by tyler | Jan 1, 2024 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of the former King of Spain.
Birth date: January 5, 1938
Birth place: Rome, Italy
Birth name: Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria de Borbon y Borbon
Father: Don Juan de Borbon y Battenburg, Count of Barcelona, third son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain
Mother: Dona Maria de las Mercedes de Borbon y Orleans, Princess of the Two Sicilies and Countess of Barcelona
Marriage: Princess Sofia of Greece (May 14, 1962-present)
Children: Infanta Elena of Spain, Elena Maria, Isabel, Dominica de Silos de Borbon y Grecia, Duchess of Lugo, December 1963; Infanta Cristina of Asturias, Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad de Borbón y Grecia, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, June 1965; Prince of the Asturias, Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso y de la Santísima Trinidad y de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia, January 1968
Education: Marianist, Fribourg, Switzerland; Instituto San Isidro, Madrid, Spain; Navy Orphans’ College, Spain; Saragossa Military Academy, Saragossa, Spain; Naval College, Marin, Spain; Spanish Air Academy, San Javier, Spain; University of Madrid, Spain
Military: Spanish Army, Spanish Navy, Spanish Air Force
The Spanish Royal Family pays income taxes by constitutional provision and lives in a converted hunting lodge, Zarzuela Palace, by choice.
The Palacio Real, the Royal Palace, in Madrid is used for formal events such as visits from heads of state.
First visited the United States in 1958, during training as a naval midshipman aboard the Juan Sebastian Elcano.
Great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, distant cousin to both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Both King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are descendants of Queen Victoria.
Distant relative of fifteenth century’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
1947 – Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s Law of Succession declares the Spanish royal family will be restored to power upon his death.
1948 – Makes first trip to Spain, after Franco and Don Juan de Borbon agree to a Spanish education for the heir apparent.
1960 – Completes military training and becomes the first Spanish officer to hold the rank of lieutenant in all three branches of the military.
August 1962 – During his honeymoon, visits the United States and meets US President John F. Kennedy.
1969 – Invested as crown prince and designated as Franco’s successor.
November 22, 1975 – Crowned Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, two days after the death of Franco and restores the Spanish monarchy after a 44-year interregnum.
June 1-4, 1976 – First reigning Spanish monarch to visit the United States. He meets with US President Gerald Ford.
1977 – Enacts political reforms that lead to the first democratic election since 1936.
1978 – Adoption of a new constitution gives the monarchy more than a titular or ceremonial role in the government.
February 1981 – An attempted coup is blocked when forces loyal to the King refuse to join the rebellion.
2000 – Celebrates his 25th anniversary on the throne.
March 11, 2004 – Addresses the nation and visits the wounded after 10 bombs go off on four commuter trains during rush hour in Madrid.
November 10, 2007 – Tells Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, “Why don’t you shut up?” (¿Por qué no te callas?), during the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile.
May 8, 2010 – Has a growth removed from his right lung, which turns out to be benign.
August 8, 2010 – With Queen Sofia, hosts US First Lady Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter, Sasha, at the summer palace on Mallorca Island.
April 14, 2012 – Undergoes hip replacement surgery after falling during a trip to Botswana. He is readmitted later in the month to “reduce a dislocation” of the hip. He undergoes another surgery for his hip in November 2012.
July 2012 – Is dropped as honorary president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Spain after his April elephant hunting trip in Botswana is widely criticized. “Although not illegal, the hunting was widely viewed as incompatible with the King’s position at the head of WWF-Spain,” the group said in a statement. He had held the honorary post since 1968.
March 3, 2013 – Is hospitalized for surgery on herniated discs. While he is recovering, a small fire breaks out at the hospital but he is not affected.
September 2013 – Undergoes a third hip surgery in Madrid to replace the infected joint..
June 2, 2014 – Announces that he is abdicating in favor of his son Prince Felipe.
June 18, 2014 – Formally abdicates.
January 14, 2015 – A 12 judge panel rules Juan Carlos must face a paternity lawsuit – by a Belgian woman alleging that he’s her father – before the nation’s Supreme Court. Ingrid Sartiau, from Brussels, alleges that her mother and Juan Carlos had a relationship in late 1965, and she was born, as a result, in August 1966. At that time, Juan Carlos was married but still a prince.
