Madrid (EFE) the executives of José María Aznar, where he headed the Foreign, Industry and Science portfolios, and was a spokesman for the Government.
The former minister died this Thursday at the age of 68 at the Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid, according to what his own family announced in a statement and confirmed several charges from the PP, who, like politicians of different signs and personalities from the business world, They expressed their condolences and praised his legacy and career.
condolences
Among them, the former President of the Government, José María Aznar, who lamented the death of Piqué (Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, 1955) and thanked him for the “excellent work” he carried out “with great loyalty and brilliance”.
“He was an excellent friend, collaborator and minister of the Government of Spain. I will always remember and be grateful for the excellent work that he did in all the responsibilities that he had to assume and that he carried out with great loyalty and brilliance”, he expressed.
Also former president Mariano Rajoy stressed the “tireless work” of this “committed democrat”, while former president of Congress Ana Pastor alluded to the “gap impossible to fill” left by his death.
The President of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez, for his part, highlighted Piqué as “a public servant, a man committed to civil society and always willing to dialogue”, as did several ministers in his cabinet who highlighted his political career.
Condolences to which politicians of different sign were added, such as the Minister of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda and Secretary General of Podemos, Ione Belarra; the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi; and representatives of large Spanish multinationals or business associations and circles from all over Spain, mainly from Catalonia.
Career path
Piqué entered the Executive as an independent, although years later he would end up joining the PP to later become government spokesman, Foreign Minister and, finally, head of Science and Technology.
His time in the Government was marked by milestones such as the privatization of companies with state participation, his role as spokesman with which Aznar sought to reinforce the centrist and moderate image of his first government or his work on the Foreign Affairs front at a turbulent moment marked by the al Qaeda attack on the United States and the response that ended with the invasion of Iraq.
Regarding his more business facet, Piqué led the Ercros chemical company between 1992 and 1996, and in 1995 he was elected president of the influential Cercle d’Economia, while as Minister of Industry and Energy he led privatization processes of public State companies.
In recent years, the former minister was also a director of other large companies such as Sea, Abengoa, Amadeus or Mapfre for international business.