González, Felipe

González, Felipe 

(also F. González Marquez). Born Mar. 5, 1942, in Sevilla. Spanish political figure.

In 1966, González graduated from the faculty of law of the University of Sevilla. As a student, he helped organize the students’ and working-class movements in Andalusia. He joined the Socialist Workers’ Party of Spain (PSOE) in 1964. After his graduation from the university, González formed the first group of lawyers in Sevilla concerned with defending the interests of working people.

González joined the Sevilla provincial committee of the PSOE in 1965 and became a member of the party’s national committee in 1969. In 1970 he was elected to the executive committee of the PSOE. At the party congress held in Suresnes, France, in 1974, he was elected secretary general of the party; he was reelected at a congress in Madrid in December 1976, the first PSOE congress held in Spain after a long period of illegal activities under the Franco dictatorship. In June 1977 he became a member of the Chamber of Deputies. In December 1977, González led a delegation from the PSOE to the USSR, where official relations were established between the PSOE and the CPSU.