March 11, 2015 – Spain’s Supreme Court dismisses the paternity suit against Juan Carlos.
November 29, 2016 – Attends the memorial service for former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
June 2, 2019 – Officially retires from public life.
June 8, 2020 – Spain’s Supreme Court announces an investigation into Juan Carlos for possible crimes involving an alleged 2008 transfer of $100 million from the Saudi king for a high-speed rail project in Saudi Arabia. Switzerland is also investigating the contract.
August 3, 2020 – Leaves Spain amid scrutiny of alleged financial dealings. In a letter to his son, King Felipe VI, Juan Carlos writes that he made the decision to leave “in the face of the public repercussion that certain past events of my private life are generating.”
December 2021 – Swiss prosecutors drop charges against Juan Carlos regarding the Saudi rail project.
March 2022 – Spanish prosecutors close their investigations into Juan Carlos and file no charges.
May 19, 2022 – A resident of the United Arab Emirates since his self-imposed exile, Juan Carlos travels to Spain for the first time since fleeing nearly two years prior.
October 6, 2023 – London’s High Court throws out a lawsuit brought by his former lover Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein accusing Juan Carlos of coordinating a campaign of harassment and surveillance against her. Juan Carlos has denied the allegations.
by tyler | Jan 1, 2024 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Birth date: 1935
Birth place: Safed, Palestine
Marriage: Amina Abbas
Children: Three sons Mazen (died in 2002), Yasser and Tareq
Education: Damascus University, B.A.; Oriental College (in Moscow), Ph.D.
His family left the British Mandate area Safed, Palestine, to live in Syria as refugees in 1948.
Abbas laid floor tiles and taught elementary school before earning a law degree.
Played an integral role in the forging of the Declaration of Principles, the historic Oslo Accords signed in 1993 by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel.
Was the primary force behind the Palestine National Council’s decision to work with Israeli peace groups.
He is also known as Abu Mazen. (Abu is a slang term to describe the head of a family or father of children.)
1959 – Founding member of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), which became the largest political group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
1964 – Fatah joins the PLO.
1967 – Is appointed to Fatah’s Central Committee.
1968 – Joins the Palestinian National Council (PNC).
1980 – Is elected to the PLO’s Executive Committee.
September 1993 – Accompanies Arafat to the White House to sign the Oslo Accords, or the Declaration of Principles.
1995 – Signs the Interim Peace Agreement with Israel.
March 19, 2003 – Accepts the position of prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
June 3, 2003 – Meets with US President George W. Bush and the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, in Egypt, regarding peace efforts.
September 6, 2003 – Resigns as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
November 11, 2004 – Becomes the chairman of the PLO after Arafat’s death.
January 9, 2005 – Declares victory in Palestinian presidential elections.
May 26, 2005 – Meets with Bush; the first meeting with the Palestinian Authority in the White House since peace talks broke down in 2000. Bush pledges to give the Palestinian Authority $50 million in aid.
May 31, 2005 – Undergoes a successful, minor heart procedure in a hospital in Amman, Jordan.
February 21, 2006 – Asks Hamas leader Ismail Haniya to assemble a government. Haniya is sworn in in March.
June 14, 2007 – Dissolves the government and dismisses Haniya as prime minister. Haniya rejects this and remains the de facto leader in the Gaza Strip.
June 15, 2007 – Appoints economist Salam Fayyad as the new prime minister of an emergency Palestinian Cabinet.
November 27, 2007 – Attends the Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference, the first formal peace conference sponsored by the US since 2000. Top diplomats and representatives from dozens of countries and organizations also attend, hoping to restart stalled Middle East peace negotiations.
April 24, 2008 – Meets with Bush at the White House.
January 2009 – Extends his term in office until 2010, citing a clause in the constitution.
December 16, 2009 – The PLO’s Central Council votes to extend Abbas’s term as president indefinitely.
May 4, 2011 – Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal formally adopt a reconciliation agreement during a ceremony in Egypt.
