Pilar del Castillo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pilar del Castillo
|
|
|---|---|
Pilar del Castillo in 2014
|
|
| Member of the European Parliament for Spain |
|
| Assumed office 20 July 2004 |
|
| Minister of Education, Culture and Sport | |
| In office 27 April 2000 – 17 April 2004 |
|
| Prime Minister | José María Aznar |
| Preceded by | Mariano Rajoy |
| Succeeded by | María Jesús San Segundo |
| Director of the Centre for Sociological Research | |
| In office 24 May 1996 – 27 April 2000 |
|
| Prime Minister | José María Aznar |
| Preceded by | Joaquín Arango Vila-Belda |
| Succeeded by | Ricardo Montoro |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Pilar del Castillo Vera
31 July 1952 Nador, Spanish protectorate in Morocco |
| Political party | People's Party (2000–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
OCE-BR (1970–1974) |
| Spouse | Guillermo Gortázar |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Technical University of Madrid Ohio State University Complutense University of Madrid |
Pilar del Castillo Vera, born on July 31, 1952, is a Spanish politician. She has been a member of the European Parliament since 2004. Before that, she was a minister in the Spanish government. She was the Minister for Education, Culture and Sport from 2000 to 2004.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Pilar del Castillo studied law at the Complutense University of Madrid. She graduated in 1974. In 1980, she received a special scholarship called the Fulbright Scholarship. This allowed her to study political science in the United States. She earned her master's degree at Ohio State University.
She later completed her PhD in law in 1983. Her doctoral paper was about how political parties get their money. It won an award from the Spanish Sociological Research Centre in 1984.
Career Journey
In 1986, Pilar del Castillo became a professor at UNED. She taught about constitutional law. By 1994, she became a full professor in political science.
From 1995 to 1996, she was the main editor for a journal called Nueva Revista de Política, Cultura y Arte. She also led the Spanish Sociological Research Centre from 1996 to 2000. She has written many articles about political parties and how people vote.
Political Career
Minister of Education, Culture and Sport (2000–2004)
In 2000, José María Aznar became Prime Minister of Spain. He chose Pilar del Castillo to be his new Minister of Education, Culture and Sport. In this job, she was in charge of a plan to change public universities in 2001.
This plan led to big student protests. About 100,000 students and university staff protested across Spain in December 2001. It was one of the largest student protests since Spain became a democracy.
Member of the European Parliament (2004–Present)
Pilar del Castillo has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2004. She works with the Group of the European People's Party. She is a leader in the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. This committee deals with topics like energy, science, and new technologies.
She also helps with the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. From 2007 to 2009, she was part of a special committee on climate change. She has also worked on relationships with countries like India and China. She attended important climate change meetings in 2008 and 2009. In 2020, she joined a committee focused on Artificial Intelligence.
As a member of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, Pilar del Castillo helps write new laws. For example, she is working on the European Union's Data Act. This law is about how data is used and shared. She also worked on rules for network security and electronic communication.
Pilar del Castillo also holds other important roles in the European Parliament:
- She is a member of the European Energy Forum.
- She is the chairwoman of the European Internet Foundation.
- She is part of the European Parliament Intergroup on Disability.
- She is a member of the Transatlantic Policy Network.
- She is on the board of Knowledge4Innovation.
Other Activities
Pilar del Castillo is involved in several other groups:
- She leads a working group on 'Energy and Environment' for the European Ideas Network.
- She is a member of the European Network for Women in Leadership.
- She is on the board of trustees for the Spanish Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis.
- She is also a trustee for the Prado Museum.
- She is an advisor for Fundación Botín.
- She is a trustee for Fundación Ortega-Marañón.
Personal Life
Pilar del Castillo loves art. Her official portrait at the Ministry of Education is actually a self-portrait. This means she painted it herself!
See also
In Spanish: Pilar del Castillo para niños
