Aznar, José María (1953–)

José María Aznar López (born in Madrid on February 25, 1953) worked as a Spanish Tax Authority inspector after his law studies and before his political career. From 1982 to 1987 he was the Secretary General of the People's Alliance (Alianza Popular, AP); for the next two years he was president of the Autonomous Region of Castile-León. In 1989 the People's Alliance was re-founded as People's Party (Partido Popular, PP) and Aznar became its new leader.

In 1995 Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), or Basque Homeland and Freedom, attempted to assassinate him, but he was not injured seriously. One year later, in March 1996, the PP won the general elections with a small majority; Aznar had to reach agreements with small nationalist parties in order to form ...