(Baracaldo, Vizcaya, March 1, 1929 – Madrid, December 31, 2016).

Economist. He graduated from the University of Deusto in 1952 and received his doctorate in Economics from the Central University of Madrid in 1958.

Between 1955 and 1964, he was a professor of public finance at the University of Deusto.

He subsequently became a professor of public finance and tax law at the University of Valladolid from 1962 to 1968, and at the University of Bilbao from 1968 to 1974.

He began his professional career as a professor at the University of Deusto while simultaneously working at the Bank of Bilbao, obtaining the chair of Public Finance and Tax Law at the University of Valladolid. During this time, he also joined the Ministry of Industry as Technical Secretary General. In 1968, he obtained a professorship at the University of Bilbao, leaving his position at the Ministry and relaunching his career at Banco de Bilbao. There, he served as Director of Research, was appointed General Manager, and eventually became Chairman of the Board of Directors, a position he held until 1988, when the bank merged with Banco de Vizcaya. He then became Chairman of the new entity (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya) until 1990, at which point he left banking and was appointed Chairman of the BBV Foundation, the predecessor of the BBVA Foundation.

He was part of the management team of various companies, most notably Altos Hornos de Vizcaya, Iberduero, Banco de Crédito Industrial, and United International Bank, among others.

He served as a member of the Royal Board of Trustees of the Prado Museum from 1990 until 2012, when he became an honorary trustee. He was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees in 1990 and held this position until January 1993.

Among his other activities, his work leading the Cotec Foundation stands out. He chaired it from its creation in 1990 until 2012, when he was succeeded by Juan Miguel Villar Mir.

Since retiring from banking, in addition to being Honorary Chairman of the BBVA Foundation, he served on the boards of several Spanish and international organizations, notably the Institute for the Works of Religion of the Holy See. He also chaired the Social Council of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the Foundation for Aid Against Drug Addiction, and the Free College of Emeritus Professors.

He was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of the Basque Country and by our Miguel Hernández University of Elche on October 20, 1999. He was a member of the Royal Academy of History, the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, and an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

Among other distinctions, he holds the Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise and the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal; he is a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and a Grand Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star of Sweden. He has been awarded the Lan Onari by the Basque Government and the Juan Lladó Prize for his support of culture and research.

He holds senior positions in private banking and has held several posts in the Ministry of Industry, where he served as Technical Secretary General from 1962 to 1966; Director General of Industrial Productivity; and member of the Advisory Council for Science and Technology from 1987 to 1994.

He is president of the CONEC Foundation for Technological Innovation, the Foundation for Aid Against Drug Addiction, honorary president of the BBVA Foundation, and a member of the Vatican’s Institute for the Works of Religion.

He is a member of the Royal Academies of History and of Moral and Political Sciences, and an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences of Barcelona.

He serves on the boards of trustees of, among others, the Prince of Asturias Foundation, the Duke of Soria Foundation, and the Ortega y Gasset University Institute.

He holds the Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise, among many other decorations, and has published numerous works on issues of economics, finance and culture.