Pedro Solbes

Pedro Solbes Mira
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office 18 April 2004 – 7 April 2009
Prime Minister	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Preceded by	Javier Arenas
Succeeded by	Elena Salgado
Minister of Economy and Finance
In office 18 April 2004 – 7 April 2009
Prime Minister	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Preceded by	Rodrigo Rato
Succeeded by	Elena Salgado
In office 13 July 1993 – 5 May 1996
Prime Minister	Felipe González
Preceded by	Carlos Solchaga
Succeeded by	Rodrigo Rato
European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs
In office 16 September 1999 – 10 April 2004
Preceded by	Leon Brittan
Succeeded by	Joaquín Almunia
Personal details
Born	31 August 1942 Pinoso, Alicante, Spain
Political party	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spouse(s)	Pilar Castro
Alma mater	Complutense University of Madrid
Profession	Economist

Pedro Solbes Mira (born 31 August 1942 in Pinoso, Alicante)^[1] is a Spanish economist. He is the president of FRIDE, Madrid-based think tank.^[2]

Career

While independent in the sense of not affiliated to any party, his various ministerial roles in Spain have always been within Socialist Workers' Party cabinets. He was agriculture and fisheries minister (1991–1993) and finance minister (1993–1996) in Felipe Gonzalez's cabinets, also MP representing Alicante for the same party until 1999.

Appointed by Spanish premier José María Aznar (of the main competing party, the People's Party) he was a European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs in the European Commission presided by Romano Prodi (the Prodi Commission).^[3]

Then he served as second vice president and minister of economy and finance in the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero which he held from 2004 to 2009.^[3][4]

References

1. "Who's who in the Spanish Cabinet.". Spain View. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
2. "Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior - FRIDE". EuroMesco. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
3. "Spanish cabinet - key players". BBC. 22 April 2004. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
4. "Whose head will roll?". The Economist. Madrid. 1 July 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2014.

External links

• El Mundo information on Pedro Solbes
• Solbes ordered to sell almost half of the gold reserves from the Spanish central bank. One year later, the gold once was at 1,000 $