Francisco Álvarez-Cascos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Excellent Francisco Álvarez-Cascos
Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office 6 May 1996 – 27 April 2000
Prime Minister	José María Aznar
Preceded by	Narcís Serra
Succeeded by	Mariano Rajoy
7th President of the Principality of Asturias
In office 15 July 2011 – 26 May 2012
Monarch	Juan Carlos I
Preceded by	Vicente Álvarez Areces
Succeeded by	Javier Fernández Fernández
Personal details
Born	(1947-10-01) 1 October 1947 (age 77) Madrid, Spain
Political party	Foro Asturias (FAC) (2011–present)
Other political affiliations	PP (1976–2009)

Francisco Álvarez–Cascos Fernández (born 1 October 1947) is a Spanish politician. He was a very important leader in the Partido Popular (a major political party) from 1989 to 1999. Later, he became the President of the Principality of Asturias from 2011 to 2012.

Early Life and Political Start

Francisco Álvarez-Cascos first studied to become a civil engineer. After working for a few years in architecture, he decided to become a full-time politician.

In 1976, he joined a political group called Reforma Democrática. This group later joined with others to form Alianza Popular. Both of these were right-wing political parties.

Local Government Roles

From 1979 to 1986, he was a spokesman for the Gijón Council. Gijón is a city in Asturias, Spain. He also served as a county councilor and was part of the regional government body before Asturias became fully self-governing.

National Politics and Leadership

In 1982, Alianza Popular joined with other groups to create the People's Party. This new party was a mix of center and right-wing ideas.

Serving in the Senate

After the new party formed, Francisco Álvarez-Cascos was chosen to be a senator for Asturias. A senator is like a representative in a country's parliament. He also spoke for the People's Party in the regional parliament of Asturias starting in 1983.

Becoming a Deputy

In 1986, he was elected as a deputy for Asturias. A deputy is another type of representative in the national parliament. He was re-elected four more times in 1989, 1993, 1996, and 2000.

Secretary-General of the People's Party

At a big meeting of the People's Party (their 9th National Congress), he was chosen as the Secretary-General. This is a very important leadership role within the party. He kept this job for many years, being confirmed three times at later party meetings.

Government Minister Roles

From 1996 to 2000, Francisco Álvarez-Cascos served as the First Vice President of the Government. He was also the Minister of the Presidency during this time. From 2000 to 2004, he was the Minister for Development.

In 2004, he decided to leave his position in the national parliament and took a break from politics for a few years.

President of Asturias

Around 2009, some people in the People's Party wanted him to run for President of Asturias. They held meetings and campaigned for him. However, the leaders of the party in Asturias did not want him as their candidate.

Forming a New Party

Because he wasn't supported by his old party, he left the People's Party. In May 2011, in just five months, he started a brand new party called Asturian Forum. This new party did very well in the elections, winning 16 out of 45 seats in the Asturian parliament. Because of this success, he became the President of Asturias.

Challenges and Resignation

He led a government that did not have a majority of seats in parliament. This meant other parties could easily block his plans. After six months, his budget for 2012 was rejected by the other parties. This made it very hard for him to govern. Because of this difficult situation, he decided to resign on January 30, 2012. He then called for new elections to be held on March 25.

In these new elections, his Asturian Forum party lost some seats. They ended up in second place, behind the Socialist Party.

See also

In Spanish: Francisco Álvarez-Cascos para niños