Quick Facts
Biography
Julián García Vargas (born 1945)is a Spanish economist and socialist politician who served in different cabinets of Spain.
Early life and education
Garcia was born in Madrid in 1945. He received a degree in economic sciences from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 1968.
Career and activities
Garcia is an economist and healthcare expert by profession. He is a member of the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He began his career in private sector and then joined public sector where he worked until 1986.
He was appointed health minister on 26 July 1986 in the cabinet led by the then prime minister Felipe Gonzales. Garcia was in office until March 1991. He is considered to be one of the three Spanish health ministers who significantly improved health-care system of the country. He was appointed defense minister on 12 March 1991 in a cabinet reshuffle. He retained his post in the July 1993 reshuffle. However, Garcia resigned from office on 2 July 1995 due to press reports revealing that the military secret services (CESED) had been spying on individuals and public figures. Gustavo Suarez Pertierra succeeded Garcia as defense minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
After leaving office he served as the special envoy of the European Union in Mostar (Bosnia) from November 1995 to April 1996 for the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. He was the president of the Spanish Association of Defense Technology, Aeronautics and Space Administration (TEDAE) until his resignation in June 2013. He is the president of the Spanish Atlantic Association. He has been board member of several companies.