Jaime Mayor Oreja
JAIME MAYOR OREJA (San Sebastian, 1951) is an agricultural engineer. He has served as a member in the Basque Parliament, the Spanish Parliament, and the European Parliament, as well as in various ministries in both Spanish and autonomous Basque Governments. He was also involved in the implementation of the Basque Statute of Autonomy, serving in the Basque General Council, precursor to the autonomous parliament, as minister of tourism. He joined the People’s Coalition and stood as their candidate for Lehendakari in the 1984 Basque elections. After disagreements within the governing party, the Basque Nationalist Party, a snap election was organised in 1986, and Mayor Oreja took this opportunity to retire from the Basque Parliament. In 1989, at the request of Manuel Fraga, Mayor Oreja returned to politics to help the newly founded People’s Party (PP), he led the party in the Basque elections of 1990, and directed the European Parliament elections in 1989. Between 1996 and 2001, he was Minister of the Interior. Currently, he is President of the Values and Society Foundation and the European Federation “One of Us” for the defence of life and human dignity.
