Gregorio Peces-Barba (13 January 1938 – 24 July 2012) was a Spanish politician and jurist. He was one of the seven jurists who wrote the Spanish Constitution of 1978, acting as a representative of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

Peces-Barba was born in Madrid. He studied Law in Madrid and Strasbourg, writing his thesis about Jacques Maritain. He was a member of the Socialist Party since 1972 and was chosen as congressman for the province of Valladolid in 1977 in the first democratic elections in Spain in forty years. He was one of the seven jurists who wrote the constitution approved in referendum in 1978, and so he is considered a father of the constitution. In 1982 he was elected president of the

congress of deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

and held that chair until 1986 when he decided not to rerun. He helped to create the

Charles III University of Madrid University Charles III of Madrid ( es, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) (UC3M) is a public university in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Established in 1989, UC3M is an institution with a distinctly international profile. It offers a broad rang ...

and from 1989 until 2007 he was rector of that university. He was chosen by president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to be High Commissioner for the help of the victims of terrorism in 2004. He was strongly criticised by the

Asociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo The Association of Victims of Terrorism () is a Spanish association created in 1981 by victims of terrorist attacks. Its members include those injured by ETA, GRAPO, the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Al Qaeda, as well as their families. ...

and decided to resign in 2006. No successor was chosen.elmundo.es(Spanish)
/ref> He died on 24 July 2012, aged 74, in Oviedo, Spain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peces-Barba, Gregorio 1938 births 2012 deaths Recipients of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Charles III University of Madrid faculty Fathers of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Members of the constituent Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 1st Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 2nd Congress of Deputies (Spain) Complutense University of Madrid alumni University of Strasbourg alumni Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain)