Miguel Ángel Moratinos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Miguel Ángel Moratinos
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| United Nations Under-Secretary-General, High-Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations | |
| Assumed office 7 January 2019 |
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| Secretary-General | António Guterres |
| Preceded by | Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | |
| In office 18 April 2004 – 21 October 2010 |
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| Prime Minister | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero |
| Preceded by | Ana Palacio |
| Succeeded by | Trinidad Jiménez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 June 1951 Madrid, Spain |
| Political party | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party |
| Alma mater | Complutense University |
| Website | www.blogdemoratinos.es |
Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé was born on June 8, 1951. He is a Spanish diplomat and politician. He belongs to the Socialist Workers' Party. From 2004 to 2011, he was a member of the Spanish Congress, representing Córdoba. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain from 2004 to 2010. In 2018, he became a United Nations Under-Secretary-General. He is also the High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, a role he started on January 7, 2019.
Contents
What Is Miguel Moratinos's Education?
Miguel Moratinos was born in 1951. He studied Law and Political Sciences at the University Complutense in Madrid. After that, he completed his Diplomatic Studies at the Diplomatic School of Spain.
Miguel Moratinos's Political Journey
Miguel Moratinos has had a long and important career in politics and diplomacy. He worked with Javier Solana, who was Spain's foreign minister at the time. Together, they helped set up the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue in November 1995 in Barcelona. This was a way to improve talks between Europe and countries around the Mediterranean Sea.
Miguel Moratinos as EU Special Representative
From 1996 to 2003, Miguel Moratinos was the European Union Special Representative for the Middle East. His job was to represent the EU in this region. He was based in Cyprus and Brussels. During this time, he attended many meetings with EU foreign ministers. The European Union was already giving a lot of money to the Middle East. With Moratinos, the EU also started to speak out more about the relationship between Israel and Palestine.
Miguel Moratinos as Minister of Foreign Affairs
Miguel Moratinos served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Spain. He was part of the government led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. His term lasted from April 18, 2004, until October 21, 2010. After him, Trinidad Jiménez took over the role.
How Did Spain Improve Relations with Gibraltar?
In September 2006, Moratinos worked with UK Minister for Europe Geoff Hoon and Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana. They signed the Cordoba Agreement. This agreement created a special group to work together on issues related to Gibraltar. As part of this agreement, Moratinos visited Gibraltar in July 2009. This was a big moment because he was the first Spanish minister to make an official visit to the British Overseas Territory.
What Were Spain's Transatlantic Relations Like?
In September 2006, Moratinos was the first government official to speak to the European Parliament's committee. This committee was looking into activities of the CIA in Europe.
In 2010, Moratinos announced that Spain was ready to accept five prisoners. These prisoners were from the American military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Miguel Moratinos as OSCE Chairman
As Minister, Miguel Moratinos was the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2007. The OSCE works to keep peace and security in Europe. On August 17, 2007, he sent a Croatian diplomat, Miomir Žužul, to Georgia. This was to investigate a missile incident that happened on August 6.
How Did Spain Interact with Latin America?
In October 2006, Moratinos announced a big decision. EADS CASA, a European defense company, had decided to cancel a deal. They were supposed to sell 12 military transport planes to Venezuela. This deal was stopped because the American government had objections, making it impossible to go through.
In 2010, Moratinos was part of important talks with Cuban President Raúl Castro and Roman Catholic bishop Jaime Ortega. These talks led to 52 prisoners from the Black Spring being pardoned. They were allowed to go free if they agreed to live in exile in Spain.
Miguel Moratinos's Later Career
In 2010, Miguel Moratinos took on a new special role. He worked to calm a disagreement between Israel and Egypt. This dispute was threatening to stop a big meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean.
Since 2011, Moratinos has been teaching at Sciences Po Paris, a famous university. In the same year, the Spanish government nominated him for a top job. He was a candidate to become the director-general of the FAO. The FAO is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. To campaign for this role, he visited 90 countries. However, he did not win the election.
From 2012 to 2013, Moratinos was part of a special advisory group. This group advised the President of the Sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly.
After discussions, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres chose Moratinos for an important role in 2018. He became the High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations. He took over from Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser.
Other Activities and Roles
Miguel Moratinos has also been involved in many other groups and organizations. These roles have included both paid and unpaid positions:
- Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (DERASAT), where he was on the international advisory board.
- British University in Egypt, serving as a member of the board of trustees.
- Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), where he was on the board of advisors.
- Fundación Onuart, where he was the chairman of the board of trustees.
- Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), where he was an associate fellow.
- Graduate School for Global and International Studies at the University of Salamanca, serving on the advisory board.
- Institut de Prospective Economique du Monde Méditerranéen (IPEMED), where he was chairman of the Political Sponsorship Committee.
- Spanish Network of Sustainable Development (REDS), which he founded and chaired.
- The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he was a senior advisor for the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
- United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), where he was a member of the leadership council.
Awards and Recognition
National Honors
- Honorary citizen of Belgrade (2009)
- Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2007)
- Order of Ouissam Alaouite
Honorary Degrees
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Malta
- Honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- Honorary doctorate from Al-Quds University
- Honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University
See also
In Spanish: Miguel Ángel Moratinos para niños
