Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (Madrid, July 14, 1942), known as Javier Solana , is a politician, diplomat, professor and Spanish training physicist It has been Minister of Culture (1982-1988), Government spokesman (1985-1988), Minister of Education and Science (1988-1992), of Foreign Affairs (1992-1995), general secretary of NATO (1995- 1999), High Representative of the Council for Foreign and Common Security Policy of the European Union (1999-2009) and Commander in Chief of the Euphor. He is president of the Royal Board of Trustees of the Prado Museum and Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Isglobal.
is the grandson of the Pedagogue Ezequiel Solana and second grade nephew of the politician and writer Salvador de Madariaga. He is married to Concepción Giménez Díaz Oyuelos and has two children, Diego and Vega. In his professional beginnings, he was in 1975 Professor of Physics of the Solid State at the Complutense University of Madrid. He currently works in ESADE, giving the chair of leadership and democratic governance and often writes opinion articles for various means and opinion forums.
Biography
is the son of Luis Solana San Martín, who died in 1962, doctor of science and professor of Chemistry, in turn son of the pedagogue and publicist Ezequiel Solana Ramírez, while his mother, Obdulia Madariaga Pérez, who died in 2005, was daughter of the economist Rogelio de Madariaga and Castro, and the carnal cousin of the thinker, diplomat and political, Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (1886-1978), uncle in the second grade of Javier. It is the third of five brothers: older than him are Luis E Isabel, and minors Ignacio and Jesus.
He studied at the College of Pilar in Madrid and at the Complutense University of Madrid where he graduated in Physical Sciences (he had also started chemical sciences, which he left in the third year) in 1964. That same year he entered the Spanish Socialist Party Spanish Party (PSOE) by then illegal in Spain.
Between 1965 and 1970, he remained in various universities in the United States, with a Fulbright Foundation scholarship. In the United States he studied with the Spanish scientist Nicolás Cabrera. In this country he took part in the protests against the Vietnam War and became president of the Association of Foreign University.
In 1971 he returned to Spain and began working as an associate professor of Physics of the solid state at the Autonomous University of Madrid, where he obtained the PhD in Physical Sciences. In 1973 he obtained the chair of this specialty at the Complutense University of Madrid. During these years he published more than thirty articles on the subject. He remained linked to academic life until 1980 when he abandoned it, absorbed by his political activities. He is a regular assistant to the meetings of the Bilderberg Club.
Political Trajectory
When he returned to Spain in 1971 Solana joined the democratic coordination of Madrid as representative of the PSOE. He participated in the Southern Congress (1974), in which the new generations of the interior displaced the socialist historical direction of exile.
In December 1976, during the XXVII Federal Congress of the PSOE, the first held in Spain since the Civil War, was elected secretary of Organization and Press of the Executive Commission, in which it remained five years. He was considered a personal and close collaborator of the PSOE leader Felipe González Márquez and one of those responsible for the transformation of the PSOE in the years following Franco's death. On May 20, 1977 he accompanied González during his visit to King Juan Carlos I at the Palacio de la Zarzuela.
He was elected deputy by the PSOE in the general elections of Spain of 1977.
Governments of Felipe González
After the general elections in Spain in 1982 in which the PSOE obtained an absolute majority in parliament, Solana was appointed Minister of Culture (1982-1988), of Education and Science (1988-1992), of Foreign Affairs (1992 -1995) and government spokesperson (1985-1988), always in governments led by González.
During the thirteen years that he remained as Minister, Solana managed to create a reputation as a discreet person and a skilled diplomat. During the last years of the government of Felipe González, he managed to stay away from the corruption scandals and involvement in the dirty war against ETA (see GAL), which characterized the end of the PSOE government.[quote required]
By the end of 1995, Solana was the only member of González's first government who remained in it. He came to be speculated in the press as the possible candidate to replace Felipe González at the head of the PSOE. However, Solana jumped into international politics.[citation needed]
International scope
NATO Secretary General
On December 5, 1995, Solana was elected Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), replacing Willy Claes, who had been forced to resign due to a corruption scandal. His appointment was controversial, as Solana had previously opposed the Atlantic Alliance and had written a document called 50 reasons to say no to NATO. The PSOE had spoken out against NATO, but once in government he changed his position. On March 12, 1986 in Spain, permanence in NATO was submitted to a referendum, in a controversial plebiscite in which the government and Solana successfully campaigned in favor of permanence.
