Fernando Lamikiz Garai (born 1959 in

Guernica Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, Basque Country, Spain) is a lawyer, economist and former president of

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. ''Lamikiz'' studied economic law at the Deusto University. After further studying in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, he returned to

Deusto Deusto, also known as Deustu in Basque language, Basque and formerly known as ''San Pedro de Deusto'', is one of the eight districts of Bilbao, Spain. It is located on the right side of the Estuary of Bilbao, Bilbao estuary, in the northwestern p ...

as a lecturer in

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. He was member of the board of directors of Athletic from 1994 to 2001, heading the legal department. He was president of Athletic from September 2004, until his resignation in September 2006. He stepped down following Athletic's poor performance in the 2005-06

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

season and uninspired beginning of the 2006–07 season, combined with prolonged negative press surrounding his involvement in the illegal attempt to sign defender

Iban Zubiaurre Iban Zubiaurre Urrutia (born 22 January 1983) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right-back. Club career Zubiaurre was born in Mendaro, Gipuzkoa. After making his Real Sociedad first-team debut during the 2004–05 season, he achi ...

from rivals

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

. His resignation, widely believed to have come as the result of sustained protest by vocal supporters of Athletic, was effected on 27 September 2006. His deputy, Ana Urkijo, took on the role until 2007, becoming the club's first female president.

References

People from Guernica Living people 1959 births 20th-century Spanish lawyers University of Deusto alumni Spanish economists Athletic Bilbao presidents Basque economists Businesspeople from the Basque Country (autonomous community) {{Spain-law-bio-stub