Miguel Sebastián Gascón
 Miguel Sebastián Gascón     (economist, politician) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 13 May 1957 Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Alma mater | Complutense University of Madrid, University of Minnesota |
| Party | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party |
Miguel Sebastián Gascón is a Spanish economist, academic and politician. He was Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce from 2008 to 2011.
Early Life
He has a degree in Economic and Business Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and a doctorate in economics from the University of Minnesota[1] and from the Complutense University. He has been Deputy Director of the magazine "Moneda y Crédito" and a member of the scientific committees of FEDEA (Foundation for Applied Economics Studies) and NOMISMA. He is a tenured professor of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid.
In his early career he worked with Carlos Solchaga in the Ministry of Finance and in the Research Service of the Bank of Spain. Since the end of 1999, he served as Director of the Research Service at the bank BBVA. At the head of the service, he made critical reports with some aspects of the economic policy of the PP Government and its Minister of Economy, Rodrigo Rato. Sebastián was dismissed in 2003 from this position by the President of the corporation.
In January 2003, he joined the team of economic advisers to the Secretary General of the PSOE, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Since then, he has been mentioned as candidate for severak senior positions, such as Minister of the Economy after the socialist victory in the 2004 general elections and Governor of the Bank of Spain. Finally, the PM kept him in his circle of close collaborators by appointing him Director of the President's Economic Office.
On October 25, 2006, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero chose him as the PSOE candidate for Mayor of Madrid in the 2007 Spanish municipal elections. Until this date, Sebastián served as Director of the Economic Office of the President of the Government of Spain and as professor of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis at the Complutense University of Madrid.
On May 31, 2007, after not achieving an improvement in the electoral results for his party, he announced that he would not stay on as councilor and that he would request re-entry into the Complutense University of Madrid.[2]
On April 12, 2008, he was appointed Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce of the Government of Spain, a position he held until December 22, 2011.
Political positions
Unlike the liberal economics minister Pedro Solbes, Miguel Sebastián represents more Keynesian and interventionist positions. He was the initiator of the one-time reduction in income tax of 400 euros for all Spanish taxpayers, announced by Zapatero before the 2008 parliamentary elections, which was intended to counteract the economic downturn after the outbreak of the international banking and real estate crisis. Sebastián also defended the strict requirements imposed by the Spanish market supervisory authority when E.ON tried to take over the energy supplier Endesa in 2006. These requirements were criticized as protectionist by liberals; the PP accused Sebastián of having put unlawful pressure on the supervisory authority to prevent a takeover.[3]
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/2005 | 5 May 2005 | 8 May 2005 | Germany Rottach-Egern | The 53rd Bilderberg, 132 guests |