During his tenure as head of the Atlantic Alliance, the Kosovo war took place. This intervention lacked the authorization of the United Nations (UN) and basically consisted of the bombing of military and civilian targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. NATO justified the attacks on humanitarian grounds in order to prevent ethnic cleansing in Kosovo; however, the possible deliberate targeting of civilian targets drew criticism, even accusing NATO of violating the Geneva Conventions.
On October 6, 1999, he ceased his functions at the head of NATO and was succeeded by the British George Robertson.
- Operation Allied Force (1999)
The NATO bombing campaign involved 1 000 aircraft operating from air bases in Italy and Germany, and the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier stationed in the Adriatic Sea. At dusk, the F/A-18 Hornet of the Spanish Air Force were the first NATO aircraft to bomb Belgrade and perform SEAD operations. BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from ships and submarines. The United States was the dominant member of the coalition against Yugoslavia, although other NATO members were involved. During the 10 weeks of the conflict, NATO aircraft flew over 38,000 combat missions. For the German Air Force, the LuftwaffeThis mission was his first involvement in conflicts since World War II. In addition to air power, an 11th Apache helicopter battalion was deployed. United States Army Aviation Regiment to assist in combat missions. The regiment was increased by the pilots of the Attack Helicopter Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division of Fort Bragg. The battalion secured the AH-64 Apache helicopter fuel refueling sites and a small team deployed on the Albania-Kosovo border to identify the objectives of NATO air strikes.
NATO military operations increasingly attacked Yugoslav units on the ground, as well as continued the strategic bombing. Montenegro was bombed several times and NATO refused to support the precarious position of its anti-Milošević, Milo Đukanović. The objectives of "double use", used by civilians and soldiers, were attacked; the objectives included bridges through the Danube, factories, power plants, telecommunications facilities, left Yugoslav headquarters, a political party led by the wife of Milošević and the Belgrade television tower. Some protested that these actions were violations of international law and the Geneva Conventions. NATO argued that these facilities were potentially useful to the Yugoslav army and that their bombing was justified.
On 14 April, NATO aircraft bombed ethnic Albanians near Koriša who had been used by Yugoslav forces as human shields. The Yugoslav troops took the television teams to the scene shortly after the bombing. The Yugoslav government insisted that NATO had attacked civilians.
On 7 May, NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists. NATO had targeted a Yugoslav military objective, but navigational errors led to the wrong building being white. The United States and NATO apologized for the bombing and said it occurred due to an obsolete map provided by the Central Intelligence Agency. The bombing strained relations between the People ' s Republic of China and NATO, causing angry demonstrations outside the Western embassies in Beijing.
Solana ordered Clark to "start air operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." Clark then delegated the responsibility of Operation Allied Force to the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern European Allied Forces, who in turn delegated control to the Commander of the Allied Air Forces of Southern Europe, Lieutenant General Michael C. Short USAF. Operationally, the day-to-day responsibility for the execution of missions was delegated to the Commander of the 5th Allied Tactical Air Force.The operation, sanctioned by Solana, caused enormous casualties among the civilian population of Yugoslavia:
- 1,700 civilians
- 400 children
- 10,000 wounded
During the fighting the radioactive contamination of the area occurred.
High representative for the PESC
- Nature of the position
Solana was the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union from October 1999 to November 2009. This position was coupled with that of High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, popularly known as "Mr. CFSP" (in English Mr. Pesc). With this position he became the main face of European Union (EU) diplomacy, although the European Commission had its own portfolio on external relations.
With the failed Constitutional Treaty in the Union, it was established that the powers of the post of high representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy would be assumed by an EU Foreign Minister. The failure of the aforementioned Treaty in 2005 led to the abandonment of terminology reminiscent of that used in the States. The Lisbon Treaty of 2007, adopted under the Portuguese presidency, reforms the figure of high representative, which has assumed the powers of the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and the high representative and its holder has come to hold one of the Vice-Presidencies of the European Commission and is Also a member of the Council of the European Union.
