Andreas Jeninga/The Hoya Aznar will lead seminars at GU in the fall.
One month after his ruling party lost the Spanish elections, outgoing Spanish Prime Minister José MarÃa Aznar has found a new job.
Aznar, whose term ends on April 16, will join Georgetown University next fall as a Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership where he will lead seminars on contemporary European politics and trans-Atlantic relationships, the university announced yesterday.
Aznar, who spoke on trans-Atlantic relations in Gaston Hall on Jan. 15, joins other high-profile foreign service faculty, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake and former Ambassador at Large Robert Gallucci, who serves as Dean of the School of Foreign Service.
“Prime Minister Aznar’s involvement on campus will enhance the work of our students and faculty in invaluable ways,” University President John J. DeGioia said. “Having such a distinguished former head of government join our community builds on Georgetown’s tradition of intellectual engagement on crucial global issues.”
As prime minister, Aznar helped shape the European Union and during his presidency Spain enjoyed the largest economic growth in its recent history.
But the administration will be remembered for its staunch support of the U.S.-led war on terror and Iraq war. The surprise loss of his conservative Populist Party in the March 14 elections came only three days after the worst terror attack in Spain’s history, which claimed 191 lives.
At Georgetown, Aznar will lead at least two seminars each semester through the Mortara Center for International Studies, BMW Center for German and European Studies and Center for Latin American Studies.
“I am greatly looking forward to this opportunity with Georgetown University. It will be a privilege for me to join the faculty of this world-class institution in the fields of international relations and political studies,” Aznar said in a university press release.
Aznar was elected to lead the Spanish government in May 1996 and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2000. A successful lawyer and tax inspector who graduated from the University of Madrid, he entered politics in the late 1970s.
