Javier Solana
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
---|---|
In office 16 June 1992 – 18 December 1995 | |
Prime Minister | Felipe González |
Preceded by | Francisco Fernández Ordóñez |
Succeeded by | Carlos Westendorp |
Personal details | |
Born | Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga 14 July 1942 Madrid, Spain |
Political party | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party |
Spouse | María de la Concepción Giménez Díaz-Oyuelos |
Education | Complutense University University of Virginia |
Signature | |
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga
Background and career as a physicist
Solana was born in Madrid, Spain. He comes from a prominent Spanish family, being a first cousin, twice removed, of diplomat, writer, historian, and pacifist Salvador de Madariaga[1] (Javier's grandfather, Rogelio de Madariaga and Salvador de Madariaga were cousins). His father was a chemistry professor, Luis Solana San Martín, who died when Javier was nineteen. His mother, Obdulia de Madariaga Pérez, died in 2005.[2][3][4][5][6] Javier is the third of five children.[2] His older brother Luis was once imprisoned for his political activities opposing the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, subsequently became a distinguished leader in the Spanish telecommunications industry[7] and was one of the first socialist members of the Trilateral Commission.[8]
Solana studied at the
In 1965 he went to the United States, where he spent six years studying at various universities on a
Spanish politics
On returning to Spain in 1971 Solana joined the Democratic Co-ordination of Madrid as the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) representative.
In 1976, during PSOE's first national congress inside Spain since the
He became a representative of a teachers' union in the Complutense University, and in this role won a
On 28 October 1982 PSOE won a historic victory with 202 out of 350 seats in the
He was made Minister for Foreign Affairs on 22 July 1992, the day before the opening of the II
It was during these thirteen years as a cabinet minister that Solana's reputation as a discreet and diplomatic politician grew. By going to the foreign Ministry in the later years of González administration he avoided the political scandals of corruption, and of the dirty war allegedly being fought against ETA, that characterised its last years. Towards the end of 1995, Solana – the only surviving member of González's original cabinet – was talked about in the press as a possible candidate to replace him and lead the PSOE in the following March elections. Instead, he made the leap to international politics.
During and after his spell as NATO secretary general (see below) Solana continued to play an active role in PSOE and Spanish politics. In June 1997, at the 34th PSOE Congress, Solana left their Executive Commission and joined their Federal Committee, being re-elected in second place three years later. By supporting Colin Powell's 5 February 2003 speech to the UN Security council which claimed that Iraq had WMD's[citation needed] Solana contradicted the position of his party leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who opposed the PP government of José María Aznar's support for the invasion of Iraq. Solana is seen, along with González, as representing the older wing of the party. On 15 February 2005 he criticised the Plan Ibarretxe for its position on Basque Country independence, saying that its call for separate Basque representation within the EU had no place within the proposed EU constitution.
Secretary General of NATO
On 5 December 1995, Solana became the new Secretary-General of NATO, replacing Willy Claes who had been forced to resign in a corruption scandal. His appointment created controversy as, in the past, he had been an opponent of NATO. He had written a pamphlet called 50 Reasons to say no to NATO, and had been on a US subversives list.[citation needed] On 30 May 1982 Spain joined NATO. When PSOE came to power later that year, Solana and the party changed their previous anti-NATO positions into an atlanticist, pro-NATO stance. On 12 March 1986 Spain held a referendum on whether to remain in NATO, with the government and Solana successfully campaigning in favour. When criticised about his anti-NATO past, Solana argued that he was happy to be its representative as it had become disassociated from its Cold War origins.
Solana immediately had to deal with the Balkans NATO mission Operation Joint Endeavour that consisted of a multinational peacekeeping Implementation Force (IFOR) of 60,000 soldiers which took over from a United Nations mission on 20 December. This came about through the Dayton Agreement, after NATO had bombed selected targets in Bosnia and Herzegovina (positions held by VRS) the previous August and September. He did this by deploying the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). In December 1996 the ARRC was again activated, with IFOR being replaced by a 32,000-strong Stabilisation Force (SFOR) operating under codenames Joint Guard and later Joint Forge.
During Solana's term, NATO reorganised its political and military structure and changed its basic strategies. He gained the reputation of being a very successful, diplomatic Secretary General who was capable of negotiating between the differing NATO members and between NATO and non-NATO States. In December 1995 France partially returned to the military structure of NATO, while in November 1996 Spain joined it. On 27 May 1997, after five months of negotiations with Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov, an agreement was reached resulting in the Paris NATO–Russia Founding Act.[12] On the same day, Solana presided over the establishment of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council to improve relations between European NATO and non-NATO countries.
