Private universities' influence on Spain's executive

Tuesday 01 April 2025 - 17:00

By: Zahouani Ilham

Private universities' influence on Spain's executive

Five members of Spain's Council of Ministers, who will urgently address a reform to tighten the criteria for establishing private universities, have received their education in various private institutions across the country. These ministers have specialized in different fields, holding degrees, master's degrees, or doctorates from such institutions.

In addition to President Pedro Sánchez, who announced the government's plans to ensure universities do not become "factories of degrees without guarantees," four other ministers were educated in private academic centers: Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Industry Minister Jordi Hereu, and Social Security Minister Elma Saiz.

Pedro Sánchez’s Education

According to his official biography on the Moncloa website, Sánchez graduated in 1995 with a degree in Economics and Business from the Real Colegio Universitario María Cristina, a private institution now affiliated with CEU San Pablo University. He later earned a doctorate in Economics from the Camilo José Cela University, a private institution established in 2000. Sánchez also worked as a professor of Economics there. Additionally, he holds a diploma in Advanced Studies in European Economic and Monetary Integration from the Ortega y Gasset University Institute, a private organization affiliated with the Complutense University.

José Manuel Albares, Deusto Graduate

The Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, earned his law degree at the University of Deusto, a private institution in the Basque Country, from 1990 to 1995. Deusto, founded in 1886, is the oldest private university in Spain. Albares also spent a year in Paris at the Sorbonne University as part of the Erasmus program.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Also a Deusto Graduate

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska graduated in 1985 with a law degree in Economic Law from the University of Deusto before entering the judicial career as a magistrate in Santoña in 1987.

Jordi Hereu, ESADE Graduate

Industry and Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu earned an MBA from ESADE, a private institution in Barcelona founded in 1958, and affiliated with Ramón Llull University. He also holds a degree in Business Administration from ESADE and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.

Elma Saiz, Graduate of the University of Navarra

Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration Elma Saiz holds a law degree and a master's degree in Tax Consultancy from the University of Navarra, a private Catholic institution founded in 1952 and associated with Opus Dei. She has also collaborated in the university's master's programs in business law and tax consultancy.