Adolfo Suárez

Prime Minister of Spain

25 September 1932 Cebreros, Ávila, Spain

23 March 2014(2014-03-23) (81) Madrid, Spain

5 July 1976 – 26 February 1981

For other people named Adolfo Suárez, see Adolfo Suárez (disambiguation). Prime Minister of Spain (1976–1981) In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Suárez and the second or maternal family name is González. Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (Spanish pronunciation:  ; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister since the Second Spanish Republic and a key figure in the country's transition to democracy after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. When Spain was still an autocratic regime, he was appointed Prime Minister by King Juan Carlos in 1976, hoping that his government could bring about democracy. At the time of his appointment, he was not a well-known figure, making many political forces skeptical of his government. However, he oversaw the end of the Francoist Cortes, and the legalisation of all political parties (including the Communist Party, a particularly difficult move). He led the Union of the Democratic Centre and won the 1977 general election. In 1981, he resigned and founded the party Centro Democrático y Social (CDS), which was elected to the Cortes numerous times. He retired from politics in 1991 and from public life in 2003, due to Alzheimer's disease.