Keeping the peace in the former
On 24 March, NATO forces launched
Solana and NATO were criticised for the civilian casualties caused by the bombings.[13][14] On 23–24 April, the
On 10 June, Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo, and NATO stopped its attacks, which ended the Kosovo War. The same day
EU foreign policy chief
After leaving NATO, Solana took up a role in the
The Clinton administration claimed in May 2000 that Solana was the fulfilment of Henry Kissinger's famous desire to have a phone number to talk to Europe.[citation needed] In December 2003 Solana released the European Security Strategy, which sets out the main priorities and identifies the main threats to the security of the EU, including terrorism. On 25 March 2004 Solana appointed Gijs de Vries as the anti-terrorist co-ordinator for the CFSP, and outlined his duties as being to streamline, organise and co-ordinate the EU's fight against terrorism.
On 29 June 2004 he was designated to become the EU's first "Union Minister for Foreign Affairs", a position created by the
In late 2004, Solana held secret negotiations with Hamas leaders, saying that he met them at a time when there seemed to be an opportunity for progress, and were to "pass a clear message of what the international community wants", and said that the meetings occurred "months" before.[16]
Foreign affairs
He negotiated numerous Treaties of Association between the European Union and various Middle Eastern and
On 21 January 2002 Solana said that the detainees at
The so-called Vilnius letter, a declaration of support by eastern European countries for the United States' aim of régime change in Iraq, and the letter of the eight, a similar letter from the UK, Italy, and six second-tier countries, are generally seen [by whom?] as a low-water mark of the CFSP.
Solana has played an important role working toward a resolution to the
In November 2004 Solana assisted the United Kingdom, France and Germany in negotiating a nuclear material enrichment freeze with
In 2010, after he had left office, Solana signed a petition along with 25 other EU leaders directed at his successor, Catherine Ashton, calling for EU sanctions on Israel in response to continued settlement construction in the West Bank.[19]
Other activities
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Member of the Board of Trustees[20]
- Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Member of the Global Board of Advisors[21]
- Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies, Member of the Board of Trustees[22]
- Global Leadership Foundation (GLF), Member[23]
- International Crisis Group (ICG), Board of Trustees (since 2010)[24]
- Munich Security Conference, Member of the Advisory Council[25]
- Project Syndicate, Contributor (since 2004)
- European Leadership Network (ELN), Senior Network Member[26]
Personal life
Solana is married to Concepción Giménez, and they have two adult children, Diego and Vega. He lives in Brussels, where his apartment has a reputation of being a focal point for Spanish politicians in or visiting this capital. Apart from his native Spanish, he also speaks fluent French, as well as English.
General Wesley Clark once asked Solana the secret of his diplomatic success. He answered: "Make no enemies, and never ask a question to which you do not know or like the answer."[18] He has been described as a "squarer of circles."[citation needed]
U.S. ambassador to NATO Alexander Vershbow said of him: "He is an extraordinary consensus-builder who works behind the scenes with leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to ensure that NATO is united when it counts."[citation needed] He is a frequent speaker at the prestigious U.S. based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is likewise active in the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) as well as the New York City based East West Institute. In March 2010, Solana became honorary president of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and in 2011 became a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to promote good governance around the world. He also became a member of Human Rights Watch board of directors the same year.[27]
He is an honorary Knight Commander of the
On 11 March 2020 Solana was admitted to the hospital after being infected by COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.[30]
Awards and honours
Spanish honours
- Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise (1996)[31]
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III (1997)[32]
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2000)[32]
- Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece (2010)[32]
Other countries
- Grand Officer of the Order of the White Lion (Czech Republic, 1998)
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (United Kingdom, 2000)[32]
- Manfred Wörner Medal of the Federal German Ministry of Defence (Germany, 2002)[32]
- Order for Exceptional Merits (Slovenia, 2004)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Poland, 2005)[33]
- Commander Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (Lithuania, 2005)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic (Germany, 2007)[32]
- Knight of the Georgian Order of the Golden Fleece (Georgia, 2010)[35]
Awards
- Vision for Europe Award, Edmond Israel Foundation (2003)[32]
- Statesman of the Year Award, EastWest Institute (2003)[32]
- Wateler Peace Prize, Carnegie Foundation (2006)[32]
- Peace Through Dialogue Medal, Munich Security Conference (2007)[32]
- Charlemagne Prize (2007)[32]
- Peace Award of the World Children's Parliament (2008)[32]
- Extraordinary Prize of the Spanish Ministry of Defence (2009)[32]
- Convivencia Award, Manuel Broseta Foundation (2009)[32]
- Charles V European Award, European Academy of Yuste Foundation (2010)[32]
- Ewald-von-Kleist Award, Munich Security Conference (2010)[32]/
- Casimir Pulaski Foundation[36]
- Honorary degree (political science), London School of Economics[32]
- Gold Medal of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe (2011)[32]
Arms
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See also
- Enlargement of the European Union
- Foreign Affairs Council
- History of Serbia and Montenegro
- History of the European Constitution
- History of the European Union
- List of European Union-related topics
- Politics of Europe
References
- ^ Biography of Luis Solana (brother of Javier Solana) at his blog Archived 12 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish):
Heredó de su abuelo materno [Rogelio de Madariaga y Castro] la revista "España Económica", publicación que dio cabida a jóvenes economistas críticos con el régimen de Franco. Sobrino nieto de D. Salvador de Madariaga.
