A well of wisdom. An eternally humane soul. With the strength of a fighting bull to defend what was just, logical and decent. An exceptional person, of a kind no longer found.
A brilliant mind that, having just turned 90 (on 12 October, of all days), held the whole history of Spain and of the world, along with every detail of his many diplomatic postings, often in dangerous places. He recounted them so faithfully and vividly that those events and happenings seemed to have taken place only yesterday.
A devoted and generous man, who shared with me, with you and with anyone, with equal measures of humour and rigour, all manner of anecdotes, incidents, historical facts, figures and global controversies that no one else remembered any longer, yet which are so important for understanding the present moment. One example is the discovery, made while searching through the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the town of Huéscar, in Granada, had remained at war with Denmark since the Napoleonic Wars. He took part in that discovery and promoted the signing of a symbolic armistice in 1981, himself representing the Spanish delegation.
As I often told him, I frequently needed his elaborate and exhaustive commentaries to know what I myself thought about an issue or a global crisis. How I am going to miss him…
Always in a suit and wearing his characteristic bow tie, with which he lent importance to whatever public event he attended and showed his respect for its organisers, he left no one indifferent. His humble smile, combined with the assured bearing of someone at ease with social protocol, academic circles and international political forums, accompanied an extraordinary disposition, great negotiating skill, honesty, clear-sightedness, and language that was cultured yet direct. And, once he had left active diplomatic service, he never minced his words.
A servant of Spain, with an unrivalled sense of duty and love for his country, who shied away from no subject, however controversial or complex, and who researched exhaustively before giving his view, so that his opinion would be informed and fair. I have always thought that this characteristic quality, which gave rigour and force to his publications, was perhaps a legacy of his years as an ambassador, when he had to report regularly to the Palacio de Santa Cruz on events and conditions in each of his postings, responsibly and with full knowledge of the facts.
His unwavering defence of the rule of law, of democratic values and of the spirit of concord of the Spanish Transition (which he lived through as a protagonist, with positions close to the Tácito group) does him honour and helps explain who he was. So do his many services to Spain, often in postings where he put his own safety, and that of his then young family, at serious risk. For instance, amid the confusion that followed the Carnation Revolution, he was held up in Lisbon, and for endless hours the plane in which he was to be evacuated, together with other Spanish diplomats and their families, was prevented from taking off, after a mob had set fire to the Spanish consulate in the city where he worked. In Baghdad, during the Iran–Iraq War, he also lived through moments of enormous tension when, in the spring of 1985, Iranian missiles began to fall on the Iraqi capital, endangering those who were there, among them he and his family, who lived in the Spanish Embassy.
He aptly summed up the traits of a diplomat in six words: discipline, uprootedness, permanent service, responsibility, risk and tension. He only left out one: vocation. A total vocation and dedication, which he raised to stratospheric heights. That is what always defined my dear José Antonio; that, and his vitality, enthusiasm, passion and determination for causes worth fighting for.
With his passing, we have also lost an enthusiastic and tireless collaborator of our research team on the rule of law crisis in Europe, and indeed one of its pioneering members, back in 2017. He never said no to taking part in a conference, contributing to a book, giving an interview or even speaking to students at CEU UCH.
He spoke with scientific, political and moral authority about the best years of our democracy and the current deterioration of our public institutions. He never lost an ounce of his analytical ability or his legal and ethical auctoritas. We have lost a great friend, and it hurts deeply. But above all, we have lost a benchmark in international relations, a torrent of energy, a peerless political analyst, an example of love for Spain.
Vision and mission to improve relations between countries, and boundless love for Spain. I see no other way to describe him.
Admired ambassador, respected researcher, esteemed friend, dearest José Antonio: today I mourn your loss and the great void you leave in international relations and, above all, in the lives of those of us who knew you. Rest in peace.
