Landelino Lavilla Alsina

Landelino Lavilla Alsina (6 August 1934 – 13 April 2020) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice of Spain from 1976 to 1979. He also served as member of parliament and as senator. His most important role was as President of the Congress of Deputies during the coup d'état of 23-F in 1981. Jurist Eduardo García de Enterría called him the "principal architect of the transition to democracy".[1]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Lavilla and the second or maternal family name is Alsina.
Landelino Lavilla Alsina
Lavilla in 1981.
President of the Congress of Deputies
In office
6 April 1979 – 18 November 1982
MonarchJuan Carlos I
Prime MinisterAdolfo Suárez
Preceded byFernando Álvarez de Miranda
Succeeded byGregorio Peces-Barba
Minister of Justice
In office
5 July 1976 – 6 April 1979
Preceded byAntonio Garrigues y Díaz-Cañabate
Succeeded byÍñigo Cavero Lataillade
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office
6 April 1979 – 18 November 1982
ConstituencyJaén
In office
18 November 1982 – 28 July 1983
ConstituencyMadrid
Member of the Senate
In office
15 June 1977 – 6 April 1979
ConstituencyRoyal appointment
Personal details
Born(1934-08-06)6 August 1934
Lleida, Spain
Died13 April 2020(2020-04-13) (aged 85)
Madrid, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Political partyUnion of the Democratic Centre
Spouse(s)Juana Rubira
Children4
Alma materUniversity of Zaragoza
Complutense University of Madrid

Early life and education

Lavilla was born in Lleida on 6 August 1934.[2] He received law degrees from the University of Zaragoza and Complutense University of Madrid.[2]

Career and activities

Lavilla was a lawyer by profession.[3] He joined the board of lawyers of the Court of Auditors in 1958 and of the State Council in 1959.[4] He joined the Tácitos, Catholic reformist group, in 1974.[2] He became a senior member of the Christian Democratic Party.[5] The group published articles in the Catholic daily, Ya, beginning by 1972.[6] He was the undersecretary of industry in the last cabinet of Franco from 1974 to 1976.[2][6][7]

Minister of Justice

Lavilla was appointed minister of justice in the first cabinet of Adolfo Suárez on 5 July 1976, replacing Antonio Garrigues y Díaz-Cañabate in the post.[8][9] He retained his post following the democratic elections in June 1977.[10]

He drafted the 1977 Political Reform Act that was approved by the congress in November 1977 and implemented a legal process that paved the way for the legalization of all major political groups, including communists and PSOE.[3]

Lavilla's term ended on 6 April 1979[11] when Íñigo Cavero was appointed justice minister.[9][11]

President of the Congress of Deputies and 23-F

Lavilla was appointed senator in 1977 and was in office until 1978.[4] He was elected to the congress of deputies in 1979, representing Jaén province.

He served as speaker of the Congress from 1979 to 1982, the first legislature after the approval of the new constitution. On 23 February 1981, members of the Civil Guard led by Antonio Tejero burst into the chamber in a failed coup d'état. Lavilla faced Tejero saying that "in this chamber, the orders are given by the presidency. This is over. Evict". The colonel obeyed and the deputies were able to occupy their seats after getting down.[5][12] During the night of 23–24, he offered Tejero the members of the parliament Board as hostages and asked that they free the members of the government and the legislators, but Tejero rejected the move.[5][13]

During Lavilla's time in this office the first investiture debate took place according to the new Constitution; 33 organic laws, 231 ordinary laws and 71 law decrees were approved, and the first failed vote of confidence and a question of confidence were presented.[14]

Before the 1982 general election he led the Christian Democrat party.[15] He was re-elected in 1982, representing Madrid province, but resigned from office in 1983.

