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Jos Luis Rodrguez ZapateroJos Luis Rodrguez Zapatero (born August 4, 1960) is the fifth prime minister of Spain since the restoration of democracy in 1978, following his party's victory in the March 14 Spanish general election. He was sworn in as prime minister (or president of the government) by King Juan Carlos on April 17, 2004. He has been General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since 2000. Biography Rodrguez Zapatero was born in Valladolid but grew up in Len whence his family originated. His father was Juan Rodrguez Lozano, a prominent, successful lawyer, and his mother, Purificacin Zapatero. His grandfather was a Freemason and a Republican captain executed by the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. Married in 1990 to Sonsoles Espinosa (a lawyer and opera singer), Zapatero is the father of two girls, Laura (1993) and Alba (1995). Political experience In 1977, though legally too young to do so, Zapatero joined the Partido Socialista Obrero Espaol (PSOE, Spanish Socialists' Workers Party) after attending his first political rally in Gijn. There he heard future PSOE leader and Prime Minister of Spain, Felipe Gonzlez. After studying law at the University of Len, in 1982 he became head of the socialist youth organisation in the province of Len. In 1986, he was elected to represent the province of Len, becoming the youngest Member of the Spanish Cortes (Parliament). In 1988 he was elected to head the regional chapter of the socialist party in Len, and in 1997 he was appointed to the party's governing body. In 2000, the PSOE had lost its second successive election to Jos Mara Aznar's Partido Popular (People's Party). Zapatero, representing a modernising faction known as "Nueva Va" (New Way), was elected leader of the PSOE in the same year. There followed nearly four years as an opposition leader; during this period, Zapatero criticised several of the policies of the ruling Partido Popular, including: rising fuels costs, educational reform, the Government's management of an outbreak of Mad Cow disease, its reaction to the sinking of the oil tanker 'Prestige' off Galicia, and the Government's position on war in Iraq. 2004 Election Against expectations, Zapatero led the PSOE to victory in the Spanish legislative election, 2004. PSOE won 168 seats in the Cortes, and the Partido Popular obtained 148. The election campaign took place in a climate in which all parties' policies on the war in Iraq and on terrorism at home came under close scrutiny by the electorate. It therefore seems likely that the election result was influenced to a greater or lesser extent by the Spanish public's response to a major series of terrorist attacks in Madrid on 11 March 2004 (three days before voting day). Although the attacks were initially believed to be the work of the Basque terrorist organization ETA, later evidence pointed to Islamic terrorists. Zapatero's government is the first in Spain to have the same number of male and female ministers. He has said that the government will not be "soft on terrorism" and will not allow regional nationalists to endanger Spanish unity; however, this is complicated by the fact that his minority government needs the support of small nationalist parties. He has announced his intention to undertake limited reforms of the Spanish Constitution and legalize same-sex marriage. On the issue of Gibraltar, he agreed to the participation of the Government of Gibraltar as an equal partner in the regular discussions between Spain and the United Kingdom about the colony. See also External links Rodrguez Zapatero, Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapatero, Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapatero, Jos Luis Zapatero
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