Alfonso María Dastis Quecedo (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish diplomat, who served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

of Spain from 2016 until 1 June 2018, when a vote of no-confidence against

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (, ; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

ousted the government. Prior to becoming Minister he held several positions within the Spanish Diplomatic Corps. Until 2022, he was the Ambassador of Spain to the Republic of Italy.

Education

Dastis studied law at the

CEU San Pablo University CEU San Pablo University () is a private Catholic university located in Madrid, Spain, with campuses in Moncloa (Madrid) and in Montepríncipe ( Alcorcón). It is run by the Centro de Estudios Universitarios (CEU Foundation). It was establis ...

in the 1970s, then attended the public

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. He embarked on a doctoral thesis on the freedom of establishment of insurance companies, but abandoned it in 1983.

Career

Dastis entered the Diplomatic Corps in 1983. As a career diplomat he held several positions linked to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and to international institutions, such as in the Spanish Embassy to the UN, the Minister's Staff, and the Prime Minister's Office. In 2002, he was named Secretary General for European Affairs. Between 1987 and 1989, Dastis worked as a law clerk for one of his former professors, Gil Carlos Rodríguez Iglesias, Spain's first judge at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

(ECJ) and a subsequent president of that court. As Spain's legal adviser at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Dastis deputised occasionally for Spain's ambassador in 1993-94 when Spain held a seat on the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

and cast Spain's vote at the Security Council meeting that accepted the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

as members after they had split. Dastis was EU adviser to

José Maria Aznar José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

from 1996 to 2000. Among other things, he was in charge of organising Spain's

presidency of the Council of the European Union The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...

, which ran in the first half of 2002. At the end of 2001, Aznar nominated him as Spanish delegate to the

Convention on the Future of Europe The Convention on the Future of the European Union, also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. Inspired by the Philadelphia Convention that led ...

, alongside Ana de Palacio y del Valle-Lersundi. In this capacity, he pushed against making the Union's common foreign and security policy (CFSP) subject to the jurisdiction of the ECJ. Dastis attained the rank of

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

in 2004 being named Ambassador to the Netherlands. In 2011 Dastis was named Permanent Representative to the European Union. In 2016 Dastis was named Minister of Foreign Affairs in the second Rajoy government. During the 2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis, Dastis claimed in an interview with

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

that several videos purporting to show clashes during the 1 October Catalan independence referendum were fake, and defended the actions of the Civil Guard and National Police.Spain FM: 'Many police violence pictures fake' - BBC News
/ref>

Personal life

Dastis is married to a lawyer. He is a keen golfer.

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dastis, Alfonso 1955 births Living people Politicians from Andalusia Foreign ministers of Spain People from Jerez de la Frontera Ambassadors of Spain to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Spain to Italy Permanent representatives of Spain to the European Union Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Complutense University of Madrid alumni

Education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links