Federico Trillo-Figueroa Martínez-Conde (; born 23 May 1952) is a former Spanish Politician of the People's Party, who has served as

President of the Congress of Deputies The president of the Congress of Deputies () is the speaker of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament). The president is elected among the members of the Congress and is, after the king and th ...

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

and Ambassador of Spain to the United Kingdom. The son of a governor in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

, Trillo graduated with a bachelor's degree in law from the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

and a PhD from the

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 ...

. Trillo entered into the Navy's Legal Corps as first of his class in 1974 where he was posted in the naval prosecutor's office of the Maritime Zone of the Mediterranean, later he was posted in the Directorship of Military Naval Construction. In 1979, he passed the competitive examination for Counsel of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

. He retired from the navy as a Judge-Advocate Mayor in 1989 in order to enter politics. In 1983 he entered the legal staff of the ''Alianza Popular'' (''People's Alliance''), then headed by

Manuel Fraga Iribarne Manuel Fraga Iribarne (; 23 November 1922 – 15 January 2012) was a Spanish professor and politician during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, who was also one of the founders of the People's Alliance (AP). Fraga was Minister of Informatio ...

, where he actively participated in the restructuring of the party, refashioning it as the People's Party. He has been a member of the national executive since 1986. Trillo has been elected deputy for the province of

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

since 1989. From 1989 and 1996, he was vice-president of the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

. On 27 March 1996 he was elected president of the Congress of Deputies, a position he maintained until the end of the sixth legislature in 2000. On 27 April 2000 Prime Minister

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

named him Minister of Defense for Aznar's second government. In July 2002, he ordered an attack on Perejil Island, which had been occupied for days by Moroccan soldiers. The Yakovlev 42 crash in Turkey on 26 May 2003, in which 62 Spanish soldiers died while returning from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

marked the end of his tenure as the Minister of Defense. Three of his subordinates were sent to prison for falsifying the identification of 30 of the bodies. A judge found no grounds to implicate Trillo, and Trillo repeatedly refused to accept political or criminal responsibility. Trillo is the author of many books on law and judicial and political thought. His most recognized works are: ''El poder político en los dramas de Shakespeare'' (Political Power in Shakespeare's Dramas) and ''Pregones y Semblanzas''. He collaborated in the founding of the Association for Studies for Social Progress. He is a member of the Spanish Commission of Military History, and a member of

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

Personal life

Federico Trillo-Figueroa Martínez-Conde was born on 23 May 1952 in Cartagena,

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

. He is the son of Federico Trillo-Figueroa Vázquez and Eloísa Martínez-Conde Muñoz. Federico, a Galician, was a major figure in the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in ...

. Originally a military lawyer, he later become a member of the

Cortes Españolas The Cortes Españolas (), known informally as the Cortes franquistas (), was the name of the legislative institution promulgated by the ''Caudillo'' of Spain Francisco Franco which was established on 17 July 1942 (the sixth anniversary of th ...

before becoming the mayor of Cartagena in the 1960s and then also assumed the post of in 1974. He died in 2002, aged 82. Eloísa died 15 years later at the age of 90. Federico Trillo married María José Molinuevo, a lawyer in the

Court of Auditors The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is the supreme audit institution of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg and is one of the seven EU institutions. The Court comprises on ...

, in 1976. She is the daughter of a judge and was born in

Orihuela Orihuela (; ''Corpus Toponímic Valencià''. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. 2009, València.) is a city and municipality located at the foot of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. The c ...

. They have five children: María José, Federico, Marta, Mercedes and Santiago, nicknamed "Yago". He is a practicing Catholic and a member of

Education and early career

Trillo studied law at the

, and after graduating completed his doctorate in the same subject at the

In 1974, he joined the prosecution corps of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

after graduating first in his class. Five years later, he joined the Counsel of the

after getting the highest result in the competitive examination again, officially joining on 21 June 1980. During his time there, he worked at the Economy and Finance, Interior Territory, and Foreign Affairs sections, contributing to the drafting of an opinion on Spain's entrance into the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) while serving in the latter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trillo, Federico Ambassadors of Spain to the United Kingdom Ministers of defence of Spain Spanish jurists 1952 births Living people University of Salamanca alumni Complutense University of Madrid alumni Members of the 4th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 5th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 6th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 8th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 9th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from Cartagena, Spain People's Party (Spain) politicians Opus Dei members