José Bono Martínez

José Bono Martínez (born December 14, 1950) is a Spanish politician, born in Salobre, Albacete. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he was the President of the Congress of Deputies during the 9th Legislature. Before that, he was the Minister of Defence of Spain from April 18, 2004, in the Government chaired by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. He left his ministerial post on April 7, 2006, and was replaced by former Minister of Interior, José Antonio Alonso. Bono had previously served as President of the Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha from June 6, 1983 to April 17, 2004. During his period as a member of the Government, José Bono was involved in certain controversial events, some of them regarding his role as Minister of Defence (e.g. the controversy created by the public declarations of Lt. General José Mena Aguado about the 1978 Spanish Constitution, defending the possibility of an intervention of the armed forces to maintain the territorial integrity of Spain), and others regarding his membership of the Socialist Workers' Party, the most significant of them being the detention of two members of the Popular Party (PP) who were participating with him in a popular demonstration, after they had allegedly attempted to assault him. He was elected President of the Congress of Deputies on April 1, 2008.