September 16, 2011 – Abbas announces during a speech in Ramallah that he will pursue a full United Nations membership bid for Palestine.
September 23, 2011 – Abbas submits a statehood application letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
January 3, 2013 – Abbas issues a decree renaming the organization the “State of Palestine.”
December 31, 2014 – One day after the UN Security Council rejects a resolution calling for Palestinian statehood by 2017, and for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Abbas applies to join the International Criminal Court. This sets the stage for the Palestinian Authority to possibly pursue war crime complaints against Israel.
September 30, 2015 – Addresses the UN General Assembly before the historic raising of the Palestinian flag at the United Nations, saying the Palestinian Authority is no longer bound by the Oslo Accords.
September 8, 2016 – Once-secret Soviet documents, obtained by CNN from the Mitrokhin Archive at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, claim that Abbas, who completed graduate work in Moscow in 1982, was a KGB agent while he was a member of the PLO in Damascus. Palestinian leaders decry the report as a “smear campaign.”
September 30, 2016 – Attends the funeral of Israeli statesman Shimon Peres and shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
October 6, 2016 – Is hospitalized to have his heart tested.
May 3, 2017 – Meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
December 10, 2017 – Abbas cancels a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence following Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
January 14, 2018 – Abbas calls on the PLO to “revise all the agreements signed between the PLO and Israel because Israel has brought these agreements to a dead end,” and accuses Israel of ending the Oslo agreement. This criticism comes six weeks after Trump announces recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
April 30, 2018 – Abbas speaks at the opening of the Palestinian National Council remarking that the Holocaust was driven not by antisemitism, but by the financial activities of European Jews. He apologizes a few days later.
May 28, 2018 – Is released from the hospital after being treated for pneumonia.
January 28, 2020 – Abbas rejects Trump’s Middle East “Peace to Prosperity” plan, unveiled alongside Netanyahu at the White House, saying at a news conference from Ramallah in the West Bank that “Jerusalem is not for sale. All our rights are not for sale or for compromise. Your deal is a conspiracy and it will not work.” Abbas, having cut diplomatic contact with the US in December 2017, did not attend the unveiling and had not been briefed in the plan.
April 29, 2021 – Abbas announces the postponement of planned parliamentary elections, saying Israel has failed to confirm it will allow voting in East Jerusalem.
August 16, 2022 – At a news conference in Berlin, Abbas says Israel has caused “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians, triggering outrage from world leaders and a social media storm.
November 5, 2023 – Abbas meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ramallah amid escalating settler violence in the West Bank following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.
by tyler | Jan 1, 2024 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of the former King of Spain.
Birth date: January 5, 1938
Birth place: Rome, Italy
Birth name: Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria de Borbon y Borbon
Father: Don Juan de Borbon y Battenburg, Count of Barcelona, third son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain
Mother: Dona Maria de las Mercedes de Borbon y Orleans, Princess of the Two Sicilies and Countess of Barcelona
Marriage: Princess Sofia of Greece (May 14, 1962-present)
Children: Infanta Elena of Spain, Elena Maria, Isabel, Dominica de Silos de Borbon y Grecia, Duchess of Lugo, December 1963; Infanta Cristina of Asturias, Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad de Borbón y Grecia, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, June 1965; Prince of the Asturias, Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso y de la Santísima Trinidad y de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia, January 1968
Education: Marianist, Fribourg, Switzerland; Instituto San Isidro, Madrid, Spain; Navy Orphans’ College, Spain; Saragossa Military Academy, Saragossa, Spain; Naval College, Marin, Spain; Spanish Air Academy, San Javier, Spain; University of Madrid, Spain
Military: Spanish Army, Spanish Navy, Spanish Air Force
The Spanish Royal Family pays income taxes by constitutional provision and lives in a converted hunting lodge, Zarzuela Palace, by choice.
The Palacio Real, the Royal Palace, in Madrid is used for formal events such as visits from heads of state.
First visited the United States in 1958, during training as a naval midshipman aboard the Juan Sebastian Elcano.
