José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was Prime Minister of Spain from 2004 to 2011. Mr. Zapatero has a law degree from the University of Leon, Spain. He was later appointed Professor of Constitutional Law at the same university. He began his political career in 1986 following his election as MP for Leon and then as MP for Madrid in 2004 and 2008.

As an MP he served on a number of Committees in the Spanish Congress including Justice and Home Affairs. Together with the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan Mr Zapatero promoted the creation of the Alliance of Civilizations. Since 2012 Mr. Zapatero is Member of Club de Madrid. In 2013, he published El Dilema. 600 días de vértigo”. Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Université Toulouse 1 Capitole and from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (Bolivia), January 2015. Doctorate Honoris Causa from la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) in January 2017.

Mr. Zapatero is President of the Foro de la Contratación Socialmente Responsable, patron of Fundación CERMI Mujeres since January 2017 and advisor to the Council of the Royal Board on Disability since 2019.

As Prime Minister in 2010 Mr. Zapatero was the driving force behind the Spanish government’s initiative to create the International Commission against the Death Penalty.