Pío Cabanillas Gallas (13 November 1923 – 10 October 1991) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

jurist and politician, who held different cabinet posts and served as a deputy in

the European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it a ...

Early life and education

Cabanillas was born 13 November 1923 in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

. His father was a lawyer, and his uncle, Roman C., was a poet. Cabanillas held a law degree.

Career

Cabanillas was a member of the Council of the Realm, which was the highest advisory body in the

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 ...

. He was the minister of information and tourism in the cabinet led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Arias Navarro which was formed on 4 January 1974 under

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

. Cabanillas replaced Fernando de Liñán in the post. Cabanillas was removed from office in October 1974 on the orders of Franco due to "being too liberal in lifting press censorship." Cabanillas' successor as minister of information and tourism was León Herrera Esteban. Cabanillas was appointed justice minister on 31 August 1981, replacing Francisco Fernández Ordóñez in the post. His term ended on when Fernando Ledesma Bartret was appointed justice minister on 3 December 1982. In 1986, Cabanillas became a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

for the People's Party and served at the parliament until 1991.

Views and activities

Cabanillas was close to

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 ...

, former minister. Cabanillas was instrumental both in drafting the 1966 press law which dissolved the press censorship in Spain and in the transition period of Spain from dictatorship to democracy in the 1970s. Although he was described as a reformist during the late Francoist era, he was viewed as a conservative in his later years while serving at the European Parliament.

Death

Cabanillas died of a heart attack in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

on 10 October 1991.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabanillas Gallas, Pio 20th-century Spanish lawyers 1923 births 1991 deaths Information and tourism ministers of Spain Government ministers during the Francoist dictatorship Justice ministers of Spain MEPs for Spain 1986–1987 MEPs for Spain 1987–1989 MEPs for Spain 1989–1994 People from Pontevedra People's Party (Spain) MEPs