Pedro Morenés y Álvarez de Eulate, (born 17 September 1948) is a Spanish politician who was minister of defence and Ambassador of Spain to the United States of America.[1] Prior to his appointment as minister, he was president of Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro, from 2006 to 2011.[2]

Pedro Morenés
Morenés in September 2012
Ambassador of Spain to the United States of America
In office
25 March 2017 – 8 September 2018
Preceded byRamón Gil-Casares
Succeeded bySantiago Cabanas Ansorena
Minister of Defense of Spain
In office
22 December 2011 – 4 November 2016
MonarchsKing Juan Carlos I (2011–2014)
King Felipe VI (2014–2016)
Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy
Preceded byCarme Chacón Piqueras
Succeeded byMaría Dolores de Cospedal
Personal details
Born (1948-09-17) 17 September 1948 (age 76)
Las Arenas
Political partyIndependent, (vinculated to the People's Party)
SpouseGoretti Escauriaza Barreiro
ChildrenRamón, Isabela and Sofía
Alma materUniversity of Navarra
University of Deusto
Bremen Institute of Shipping Economics
OccupationLawyer, professor

Early life and education

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Morenés was born in Las Arenas, province of Vizcaya, on 17 September 1948.[3][4] He is the second son of Don José María de Morenés y Carvajal, 4th Viscount of Alesón (son of the Count and Countess of the Asalto, Grandees of Spain) and Doña Ana Sofía Álvarez de Eulate y Mac-Mahón. He studied law at the University of Navarra and business administration at the University of Deusto.[3] He obtained a master's degree in ship management and economics at the Bremen Institute of Shipping Economics.[4]

Career

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Morenés began his career as lawyer in 1979. After working private law firms, he became the head of the Legal Services branch of the Shipbuilding Division in the National Industry Institute (INI) in 1991.[4] He also became a professor of vessel chartering and shipping freight in the Spanish Maritime Institute of Madrid and in the European Institute for Maritime Studies. In 1994, he was named as the managing director of the commercial branch of the Shipbuilding Division in the National Industry Institute (INI) and member of its steering committee.[4] Next, he was appointed Secretary of State for Defence in the Ministry of Defence in May 1996. Four years later, in May 2000, he was appointed Secretary of State for Security in the Ministry of the Interior. His tenure lasted two years, and in August 2002, he became Secretary of State for Scientific and Technological Policy in the Ministry of Science and Technology.[4] His tenure lasted until March 2005. He served as the secretary general of the Businessmen Association from March 2005 to June 2010. In January 2009, he was also appointed chairman of the Board of Directors of Construcciones Navales del Norte, and served there until January 2011.[4] Then he began to serve as the chairman of MBDA Spain, a missile systems firm, in June 2010[5] and of Segur Ibérica, a private security firm, in January 2011.[6][7] His tenure lasted until December 2011. He was appointed Defence Minister on 21 December 2011.

Morenés labelled the mission in Afghanistan as war, breaking a taboo in 2012.[7]

Honours

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Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ "Ambassador Morenés Presents Credentials at the White House". www.exteriores.gob.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  2. ^ Gómez Laínez, Mariola: El Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro. Ediciones El Viso (2010)
  3. ^ a b "Pedro Morenés, ministro de Defensa: un empresario vasco "protagonista" con Rajoy". RTVE. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "D. PEDRO MORENÉS EULATE". Defence Ministry. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  5. ^ "MBDA Appoints Executive Chairman and General Manager to Strengthen its Position in Spain" (PDF). MBDA Missile Systems. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original (Press Release) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  6. ^ "New Spanish Defence Minister has cluster bomb past". Typicallty Spanish. 23 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Every redeployment must be orderly". El País. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  8. ^ Revista Hidalguía número 256-257. Año 1996. 22 December 2011. p. 377.
  9. ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
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Political offices
Preceded by Defence Minister of Spain
2011–2016
Succeeded by