Great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, distant cousin to both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Both King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are descendants of Queen Victoria.
Distant relative of fifteenth century’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
1947 – Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s Law of Succession declares the Spanish royal family will be restored to power upon his death.
1948 – Makes first trip to Spain, after Franco and Don Juan de Borbon agree to a Spanish education for the heir apparent.
1960 – Completes military training and becomes the first Spanish officer to hold the rank of lieutenant in all three branches of the military.
August 1962 – During his honeymoon, visits the United States and meets US President John F. Kennedy.
1969 – Invested as crown prince and designated as Franco’s successor.
November 22, 1975 – Crowned Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, two days after the death of Franco and restores the Spanish monarchy after a 44-year interregnum.
June 1-4, 1976 – First reigning Spanish monarch to visit the United States. He meets with US President Gerald Ford.
1977 – Enacts political reforms that lead to the first democratic election since 1936.
1978 – Adoption of a new constitution gives the monarchy more than a titular or ceremonial role in the government.
February 1981 – An attempted coup is blocked when forces loyal to the King refuse to join the rebellion.
2000 – Celebrates his 25th anniversary on the throne.
March 11, 2004 – Addresses the nation and visits the wounded after 10 bombs go off on four commuter trains during rush hour in Madrid.
November 10, 2007 – Tells Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, “Why don’t you shut up?” (¿Por qué no te callas?), during the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile.
May 8, 2010 – Has a growth removed from his right lung, which turns out to be benign.
August 8, 2010 – With Queen Sofia, hosts US First Lady Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter, Sasha, at the summer palace on Mallorca Island.
April 14, 2012 – Undergoes hip replacement surgery after falling during a trip to Botswana. He is readmitted later in the month to “reduce a dislocation” of the hip. He undergoes another surgery for his hip in November 2012.
July 2012 – Is dropped as honorary president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Spain after his April elephant hunting trip in Botswana is widely criticized. “Although not illegal, the hunting was widely viewed as incompatible with the King’s position at the head of WWF-Spain,” the group said in a statement. He had held the honorary post since 1968.
March 3, 2013 – Is hospitalized for surgery on herniated discs. While he is recovering, a small fire breaks out at the hospital but he is not affected.
September 2013 – Undergoes a third hip surgery in Madrid to replace the infected joint..
June 2, 2014 – Announces that he is abdicating in favor of his son Prince Felipe.
June 18, 2014 – Formally abdicates.
January 14, 2015 – A 12 judge panel rules Juan Carlos must face a paternity lawsuit – by a Belgian woman alleging that he’s her father – before the nation’s Supreme Court. Ingrid Sartiau, from Brussels, alleges that her mother and Juan Carlos had a relationship in late 1965, and she was born, as a result, in August 1966. At that time, Juan Carlos was married but still a prince.
March 11, 2015 – Spain’s Supreme Court dismisses the paternity suit against Juan Carlos.
November 29, 2016 – Attends the memorial service for former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
June 2, 2019 – Officially retires from public life.
June 8, 2020 – Spain’s Supreme Court announces an investigation into Juan Carlos for possible crimes involving an alleged 2008 transfer of $100 million from the Saudi king for a high-speed rail project in Saudi Arabia. Switzerland is also investigating the contract.
August 3, 2020 – Leaves Spain amid scrutiny of alleged financial dealings. In a letter to his son, King Felipe VI, Juan Carlos writes that he made the decision to leave “in the face of the public repercussion that certain past events of my private life are generating.”
December 2021 – Swiss prosecutors drop charges against Juan Carlos regarding the Saudi rail project.
March 2022 – Spanish prosecutors close their investigations into Juan Carlos and file no charges.
May 19, 2022 – A resident of the United Arab Emirates since his self-imposed exile, Juan Carlos travels to Spain for the first time since fleeing nearly two years prior.
October 6, 2023 – London’s High Court throws out a lawsuit brought by his former lover Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein accusing Juan Carlos of coordinating a campaign of harassment and surveillance against her. Juan Carlos has denied the allegations.
by tyler | Dec 29, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Birth date: 1935
Birth place: Safed, Palestine
Marriage: Amina Abbas
Children: Three sons Mazen (died in 2002), Yasser and Tareq
Education: Damascus University, B.A.; Oriental College (in Moscow), Ph.D.
