Adolfo Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister after Francisco Franco's dictatorship. He played a pivotal role in transitioning Spain to democracy in the 1970s and 1980s by legalizing political parties, holding democratic elections, and drafting a new constitution. However, political tensions led to his resignation in 1981 and he spent his later years in relative obscurity before passing away in 2014.

1. ADOLFO
SUÁREZ

2. SUMMARY
1. INTRODUCTION.
2. THE SPANISH TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY.
3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT.
1) Spanish First General Election (1977).
4. HIS LIFE.
1) Childhood and youth.
2) First political career.
3) President of Spain.
4) Later Life.
5. HIS IDEOLOGY.
1) References.
6. CONCLUSIONS.

3. 1.INTRODUCTION
Who was Adolfo Suárez? What did he do?
He became
the main
character in
the Spanish
Transition to
Democracy

4. ADOLFO SUÁREZ
Adolfo Suárez was the president of Spain after a
really difficult period of hard dictatorship. So, he
was the president of the government from 1977 to
1981 and he became a really important character
because he introduced democracy and freedom in
Spain. He was also important because he won the
first free elections after the dictatorship and he
developed a program to turn Spain into a
democratic country.

5. 2.THE SPANISH TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY
TRANSITION
1975-1986
Francoist Spain
1936-1975
Spain today
1986-2014
Franco’s
Death
Spanish 1st
General
Election
Spain in
European
Comissions
1975 1977 1978 1981 1982 1986
Enthronement of
Juan Carlos 1
Franco’s
Death
Spanish
Constitution
23-F
Spanish 2nd
General
Election
Spanish NATO
membership
referendum

6. The Transition
The transition started in 1975 and it ended in 1986. It’s important to say that during this period of time
many different and important events happened.
Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator died in 1975
Juan Carlos I was proclaimed king.
The Spanish first general election took place. Adolfo Suarez was appointed President. In 1978, the
Spanish Constitution was written
1981, a military coup that began on February 23 and ended the following day kept Congress people
and the whole country under curfew.
1982 the Spanish 2nd general elections took place

7. 3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Francisco
Franco
Juan Carlos 1

8. 3.1 .Spanish 1st General Election (1977)
Adolfo Suárez
Felipe González
Santiago Carrillo Manuel Fraga
Jordi Pujol Juan de Ajuriaguerra

9. 4.HIS LIFE
4.1. Childhood and youth
Born in Cebreros, Castilla-Leon, on
September 25, 1932. He studied Law
at Salamanca University. He married
Amparo Illana and had 6 children.

10. LIFE
Adolfo Suárez was born in Cebreros, Castilla y
Leon, on September 25, 1932. He was the eldest
of four brothers. Suárez was never a good
student. He went through several schools, he
never read and in his free time he used to go to
parties, practice sports and card games. Adolfo
Suárez was a Catholic, like his mother

11. YOUTH
He studied law at Salamanca, majoring with
difficulties. His first paying job was at the Charity
of Ávila, when his father ran away from home as a
result of a business scandal and had to care for
his family.

12. 4.HIS LIFE
4.2. First Political
Career
He was appointed CEO of the
Spanish Radio Television
network and Minister and
Secretary General of the
Movement in the first
government under the
restored Monarchy

13. 4.HIS LIFE
4.3. President of Spain
(1)
He stood as the winner of the
first free elections after
Franco’s regime in 1977

14. Presidency
When in 1976 King Juan Carlos I asked him to form the government and
dismantle Franco’s government, Suárez was completely unknown to the
majority of the Spanish people.
In 1977, for the first time in Spain since 1936, free elections were held.
Adolfo Suárez stood as the winner, leading a group called Unión de
Centro Democrático.
In 1979, Adolfo Suárez won a general election for the second time, and
began his third term as Prime Minister.

15. 5.HIS LIFE
4.3. President of Spain (2)
With political
tension, he
resigned on January
29 (1981).
VIDEO

16. 4.HIS LIFE
4.4. Later
Life
In 2005 his son announced his
father was suffering from
Alzheimer, and he could no
longer remember his period as
Prime Minister of Spain.

17. Final years
After leaving his political activity, the former prime
minister was kept out of public life and devoted
most of his time caring for his wife, sick with
cancer, until her death. His eldest daughter, Maria
Amparo Suárez Illana, a lawyer, also died of
cancer. Adolfo Suárez, who developed Alzheimer,
died in March 2014 (this sentence has been added
since our Comenius meeting was in February and
he died in March)

18. 5.HIS IDEOLOGY AND HIS REFERENCES

19. Political outcome
Adolfo Suarez was one of the characters that
marked our transition to democracy. He always
had a good relationship with the crown, and can
be considered one of the pillars of our democratic
history. After a 36-year dictatorship, one of his
ideas was to return democracy to Spain and to
return sovereignty to the Spanish people. Along
with King Juan Carlos I, he played an important
role in the transition from authoritarianism to
democracy.

20. 6.CONCLUSIONS

21. Conclusions
Adolfo Suarez was Spain’s first democratically
elected Prime Minister who oversaw the
transition from the country’s Franco years. He
pointed out in his farewell speech that no other
person in the previous 150 years had
democratically ruled Spain for so long. But
considerable though that achievement was, others
– such as being the co-founder of modern Spanish
democracy itself – were more important.

22. Conclusions
Much of the credit for what was an overwhelmingly
and surprisingly peaceful change of political
system in Spain has to go to Súarez. He was
described as he was dying by his former press
officer, Santiago Gonzalez, as “probably the most
important politician we’ve had in recent times.”