Juan Carlos I

Juan Carlos I (1938- ), King of Spain (1975- ), who returned the country to democracy after the long dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. The grandson of King Alfonso XIII, he was born in Rome and educated in Switzerland and Madrid. In 1962 he married Princess Sofia of Greece, daughter of King Paul I. Carefully groomed for his succession by Franco, Juan Carlos was proclaimed heir to the throne in 1969 and became king after Franco’s death in 1975. Favouring gradual democratic reform, he instituted a parliamentary government based on a new constitution that was popularly approved in 1978. His commitment to democracy was demonstrated by his actions when Civil Guard officers seized the Spanish parliament during an attempted right-wing coup in February 1981: Juan Carlos’s personal appeal persuaded the majority of military personnel to support the government. He has since provided a focus for national unity and underpinned the stability of democratic Spain as a constitutional monarchy. The Basque separatist terror group ETA made several abortive plans to assassinate him and members of his family during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1998 it was revealed that right-wing media figures apparently plotted in 1994 to force Juan Carlos to abdicate by publishing scandalous stories about him, as part of a wider plan to destabilize Spain. The 25th anniversary of his accession was celebrated in November 2000, and in a speech to parliament the king reaffirmed his commitment to democracy, and attacked the upsurge in ETA violence.