His family left the British Mandate area Safed, Palestine, to live in Syria as refugees in 1948.
Abbas laid floor tiles and taught elementary school before earning a law degree.
Played an integral role in the forging of the Declaration of Principles, the historic Oslo Accords signed in 1993 by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel.
Was the primary force behind the Palestine National Council’s decision to work with Israeli peace groups.
He is also known as Abu Mazen. (Abu is a slang term to describe the head of a family or father of children.)
1959 – Founding member of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), which became the largest political group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
1964 – Fatah joins the PLO.
1967 – Is appointed to Fatah’s Central Committee.
1968 – Joins the Palestinian National Council (PNC).
1980 – Is elected to the PLO’s Executive Committee.
September 1993 – Accompanies Arafat to the White House to sign the Oslo Accords, or the Declaration of Principles.
1995 – Signs the Interim Peace Agreement with Israel.
March 19, 2003 – Accepts the position of prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
June 3, 2003 – Meets with US President George W. Bush and the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, in Egypt, regarding peace efforts.
September 6, 2003 – Resigns as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
November 11, 2004 – Becomes the chairman of the PLO after Arafat’s death.
January 9, 2005 – Declares victory in Palestinian presidential elections.
May 26, 2005 – Meets with Bush; the first meeting with the Palestinian Authority in the White House since peace talks broke down in 2000. Bush pledges to give the Palestinian Authority $50 million in aid.
May 31, 2005 – Undergoes a successful, minor heart procedure in a hospital in Amman, Jordan.
February 21, 2006 – Asks Hamas leader Ismail Haniya to assemble a government. Haniya is sworn in in March.
June 14, 2007 – Dissolves the government and dismisses Haniya as prime minister. Haniya rejects this and remains the de facto leader in the Gaza Strip.
June 15, 2007 – Appoints economist Salam Fayyad as the new prime minister of an emergency Palestinian Cabinet.
November 27, 2007 – Attends the Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference, the first formal peace conference sponsored by the US since 2000. Top diplomats and representatives from dozens of countries and organizations also attend, hoping to restart stalled Middle East peace negotiations.
April 24, 2008 – Meets with Bush at the White House.
January 2009 – Extends his term in office until 2010, citing a clause in the constitution.
December 16, 2009 – The PLO’s Central Council votes to extend Abbas’s term as president indefinitely.
May 4, 2011 – Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal formally adopt a reconciliation agreement during a ceremony in Egypt.
September 16, 2011 – Abbas announces during a speech in Ramallah that he will pursue a full United Nations membership bid for Palestine.
September 23, 2011 – Abbas submits a statehood application letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
January 3, 2013 – Abbas issues a decree renaming the organization the “State of Palestine.”
December 31, 2014 – One day after the UN Security Council rejects a resolution calling for Palestinian statehood by 2017, and for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Abbas applies to join the International Criminal Court. This sets the stage for the Palestinian Authority to possibly pursue war crime complaints against Israel.
September 30, 2015 – Addresses the UN General Assembly before the historic raising of the Palestinian flag at the United Nations, saying the Palestinian Authority is no longer bound by the Oslo Accords.
September 8, 2016 – Once-secret Soviet documents, obtained by CNN from the Mitrokhin Archive at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, claim that Abbas, who completed graduate work in Moscow in 1982, was a KGB agent while he was a member of the PLO in Damascus. Palestinian leaders decry the report as a “smear campaign.”
September 30, 2016 – Attends the funeral of Israeli statesman Shimon Peres and shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
October 6, 2016 – Is hospitalized to have his heart tested.
May 3, 2017 – Meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
December 10, 2017 – Abbas cancels a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence following Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
January 14, 2018 – Abbas calls on the PLO to “revise all the agreements signed between the PLO and Israel because Israel has brought these agreements to a dead end,” and accuses Israel of ending the Oslo agreement. This criticism comes six weeks after Trump announces recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
April 30, 2018 – Abbas speaks at the opening of the Palestinian National Council remarking that the Holocaust was driven not by antisemitism, but by the financial activities of European Jews. He apologizes a few days later.
