Miguel Angel Moratinos

Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Miguel Angel Moratinos, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, is an experienced diplomat and politician. Born in 1951 in Madrid, Moratinos holds a degree in Law and Political Sciences and is fluent in French and English. He also knows some Russian and Serbo-Croatian.

He holds the following honours:

• Knight of the Order of Civil Merit,
• Officer of the Order of Isabel the Catholic Queen,
• Commander of Civil Merit,
• Commander of the Alaouite "Ouissan" Order of Morocco,
• Commander of the Order of the Republic of Tunisia,
• Commander of the Order of Isabel the Catholic Queen,
• Cooperation Prize of the Arab Journalists Association (Presented by H.M. the King in 1994),
• Alaoute Ouissan Order (Officer) and
• Commander of the Orange-Nassau Order of the Netherlands.

  Moratinos has held the following international diplomatic posts:

* 1974-1979: Director - Head of the Eastern Europe Coordination Desk
* 1979-1980: First Secretary at the Spanish Embassy in Yugoslavia
* 1980-1984: Chargé d'affaires at the Spanish Embassy in Yugoslavia
* 1984-1987: Political adviser at the Spanish Embassy to Rabat
* 1987-1991: Deputy Director General for Northern Africa
* 1991-1993: Director General of the Institute for Cooperation with the Arab World
* 1993-1996: Director General of Foreign Policy for Africa and the Middle East when Javier Solana was Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain.
* 1996: Ambassador of Spain in Israel
* 1996-2003: EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process.
* 2004- : Foreign Minister of Spain.

Moratinos is married to a French woman and has three children. He is committed to finding peaceful ways to end the conflict in the Middle East. A firm believer in a strong Europe, one of his priorities is to improve Spanish relations with key member states of the European Union.

Miguel Angel Moratinos, Spanish Foreign Minister, in the news

• The future of Gibraltar - talks between Moratinos and Jack Straw
• Spanish politician refused entry to Cuba
• Spanish government satisfied with European constitution
• Spain welcomes new EU member states
• Miguel Angel Moratinos visits Washington
• Spanish withdrawel of troops from Iraq - interview with Moratinos