Member of the Council of State and later life

Lavilla was named a permanent member of the Council of State by Royal Decree on 28 July 1983 at the proposal of Prime Minister,[16] an office which he held until his death in 2020.[17] On 28 December 1995 he was appointed chairman of the Council's first section.[18]

On 8 February 1999 he took office as a permanent member of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation[19] and was its president between 2003 and 2012, being re-elected in 2008.[4][20]

In addition, he was a member of the advisory committee of FRIDE, a Madrid-based now defunct think tank organization.[21]

Personal life

Lavilla was married to Juana Rubira García Valdecasas and they had four children.[2] He died on 13 April 2020 at the age of 85 from an undisclosed illness.[22][23]

Honors

References
  1. Sin tacha ni reproche. El País, 14 April 2020. (in Spanish)
  2. "Landelino Lavilla Alsina". Who's Who in Spain. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  3. Charles T. Powell (1990). "The 'Tacito' group and the transition to democracy, 1973-1977". In F. Lannon and P. Preston (ed.). Elites and power in Twentieth-Century Spain (PDF). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  4. "Research Team". FRIDE. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  5. Eamonn J. Rodgers (1999). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture. CRC Press. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-415-13187-2. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  6. Paul Preston (1990). The Triumph of Democracy in Spain. London: Routledge. Retrieved 9 September 2013.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  7. S. D. Eaton (1981). The Forces of Freedom in Spain: 1974 - 1979; a Personal Account. Hoover Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-8179-7453-4. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  8. "Real Decreto 1607/1976, de 7 de julio, por el que que se nombran los Ministros del Gobierno" Boletín Oficial del Estado, 7 July 1976.
  9. "Spanish justice ministers". Rulers. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  10. Paloma Aguilar (December 1996). "Collective Memory of the Spanish Civil War" (PDF). Estudio/Working Paper. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  11. Real Decreto 548/1979, de 22 de marzo, por el que se dispone el cese en sus funciones del Ministro de Justicia, don Landelino Lavilla Alsina. Boletín Oficial del Estado 22 March 1979
  12. Daniel, Ramírez (16 December 2018). "Landelino Lavilla: "De PP, PSOE o Cs, no lo sé... pero seguro que Suárez nunca se habría hecho de Vox"". El Español.
  13. "Landelino Lavilla ofreció como rehenes a los miembros de la Mesa del Congreso". El País. 13 March 1981.
  14. Meritxell Batet (13 April 2020). "En memoria del presidente Lavilla". El País.
  15. R. W. Apple Jr. (13 October 1982). "Spanish socialist a darling of public, if not army". The New York Times. Madrid. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  16. Real Decreto 2126/1983, de 28 de julio, por el que se nombra Consejero permanente de Estado a don Landelino Lavilla Alsina. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 28 July 1983
  17. Directorio Council of State official page.
  18. Real Decreto 2213/1995, de 28 de diciembre, por el que se nombra Presidente de la Sección Primera del Consejo de Estado a don Landelino Lavilla Alsina, Consejero permanente de Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 28 December 1995
  19. Excmo. Sr. D. Landelino Lavilla Alsina (Md. nº 6) (in Spanish)
  20. Landelino Lavilla, reelegido presidente de la Real Academia de Jurisprudencia y Legislación El Notario.
  21. "Advisory Committee". FRIDE. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  22. "Muere Landelino Lavilla, ministro de Justicia con Suárez y presidente del Congreso el 23-F". ABC (in Spanish). Vocento. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  23. "Muere Landelino Lavilla, presidente del Congreso el 23-F y ministro de Justicia de Adolfo Suárez". El Español (in Spanish). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  24. Real Decreto 2727/1974, de 30 de septiembre, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil a don Landelino Lavilla Alsina. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 30 September 1974.
  25. Real Decreto 563/1979, de 23 de marzo, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III a don Landelino Lavilla Alsina. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 23 March 1979.
  26. Real Decreto 503/1985, de 10 de abril, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden de San Raimundo de Peñafort a don Landelino Lavilla Alsina. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 10 April 1985.
  27. Real Decreto 834/2010, de 25 de junio, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica a don Landelino Lavilla Alsina. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 25 June 2010.
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