May 28, 2018 – Is released from the hospital after being treated for pneumonia.
January 28, 2020 – Abbas rejects Trump’s Middle East “Peace to Prosperity” plan, unveiled alongside Netanyahu at the White House, saying at a news conference from Ramallah in the West Bank that “Jerusalem is not for sale. All our rights are not for sale or for compromise. Your deal is a conspiracy and it will not work.” Abbas, having cut diplomatic contact with the US in December 2017, did not attend the unveiling and had not been briefed in the plan.
April 29, 2021 – Abbas announces the postponement of planned parliamentary elections, saying Israel has failed to confirm it will allow voting in East Jerusalem.
August 16, 2022 – At a news conference in Berlin, Abbas says Israel has caused “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians, triggering outrage from world leaders and a social media storm.
November 5, 2023 – Abbas meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ramallah amid escalating settler violence in the West Bank following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.
by tyler | Dec 29, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of the former King of Spain.
Birth date: January 5, 1938
Birth place: Rome, Italy
Birth name: Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria de Borbon y Borbon
Father: Don Juan de Borbon y Battenburg, Count of Barcelona, third son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain
Mother: Dona Maria de las Mercedes de Borbon y Orleans, Princess of the Two Sicilies and Countess of Barcelona
Marriage: Princess Sofia of Greece (May 14, 1962-present)
Children: Infanta Elena of Spain, Elena Maria, Isabel, Dominica de Silos de Borbon y Grecia, Duchess of Lugo, December 1963; Infanta Cristina of Asturias, Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad de Borbón y Grecia, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, June 1965; Prince of the Asturias, Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso y de la Santísima Trinidad y de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia, January 1968
Education: Marianist, Fribourg, Switzerland; Instituto San Isidro, Madrid, Spain; Navy Orphans’ College, Spain; Saragossa Military Academy, Saragossa, Spain; Naval College, Marin, Spain; Spanish Air Academy, San Javier, Spain; University of Madrid, Spain
Military: Spanish Army, Spanish Navy, Spanish Air Force
The Spanish Royal Family pays income taxes by constitutional provision and lives in a converted hunting lodge, Zarzuela Palace, by choice.
The Palacio Real, the Royal Palace, in Madrid is used for formal events such as visits from heads of state.
First visited the United States in 1958, during training as a naval midshipman aboard the Juan Sebastian Elcano.
Great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, distant cousin to both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Both King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are descendants of Queen Victoria.
Distant relative of fifteenth century’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
1947 – Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s Law of Succession declares the Spanish royal family will be restored to power upon his death.
1948 – Makes first trip to Spain, after Franco and Don Juan de Borbon agree to a Spanish education for the heir apparent.
1960 – Completes military training and becomes the first Spanish officer to hold the rank of lieutenant in all three branches of the military.
August 1962 – During his honeymoon, visits the United States and meets US President John F. Kennedy.
1969 – Invested as crown prince and designated as Franco’s successor.
November 22, 1975 – Crowned Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, two days after the death of Franco and restores the Spanish monarchy after a 44-year interregnum.
June 1-4, 1976 – First reigning Spanish monarch to visit the United States. He meets with US President Gerald Ford.
1977 – Enacts political reforms that lead to the first democratic election since 1936.
1978 – Adoption of a new constitution gives the monarchy more than a titular or ceremonial role in the government.
February 1981 – An attempted coup is blocked when forces loyal to the King refuse to join the rebellion.
2000 – Celebrates his 25th anniversary on the throne.
March 11, 2004 – Addresses the nation and visits the wounded after 10 bombs go off on four commuter trains during rush hour in Madrid.
November 10, 2007 – Tells Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, “Why don’t you shut up?” (¿Por qué no te callas?), during the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile.
May 8, 2010 – Has a growth removed from his right lung, which turns out to be benign.
August 8, 2010 – With Queen Sofia, hosts US First Lady Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter, Sasha, at the summer palace on Mallorca Island.