The President of the Government of Spain, the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, proposed the initiative for the Minister of Foreign Affairs to maintain his name, that is, high representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, due to the reluctance generated in the United Kingdom that it considered that its sovereignty could be affected. This initiative of the Spanish head of government found no opposition and was accepted by the members of the Union, thus the person in charge of Union relations received the name of high representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Despite the suspicions generated in the United Kingdom, the high representative holds the powers provided for in the Treaty that was modified in Portugal in 2007.
- Development
In 2003 the European Union warned the United States government that there could not be an Iraq invasion without clear evidence that said country had prohibited weapons. In January, Solana issued a reminder to the US government that only the United Nations Security Council can determine if a military action is justified. Solana's statement came after the inspectors reported that they had not discovered "smoking guns" in their work. In an opinion article published in 2018, Solana commented that the foundations for the US invasion sat before the 11 September 2001.
On the other hand, in 2007 Solana decidedly supported the independence of Kosovo with respect to Serbia, although it has not been unanimously recognized by the EU member states, Spain being one of the partners not to do so. On the contrary, he was contrary to the fact that Abjasia can declare himself independent of Georgia or that the Basque Country does it from Spain.
On July 5, 2009, Solana announced that he would not renew in office as a high representative of common foreign policy. On November 19, 2009, the British Catherine Ashton replaced him, assuming the powers provided by the Lisbon treaty.
Subsequent activity
Despite having abandoned European policy, it is still considered European. In 2012 he ratified this position through the signing of the manifesto promoted by sociologist Ulrich Beck and the Euro Daniel Cohn-Bendit in which a reconstruction & # 34; from Europe from the base & # 34;. In the same vein, together with 300 intellectuals and academics, Solana signed in 2017 a manifesto that advocated a re -foundation of the European Union.
In 2018, the United States denies the entrance permit to Javier Solana. The reason is a trip he made to Iran.
In July 2019, he was unanimously elected, president of the Royal Board of Trustees of the Prado Museum.
On March 14, 2020 it was reported that the COVID-19 had contracted and its admission to the Ramón y Cajal hospital in Madrid. On April 9 he received the medical discharge after almost a month of hospitalization.
On February 8, 2021 he participated in the US and China colloquium: Can they live together? The challenges for the EU , organized by the Alternative Foundation in which Solana is Patron.
Awards
On May 17, 2007, he received the Charlemagne Prize from the city of Aachen, which distinguishes personalities for their services to the unity and progress of Europe, for their contribution to peace.
In 2010, Solana received the Ewald von Kleist Award, which honors, within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, a personality who has "worked in a very special way for peace and conflict resolution".
Awards
On January 22, 2010, King Juan Carlos I named him a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in recognition of his diplomatic career.
- Spanish honorary distinctions
- Knight of the Order of the Golden Toy (2010)
- Big Knight of the Order of Charles III (1997)
- Grand Cross Knight of the Order of Elizabeth the Catholic (2000)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X el Sabio (1996)
- Foreign honorary distinctions
- Knight of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George of the United Kingdom (2000)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2007)
- Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2005)
- Commander of the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania (2005)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Christ of Portugal (2010)
- Knight of the Order of the Gold Toys of Georgia (2010) of Georgia
- Other distinctions
- Carlomagno Award (2003)
- Edmond Israel Foundation Vision for Europe Award (2003)
- Statesman of the Year Award for the EastWest Institute, EWI (2003)
- Wateler Peace Prize at the Carnegie Institute (2006)
- Medal Peace Through the Dialogue of the Munich Conference on Security Policy (2007)
- Medalla Manfred Wörner of the German Ministry of Defence (2002)
- United Parliament of the World ' s Peace Prize (2008)
- Extraordinary Prize of the Spanish Ministry of Defence (2009)
- Manuel Broseta Foundation Trust Award (2009)
- Carlos V European Academy Award (2010)
- Ewald-von-Kleist Award for the Munich Conference on Security Policy (2010)
- Doctor Honoris Causa in Political Science by the London School of Economics
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