Jaime Mayor Oreja facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jaime Mayor Oreja MP MEP
Minister of the Interior
In office 4 May 1996 – 27 February 2001
Prime Minister	José María Aznar
Preceded by	Juan Alberto Belloch
Succeeded by	Mariano Rajoy
Member of the European Parliament
In office 13 June 2004 – 25 May 2014
Constituency	Spain
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office 3 March 1996 – 24 April 2001
Constituency	Alava
In office 1 April 1979 – 28 October 1982
Constituency	Gipuzkoa
Member of the Basque Parliament
In office 8 June 2001 – 2 July 2004
Constituency	Biscay
In office 18 December 1990 – 29 March 1996
Constituency	Álava
In office 22 March 1984 – 1 October 1986
Constituency	Gipuzkoa
Personal details
Political party	People's Party (1989–present)
Other political affiliations	Union of the Democratic Centre (1977–1983) People's Coalition (1983–1986)

Jaime Mayor Oreja (born 12 July 1951) is a Spanish politician who used to be part of the People's Party. He served in different important roles. He was a member of the Basque Parliament, the Spanish Parliament, and the European Parliament. He also worked as the Spanish Minister of the Interior from 1996 to 2000. He is known for his strong views against the terrorist group ETA and for his traditional social beliefs.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Jaime Mayor Oreja was born in San Sebastián, a city in the Basque Country region of Spain. He went to a school run by the Marianists. He studied to become an agricultural engineer. He also started studying law but decided to enter politics instead.

His family has a history in Spanish politics. His grandfather, Marcelino Oreja Elósegui, was a Catholic activist and politician. His uncle, Marcelino Oreja Aguirre, worked a lot in the Spanish government and in the European Parliament. It was his uncle who helped him get involved in politics.

Starting a Political Career

In 1977, Mayor Oreja joined a political group called the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD). He first tried to get elected to the Spanish Parliament, called the Cortes Generales, but didn't win. However, he won a seat with the UCD in the 1979 elections.

Soon after, he became a representative for the Spanish government in the Basque Government. He also helped write the Basque Statute of Autonomy. This important document gave the Basque Country more self-governance. He served as a minister for tourism in the Basque General Council, which was like an early version of the Basque Parliament.

He left the Spanish Parliament in 1982 when another party, the Socialist Party, won most of the seats. He continued as a government representative in the Basque Country until 1983. After the UCD party started to break apart, he joined the People's Coalition. In 1984, he ran to become the leader of the Basque government, known as the Lehendakari. He later stepped away from politics for a few years.

Returning to Politics

In 1989, Manuel Fraga asked Mayor Oreja to come back to politics. He joined the newly formed People's Party (PP). He was the party's candidate in the Basque elections in 1990. He also helped manage the European Parliament elections in 1989. In 1994, the People's Party gained many more seats in the European Parliament.

Becoming a Minister

After José María Aznar won the Spanish Parliamentary Elections in 1996, Mayor Oreja was chosen as the Minister of the Interior. This job meant he was in charge of national security and public order. One of his main challenges was dealing with ETA, a terrorist group that caused a lot of trouble in Spain.

In 1998, ETA announced a ceasefire, which meant they would stop fighting for a while. However, Mayor Oreja was very cautious. He called it a "tregua-trampa," or "trap truce," believing it was not a real peace. He publicly refused to negotiate with ETA. His firm stance against terrorism earned him a lot of support from many people in Spain.

Basque Election Campaign

Being Minister of the Interior was a very important time for Mayor Oreja. In 2001, his party chose him to run for the Basque regional presidency. He left his job as Minister of the Interior to focus on this election campaign.

The 2001 Basque elections happened after ETA's ceasefire ended. Mayor Oreja ran on a strong platform, supporting the Spanish Constitution and the Statute of Gernika. He believed these were the best ways to defeat ETA. He also strongly criticized the ruling Basque Nationalist Party.

Even though his party didn't win the most seats, Mayor Oreja improved their results. He got 22.9% of the votes. However, the current Lehendakari, Juan José Ibarretxe, won with 42.4% of the votes and was re-elected. Mayor Oreja then became the leader of the opposition in the Basque Country until 2004.

European Parliament Member

In 2004, some people thought Mayor Oreja might become the next Spanish prime minister. However, José María Aznar chose Mariano Rajoy instead. Soon after, Mayor Oreja left his seat in the Basque parliament. He then ran for and won a seat as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the European Parliament elections.

For the next ten years, he held several important positions within the European People's Party group in the European Parliament. During this time, he was less involved in Spanish politics.

Later Public Life

Mayor Oreja held strong views on social issues. He decided not to run for the European Parliament again in the 2014 election. After that, he mostly stepped away from public political life.

Since then, he has led a group called Fundación Valores y Sociedad. This group works to promote certain traditional values. He has spoken publicly about defending what he sees as "traditional" values in society.

See also

In Spanish: Jaime Mayor Oreja para niños