April 14, 2012 – Undergoes hip replacement surgery after falling during a trip to Botswana. He is readmitted later in the month to “reduce a dislocation” of the hip. He undergoes another surgery for his hip in November 2012.
July 2012 – Is dropped as honorary president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Spain after his April elephant hunting trip in Botswana is widely criticized. “Although not illegal, the hunting was widely viewed as incompatible with the King’s position at the head of WWF-Spain,” the group said in a statement. He had held the honorary post since 1968.
March 3, 2013 – Is hospitalized for surgery on herniated discs. While he is recovering, a small fire breaks out at the hospital but he is not affected.
September 2013 – Undergoes a third hip surgery in Madrid to replace the infected joint..
June 2, 2014 – Announces that he is abdicating in favor of his son Prince Felipe.
June 18, 2014 – Formally abdicates.
January 14, 2015 – A 12 judge panel rules Juan Carlos must face a paternity lawsuit – by a Belgian woman alleging that he’s her father – before the nation’s Supreme Court. Ingrid Sartiau, from Brussels, alleges that her mother and Juan Carlos had a relationship in late 1965, and she was born, as a result, in August 1966. At that time, Juan Carlos was married but still a prince.
March 11, 2015 – Spain’s Supreme Court dismisses the paternity suit against Juan Carlos.
November 29, 2016 – Attends the memorial service for former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
June 2, 2019 – Officially retires from public life.
June 8, 2020 – Spain’s Supreme Court announces an investigation into Juan Carlos for possible crimes involving an alleged 2008 transfer of $100 million from the Saudi king for a high-speed rail project in Saudi Arabia. Switzerland is also investigating the contract.
August 3, 2020 – Leaves Spain amid scrutiny of alleged financial dealings. In a letter to his son, King Felipe VI, Juan Carlos writes that he made the decision to leave “in the face of the public repercussion that certain past events of my private life are generating.”
December 2021 – Swiss prosecutors drop charges against Juan Carlos regarding the Saudi rail project.
March 2022 – Spanish prosecutors close their investigations into Juan Carlos and file no charges.
May 19, 2022 – A resident of the United Arab Emirates since his self-imposed exile, Juan Carlos travels to Spain for the first time since fleeing nearly two years prior.
October 6, 2023 – London’s High Court throws out a lawsuit brought by his former lover Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein accusing Juan Carlos of coordinating a campaign of harassment and surveillance against her. Juan Carlos has denied the allegations.
by tyler | Dec 29, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of Ibrahim al-Jaafari, former prime minister of Iraq.
Birth date: 1947
Birth place: Karbala, Iraq
Marriage: Married, name unavailable publicly
Children: Five
Education: Mosul University, M.D., 1974
Religion: Shiite Muslim
1968 – Joins the Islamic Dawa Party. Al Dawa (formally the Hizb al-Dawa al-Islamiyya or the Islamic Call Party), is a Shia Islamist party with close connections with Iran’s clerical regime.
1980 – Flees Iraq for Iran in order to escape Saddam Hussein’s crack-down on members of the Dawa Party.
1990-2003 – Leader of the London branch of the Dawa Party.
2003 – Returns to Iraq following the fall of Hussein.
August 2003 – Becomes a member of the Iraqi Governing Council and serves as the Council’s first rotating chairman.
2004-2005 – One of two vice presidents in Iraq’s interim government.
April 7, 2005 – Iraq’s new president, Jalal Talabani, nominates Jaafari as prime minister.
May 3, 2005 – Sworn in as Iraq’s interim prime minister.
April 20, 2006 – Under pressure from the United States, Jaafari steps down and agrees to withdraw his nomination for a second term.
May 2006 – Is replaced as prime minister by Nuri al-Maliki.
June 2008 – Is expelled from the Dawa Party after forming a new political party, the National Reform Movement.
August 2009 – Shiite political leaders announce the formation of the Iraqi National Alliance. Jaafari is a member of the coalition.
September 2014 – Becomes foreign minister of Iraq.
October 25, 2018 – Steps down as foreign minister.
