View source for Enrique Barón

{{Short description|Spanish politician, economist, and lawyer (born 1944)}}
{{family name hatnote|Barón|Crespo|lang=Spanish}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox President
| name                = Enrique Barόn
| image               = Barón Crespo EC President Portrait.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1989
| office              = [[President of the European Parliament]]
| term_start          = 25 July 1989
| term_end            = 21 January 1992
| vicepresident       = 
| predecessor         = [[Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb|Charles Henry Plumb]]
| successor           = [[Egon Klepsch]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|3|27}}
| birth_place         = [[Madrid]], Spain
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE]], [[Party of European Socialists|PES]]
| spouse              = 
| profession          = Economist
| religion            = 
| alma_mater          = [[Royal Agricultural University]]
}}
'''Enrique Barόn Crespo''' (born 27 March 1944) is a Spanish [[politician]], [[economist]], and [[lawyer]]. He is a member of the [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] and was a member of the [[European Parliament]] for the [[Party of European Socialists]] group until 2009.

Enrique Barón graduated in law from the [[Complutense University of Madrid|University of Madrid]] and in business administration at [[ICADE]], in Madrid, and [[ESSEC]], in Paris, business schools, in 1965. As a practising lawyer, he specialised in labour law and acted for defendants in political cases (1970&ndash;1977).<ref>{{cite web |title=El Estado actúa sobre los itinerarios altamente deficitarios de RENFE |url=https://www.vialibre-ffe.com/pdf/10841_pdf_01.pdf |publisher=www.vialibre-ffe.com}}</ref>

He was a Deputy in the [[Cortes Generales|Cortes]] (1977&ndash;1987) representing [[Madrid (Spanish Congress Electoral District)|Madrid region]] and was [[Ministry of Transport (Spain)|Minister of Transport, Tourism and Communications]] (1982&ndash;1985). In that period he proposed the dismantlement of many miles of both major and secondary railway routes. The proposal was based on reports that understated the importance of these lines.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.docutren.com/HistoriaFerroviaria/Gijon2003/pdf/td5.pdf |title=El Cierre de lineas de ferrocarril in Espana: Linea de Valladolid a Arriza (1895-1985) |first=Rosa |last=Camazón |date= |via=www.docutren.com}}</ref>

After election to the European Parliament he was [[President of the European Parliament]] (1989&ndash;1992), and was PES Group chairman from 1 November 1999 to 15 July 2004. He was Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (1992&ndash;1995).

Barόn is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Global Panel Foundation and the Advisory Board of think tank [[Gold Mercury International]], London, UK. He is an active player in the [[Brand EU]] initiative to improve the management and promotion of the [[European Union]] brand and monitor its progress.

In March 2008, Barón Crespo was received by the Italian President [[Giorgio Napolitano]] together with the CEO [[Pier Francesco Guarguaglini]] and the General Director Giorgio Zappa, at the end of the concerto for the 60th birth anniversary of the Italian arms manufacturer [[Finmeccanica]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://archivio.quirinale.it/aspr/fotografico/PHOTO-003-021515/presidente/giorgio-napolitano/il-presidente-giorgio-napolitano-presidente-e-amministratore-delegato-finmeccanica-pier-francesco-guarguaglini-e-direttore | title = Giorgio Napolitano with Pier Francesco Guarguaglini and Giorgio Zappa for the 60th anniversary of Finmeccanica | date = March 26, 2008 | language = it | website = Presidence of the Italian Republic (archive site) | archive-url = https://archive.today/20190829220627/https://archivio.quirinale.it/aspr/fotografico/PHOTO-003-021515/presidente/giorgio-napolitano/il-presidente-giorgio-napolitano-presidente-e-amministratore-delegato-finmeccanica-pier-francesco-guarguaglini-e-direttore | archive-date = 29 August 2019 | url-status = live | access-date = 29 August 2019 }}</ref>

In 1985, Barón resigned as a minister and became a member of the European Parliament after Spain joined the European Union (EU), or what was then the European Community (EC), in 1986. As early as 1987, he ran for President of the European Parliament, but after three rounds of voting, he was defeated by only five votes to his British opponent, Charles Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb. On 25 July 1989, he was elected on the very first ballot as the youngest President of the European Parliament. He relinquished this office - as is customary in the European Parliament - after a two-and-a-half-year term.

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* The [https://archives.eui.eu/en/fonds/443686?item=EBC private papers] and [https://archives.eui.eu/en/isaar/140 interviews] of Enrique Barόn Crespo are deposited at the [https://www.eui.eu/en/academic-units/historical-archives-of-the-european-union Historical Archives of the EU in Florence]
* [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public/yourMep/view.do?name=Baron+Crespo&partNumber=1&language=EN&id=1352 European Parliament: Your MEPs]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031220215728/http://www.europarl.es/diputados/diputado.php?id=5 European Parliament Office in Spain]

{{EuroparlPres}}
{{Party of European Socialists}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baron, Enrique}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:ESSEC Business School alumni]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Madrid city councillors (2003–2007)]]
[[Category:Members of the constituent Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:Members of the 1st Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:Members of the 2nd Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:Members of the 3rd Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:MEPs for Spain 1986–1987]]
[[Category:MEPs for Spain 1987–1989]]
[[Category:MEPs for Spain 1989–1994]]
[[Category:MEPs for Spain 1999–2004]]
[[Category:MEPs for Spain 2004–2009]]
[[Category:People from Madrid]]
[[Category:Presidents of the European Parliament]]
[[Category:Spanish economists]]
[[Category:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party MEPs]]


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