José María Aznar López, born on 25 February 1953 in Madrid, Spain, into a politically active conservative family—his grandfather, a journalist, was a friend of dictator General Francisco Franco—earned a degree in Law from Complutense University of Madrid in 1975. He began his professional career as a State Tax Inspector in 1976 before transitioning into politics, where he served as president of the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León and assumed leadership of the People's Party (PP), Spain's dominant centre-right party, in 1989. As PP leader, Aznar promoted economic liberalization policies and later served as Prime Minister of Spain. Post-politics, he engaged in business activities and has been involved in international conservative networks. He is noted for his support of the U.S. during the Iraq War.