Article Outline
Juan Carlos I, born in 1938, king of Spain since 1975. Juan Carlos helped return his country to democracy after the long dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. The grandson of King Alfonso XIII, Juan Carlos was born in exile in Rome and educated in Switzerland and Madrid.
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Restoration of the Monarchy
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Upon Franco’s invitation, Juan Carlos returned to Spain to be groomed for his succession to the Spanish throne. In restoring the monarchy, Franco ignored the rights of succession of Juan Carlos’s father, Juan de Borbón. Franco hoped to educate and train a monarch who would maintain his regime’s authoritarian policies. Juan Carlos was proclaimed heir to the throne in 1969 and became king following Franco’s death in 1975. However, after Franco’s death, Juan Carlos began to initiate democratic reforms, much to the displeasure of Franco’s powerful political supporters.
Favoring gradual democratic reform, Juan Carlos instituted a parliamentary government based on a new constitution that was popularly approved in 1978. Juan Carlos surrendered his dictatorial powers to assume a largely ceremonial role as head of state. In 1981 Juan Carlos demonstrated his commitment to democracy in Spain when he thwarted an attempted coup d'état by members of the Civil Guard, who had seized the Spanish parliament at gunpoint. Juan Carlos appeared on public television calling on all Spaniards to support the elected government, and he personally called senior military leaders demanding their support. Since that time, Juan Carlos has provided a focus for national unity, and his actions have helped underpin the stability of Spain’s democracy. As king, Juan Carlos is commander in chief of the armed forces, and he submits a candidate for prime minister who is then approved by the parliament.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA; Basque for “Basque Homeland and Liberty”) made several unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Juan Carlos and members of his family. Juan Carlos celebrated the 25th anniversary of his succession to the Spanish throne in November 2000.
In 1962 Juan Carlos married Princess Sofia of Greece, daughter of King Paul I. The couple had a son, Felipe (born in 1968), and two daughters, Elena (born in 1963) and Cristina (born in 1965). Prince Felipe officially became heir to the Spanish throne on his 18th birthday, in 1986.
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