José María Benegas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
José María Benegas
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José María "Txiki" Benegas in the 38th PSOE Congress (2012).
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| Born | 25 July 1948 |
| Died | 25 August 2015 |
José María "Txiki" Benegas Haddad (born 25 July 1948 – died 25 August 2015) was an important Spanish politician. He was a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). His nickname "Txiki" means "small" in the Basque language.
Contents
Early Life and Education
José María Benegas was born in Caracas, Venezuela. His father, José María Benegas Echeverría, was a Basque politician who had to leave Spain in 1939. This was after Francisco Franco won the Spanish Civil War. His mother, Doris Haddad, was from Lebanon and moved to Venezuela.
Benegas moved to Spain in 1955. He went to a Jesuit school and later became a lawyer in 1971. He studied at the University of Valladolid. After that, he spent a short time in London to learn English and Economics.
Starting a Political Career
When Benegas returned to Spain, he joined the PSOE political party. He also joined a related workers' union called the Unión General de Trabajadores.
In 1974, he became the leader of the PSOE's youth group. He also became a vice-secretary for an international youth socialist movement. In 1977, he entered national politics. He was elected to the Spanish national parliament to represent the Biscay Province. He was elected again in 1979.
Basque Regional Politics
In February 1980, Benegas left the national parliament. He decided to run for elections in the Basque Country, a region in Spain. He was elected to the Basque parliament in the 1980 Basque parliamentary election.
He returned to the Spanish national parliament in 1982, representing Álava Province. However, he resigned again in February 1984. This was because he was chosen to lead the PSOE in the 1984 Basque parliamentary election.
The PSOE gained more votes and seats in the Basque parliament, going from 9 to 19 seats. But Benegas did not become the Lehendakari, which is the President of the Basque Country's government. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) kept that position.
Later, in 1986, there was a split in the PNV party. This led to new elections. Benegas ran for Basque President again. The PSOE became the largest party in the Basque parliament. However, the PNV candidate, José Antonio Ardanza, was re-elected as President.
In 1989, Benegas went back to national politics. He was elected to the Congress of Deputies, representing Biscay. He was re-elected in every national election until 2011. He was one of the few politicians who had been in the first parliament after Spain's new constitution (1977-1979) and was still serving in 2011.
Personal Life and Family
José María Benegas was married to Maite Urabayen. They had two children. His son, Pablo Benegas, is a well-known Spanish musician and songwriter. He is the guitarist for the band La Oreja de Van Gogh. José María's sister, Doris Benegas, was also a politician. She was the President of the Castilian Left party.
José María Benegas passed away on 25 August 2015, in Madrid. He had been battling cancer for several months.
See also
In Spanish: Txiki Benegas para niños
