Julián Felipe Muñoz Palomo ( El Arenal,

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...

, November 24, 1948) is a Spanish politician, known for his controversial tenure as mayor of

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

and for being the boyfriend of singer

Isabel Pantoja María Isabel Pantoja Martín (; born August 2, 1956) is a Spanish singer. She was born in the Triana district of Seville, Spain. She has released more than a dozen albums throughout a career spanning many decades, mostly of '' copla'' genre, ...

Biography

He studied Law and married Maite Zaldívar. In 1991 he became an important member of the Independent Liberal Group (GIL), reaching the second place in the electoral list in 1999. In 2002, following the resignation of

Jesús Gil Gregorio Jesús Gil y Gil (12 March 1933 – 14 May 2004) was a Spanish businessman and politician. He served as Mayor of Marbella between 1991 and 2002, and presided for a 16-year tenure as president of the football club Atlético de Madri ...

due to his involvement in a corruption case, Muñoz took over the duties of the Mayor of

until he officially obtained the post on May 2, 2002. In 2003 the GIL, with Muñoz as their leader, obtained an absolute majority in the Marbella town council. On August 13 of that year, Muñoz lost the mayorship after a motion of censure driven by a group of seven defectors from GIL, after which Marisol Yagüe became the new mayor. Muñoz was arrested in July 2006 in the second phase of

Operation Malaya Operation Malaya ( es, Operación Malaya) is a Spanish anti-corruption campaign in the southern resort city of Marbella. It began in 2006 and it is being carried out by the '' Policía Nacional'' under the direction of Judge Miguel Ángel Torres. ...

, in the most important case of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

in Spain up to then. Muñoz was convicted for several cases of

bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Co ...

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

and breach of trust. After nearly two years behind bars he was released from prison in 2008 but was arrested again in 2013 for other offenses related to Operation Malaya. Due to poor health stemming from his having

Diabetes mellitus type 1 Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar f ...

he is in a less restricted degree of incarceration since May, 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Julian 1948 births Living people Spanish politicians convicted of crimes Spanish prisoners and detainees Liberal Independent Group politicians Mayors of places in Andalusia Municipal councillors in the province of Málaga Politicians convicted of embezzlement People convicted of bribery