Departures of note

Julián García Vargas was a Spanish economist and socialist politician who held senior ministerial office in the governments of Felipe González. Born in Madrid in 1945, he trained as an economist at the Complutense University of Madrid and worked as a state tax inspector before joining the PSOE in 1976. He served as president of the Official Credit Institute (ICO) from 1983 to 1986. Appointed Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs in 1986, he oversaw the application of Spain's abortion law and reforms to the health system until 1991. He then became Minister of Defence, a post he held from 1991 to 1995, during which he was responsible for reducing compulsory military service to nine months and for the territorial reorganization of the armed forces under the NORTE plan. In December 1995 he served as the European Union's special envoy to Bosnia, supervising the implementation of the Dayton peace agreements until April 1996. After leaving government he led the Spanish Association of Defence, Aeronautics and Space Technology Companies (TEDAE) and the FEINDEF foundation, and received numerous decorations including the Grand Cross of Military Merit.