Lawyer, politician and professor, he was born in Hoyo de Manzanares and died in Madrid. From a very young age he was a Catholic action militant. He studied Law at the University of Madrid and took part in the Spanish Civil War as a transmissions official in Franco’s forces. He was Chairman of the international organisation Pax Romana between 1939 and 1946. He earned his Doctorate in Law, a degree in Philosophy and Literature and became professor of Natural Law at the University of Seville, later moving to Salamanca and then Madrid.

He was Director of the Institute of Hispanic Culture from 1946 to 1948. In 1948, he was appointed as ambassador to the Holy See, a position that he held until 1951 when he was appointed Minister of Education. He left this role following student demonstrations in 1956. From this moment on he became known as a clear voice of dissent against the Franco regime.

From 1960 he was a professor of Natural Law and Philosophy of Law at the University of Madrid and in 1963 he founded the magazine “Cuadernos para el Diálogo” which soon became one of the tools to express the Christian Democrat opposition to Franco. Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez was also a lawyer in the Courts after being appointed directly by Franco, a position that he resigned from in 1965.

After the death of Franco he led the Izquierda Democrática party, which was inspired by the Christian Democrat movement in Europe. The party completely failed in the 1977 elections, however, and this led to Ruiz-Giménez abandoning active politics. In 1982, he was appointed first Ombudsman and between 1989 and 2001 he was Chairman of Unicef Spain.

His books include: La concepción institucional del derecho (1944), Del ser de España (1963) e Iglesia, estado y sociedad en España: 1930-1982 (1984).

 

Bibliography:

News about Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez in El País.

Javier Muñoz Soro, Cuadernos para el Diálogo 81963-1976): una historia cultural del segundo franquismo, Madrid, Marcial Pons, 2006.

Carolina Rodríguez López

 

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