Jose Maria Aznar

Jose Maria Aznar has been a director of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation since June 2006.

Praise From Murdoch
A media release announcing his appointment quoted Murdoch praising Anzar: "As President of Spain, Mr. Aznar earned worldwide respect for his strong economic record and unflinching stand against domestic and international terrorism. His impressive grasp of world politics and the realities of globalization, as well as his clear commitment to fiscal rectitude, will be of great benefit to News Corporation’s stockholders."

The media release stated that "one of Mr. Aznar's main concerns is the battle against terrorism. He is in favor of a firm policy, contrary to any kind of political concession, as well as the idea of fostering close international cooperation among the democratic countries."

In the 2006 News Corporation Annual Report, Murdoch wrote of Anzar that he "enacted a bold array of reforms that catapulted the Spanish economy to the forefront of Europe. His courage as a leader in the war on terror and the effort to liberate Iraq made him one of Europe’s great statesmen in this new century".

Background
Aznar "served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1996—2004 (representing the People’s Party). Under his leadership, the country’s economy was strengthened and in 1998 qualified to join the European single currency. Aznar is a Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership at Georgetown University and now runs the FAES (Foundation for Analysis and Social Education) think tank for the People’s Party."

Affiliations

 * Member, International Committee for Democracy in Cuba
 * Member, Global Leadership Foundation
 * Co-vice chair, International Democrat Union
 * Executive Board, Latin American Board
 * Global Center for Development and Democracy

Books

 * Libertad y Solidaridad ("Freedom and Solidarity") (1991),
 * España: la segunda transición (1994) ("Spain: The Second Transition"),
 * La España en que yo creo (1995) ("The Spain I Believe In"),
 * Ocho años de Gobierno (2004) ("Eight Years of Government")
 * Retratos y Perfiles: de Fraga a Bush (2005) ("Portraits and Profiles: from Fraga to Bush")

Resources
For further information, see relevant Neocon Europe page Jose Maria Aznar