Jorge Verstrynge Rojas (born September 22, 1948) is a Spanish former politician, activist and political scientist, professor in 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 ...

. Close to neofascist movements in his youth and Secretary-General of

People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to: * People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit * People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923 * People's Alliance ( ...

in the 1980s, he experimented along his political career an ideological switch towards leftist positions.

Biography

Alfonso Guerra conversa con el secretario general de AP en el Congreso de los Diputados

Born 22 September 1948 in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

, he is son of a Spanish mother and a Belgian father, Willy Verstrynge-Thalloen, follower of

Léon Degrelle Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle (; 15 June 1906 – 31 March 1994) was a Belgian Walloon politician and Nazi collaborator. He rose to prominence in Belgium in the 1930s as the leader of the Rexist Party (Rex). During the German occupatio ...

during the Second World War. During his youth in Morocco and Algeria he was also influenced by his stepfather, a French communist called René Mazel. He moved from France to Spain in order to finish his secondary education and entering the University. He became one of the proponents of

Nouvelle Droite The ''Nouvelle Droite'' (, ), sometimes shortened to the initialism ND, is a far-right politics, far-right political movement which emerged in France during the late 1960s. The ''Nouvelle Droite'' is the origin of the wider European New Right ( ...

ideas within

(AP).

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of AP from 1979 to 1986, he was considered the protégé of

Manuel Fraga 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 (Spain), People's Alliance (AP). Fraga ...

, leader of the party. He also was, within People's Alliance, one of the promoters of the ''Club del Sable'' ("Club of the Sabre"). He ran as AP's Mayoral candidate in the 1983 Madrid City Council election, but his candidature was beaten by the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(PSOE), led by the Mayor

Enrique Tierno Galván Enrique Tierno Galván (Madrid, 8 February 1918 – Madrid, 19 January 1986) was a Spanish politician, sociologist, lawyer and essayist, best known for being the Mayor of Madrid from 1979 to 1986, at the beginning of the new period of Spanish d ...

. After a rift with Fraga, he left AP in 1986; he became member of the PSOE in 1993. He left the party, and became advisor of Francisco Frutos, leader of the United Left. In 2014 he became an advisor of Pablo Iglesias, leader of Podemos.

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* * * * * * * * __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Verstrynge, Jorge 1948 births Living people People from Tangier People's Alliance (Spain) politicians Academic staff of the Complutense University of Madrid Spanish political scientists Spanish people of Belgian descent Far-right politics in Spain