He inherited from his maternal grandfather [Rogelio de Madariaga y Castro] the magazine "España Económica", which accommodated young economists critical of the Franco regime. (He's) the grand nephew of D. Salvador de Madariaga - ^ a b "ABC (Madrid) - 17/04/2005, p. 86 - ABC.es Hemeroteca". hemeroteca.abc.es. 3 September 2019.
- ^ Movimiento nobiliario 1934 Archived 25 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, page 167. News about the marriage between Luis Solana San Martín and Obdulia Madariaga.
- ^ ¡Feliz Navidad, Maribel!, post in Luis Solana's blog (Luis Solana is Javier's brother) and the post accounts mentions the five brothers.
- ^ Death notice of Enrique de Madariaga y Pérez-Gros. It mentions Obdulia as sister and Luis Solana San Martín as brother-in-law.
- ^ Death notice of Juana San Martín Yoldi, widow of Ezequiel Solana. It mentions all her sibling, including Luis.
- ^ "Biografia". Luis Solana. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
- ^ "Trilateral Commission Annual Meeting Publications". Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
- ^ "CIDOB". Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
- ^ Roldán, Juan (20 July 1983). "Los ministros Solana, Maravall, Lluch y Campo coinciden con Guerra en que España no debe permanecer en la OTAN". El País.
- ISBN 978-84-617-1203-8.
- ^ "NATO - Official text: Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation signed in Paris, France, 27-May.-1997". NATO.
- ^ "New Figures on Civilian Deaths in Kosovo War(Human Rights Watch Press Release, Feb. 7, 2000)". Hrw.org.
- ^ "Human Rights Watch Letter to NATO Secretary General Concerning Allaged Violations of the Laws of War. (13 May 1999)". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "BBC NEWS - Middle East - EU denies secret talks with Hamas". Bbc.co.uk. 25 November 2004.
- ^ "Solana urges POW status for Afghan captives". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ a b Clark, Wesley K. Waging Modern War. New York: Perseus Books Group, 2001–2002, p. 15
- ^ "Former EU leaders urge sanctions for Israel settlements". BBC News. 10 December 2010.
- ^ Governance Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
- ^ Global Board of Advisors Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
- ^ Board of Trustees Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies.
- ^ Membership Archived 6 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine Global Leadership Foundation (GLF).
- ^ Crisis Group Announces New Board Members International Crisis Group (ICG), press release of 1 July 2010.
- ^ Advisory Council Munich Security Conference
- ^ "Senior Network". Europeanleadershipnetwork.org. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Solana, Jilani, and Matsumoto Join Human Rights Watch Board". Human Rights Watch. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "Internationaler Karlspreis zu Aachen – News". Archived from the original on 5 January 2007.
- ^ "OTRAS DISPOSICIONES : JEFATURA DEL ESTADO" (PDF). Boe.es. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Former NATO chief Javier Solana has coronavirus - source". Reuters. 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Javier Solana's Order of Alfonso X, the Wise appointment. Spanish Official Journal (96/01/27) (PDF)" (PDF). Boe.es. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r (in Spanish)Javier Solana Madariaga, Barcelona Centre for International Affairs Archived 5 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Pujol glosa la defensa identitaria al recibir la cruz del mérito de Polonia". El País. 10 November 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Javier Solana knight of the Christ Order, Que.es". Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Saakashvili condecora a Solana por su apoyo a los intereses de Georgia". que.es. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ "Javier Solana". Pulaski.pl. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ISBN 978-84-922198-0-3
- ^ "S O L A N A". 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "M A D A R I A G A". 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
External links
- Javier Solana at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) (in Spanish) (updated to 2010[update])
- Solana steps down as EU foreign policy chief
- EU's quiet diplomat steps aside after 10 years
- Curriculum Vitae of Javier Solana
- Assessment of next NATO Secretary General Archived 6 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- Civil liberties and Solana
- Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for Peace
- European Neighbourhood Policy
- NATO Declassified - Javier Solana (biography)
- Javier Solana at IMDb
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Interview about EDSP
- Interview as Spanish foreign minister in conflict with Canada
- Interview with Physics world magazine
- Online Resource Guide to EU Foreign Policy
- Madariaga European Foundation
- Shorter biography of Javier Solana
- Solana's development of a Common Foreign and Security Policy
- Solana meets Sharon, July 2004
- The puzzle of Solana's power
- Book about Javier Solana, 2011