Bellas Artes. From 1985 to 1996 he worked for "Cambio 16"
    magazine and for "Diario 16" newspaper, and he has written
    for the newspapers El Pais, La Vanguardia, and La Voz de
    Galicia. In 2005, the French Government named him "Gentleman
    of Arts and Letters". Molina has published about thirty

    MADRID 00000552 011.2 OF 011

    books, mostly essays, prose, and poetry. According to the
    media, Molina is well educated, diplomatic, and considered a
    facilitator. He does not have a PSOE membership card, but
    his family has a long association with socialist political
    groups.

    Cesar Antonio Molina was born in A Coruna in 1952. He has a
    degree in Law from the University of Santiago, and a PhD "Cum
    Laude" in Journalism from the Complutense University. He has
    a degree in Italian Language and Literature from the
    University of Perugia, and belongs to the French and Spanish
    International Associations of Literary Criticism. Molina has
    been Professor of Literary Theory and Critic in the
    Complutense University, and of Humanities and Journalism at
    the Carlos III University in Madrid.
    Llorens

`