Guillermo Fernández Vara dies at 66
The former general secretary of the PSOE (Socialist Workers' Party) in Extremadura for 16 years and president of the regional government for three terms , revealed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with a stomach tumor that required surgery and an illness for which he was receiving treatment.
He is a key figure in the history of socialism in Extremadura and also of the autonomous region itself, as defined by his party in the region, which he led from 2008 to 2024. In addition to being a politician, he was a forensic doctor.
He was president of the Regional Government of Extremadura on three occasions and governed the region for 12 years: his first term began in 2007, the second in 2015 and the last, in 2019, he achieved an absolute majority and governed until 2023. He was the second socialist president of the Regional Government after taking over from Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra , with whom he established a deep friendship and a shared journey of ideals and values in Olivenza (Badajoz), his hometown.
Guillermo Fernández Vara (Olivenza, Badajoz, 1958) revealed in December 2023 that he had a stomach tumor, four months after being elected second vice president of the Senate and failing to revalidate his position as head of the Extremaduran Executive in the regional elections of May of that year.
Fernández Vara fought his illness with the unequivocal determination, as he stated a few months ago, to "want to continue living." "I want to continue living for my loved ones, for you, and for so many people who need us," he stated at a public event when he received the UGT Extremadura May Day Award in front of dozens of socialists and trade unionists.
After undergoing surgery in early 2024, Fernández Vara stepped down as General Secretary of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in Extremadura in March, having experienced success and failure in politics. He remained calm, loyal to his party, and determined to properly "diagnose" the future of a region in whose development potential he always firmly believed.
After 12 years leading the Extremadura Regional Government, in two stages (2007-2011 and 2015-2023), and 16 as regional leader of the PSOE, he left with "eternal gratitude" to the people of Extremadura and the conviction that Extremadura faced a transcendental future.
He always maintained that he had never done "anything extraordinary," other than what he was entrusted with as a public servant; and he stated that he didn't want streets or squares, nor medals.
Educated by the Jesuits in Villafranca de los Barros (Badajoz), the grandson of a prosecutor and son of a Supreme Court judge, Fernández Vara, who came in first in the forensic examinations, was affiliated in his youth with the Popular Alliance, a hallmark of a certain conservatism that has always accompanied him, although he insists on defining himself as deeply progressive, reports Efe.
Married with two children, his personal and political life took a 180-degree turn when, in the early 1990s, his family began to share neighborhood and friendship with the then president of the Junta, Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra , in the small hamlet of Santo Domingo de Olivenza.
Vara, who was then already in charge of the Badajoz Forensic Medical Center, where he handled high-profile cases such as the Puerto Hurraco massacre , was appointed Director General of Public Health and Consumer Affairs in 1995, before becoming Minister of Social Welfare, and later of Health and Consumer Affairs.
A declared heir apparent to Ibarra, despite not being a strong figure in the party, in 2007 he was unanimously acclaimed as the candidate for President of the Regional Government of Extremadura ahead of the elections to be held that year, in which he achieved his first absolute majority, the best result in history for the PSOE in Extremadura. "Children are always better than parents," his mentor said at the time.
Throughout his political career, Fernández Vara has shown himself to be a man of consensus and dialogue, even with an absolute majority . This is why, in his first term in office, he sought to agree on issues of importance to the autonomous community. However, during his years as a leader, the opposition has labelled this attitude as more of "posturing" than reality.
In his second election, he faced a failure that, as he himself explained, taught him much more than his successes. In the spring of 2011, the PSOE could have governed without problems with the three seats obtained by a United Left party that decided to rebel against the national leadership and take out on him all the grudges it had had with Ibarra during his 24 years at the helm of the regional government.
With the abstention of the three IU deputies, José Antonio Monago became the first PP president in Extremadura in 28 years of autonomy, and the forensic doctor, who could have returned to his position, decided to hold out and "learn" for four years in the opposition.
Guillermo Fernández Vara, who had defended Andalusian Susana Díaz in the race for the position of General Secretary of the PSOE during the serious internal crisis of 2016, later supported Pedro Sánchez when he finally won the match.
Unlike other barons, he was able to disagree with the current Prime Minister and his executive, but always in a low tone, without making too much noise and without violating party discipline.
A year earlier, in 2015, Vara returned to the presidency of the regional government after defeating the PP, albeit without an absolute majority. He was able to govern without major problems, as he managed to reach an agreement on his budget with both the PP and Podemos.
After winning an absolute majority again in 2019, the pandemic disrupted all his plans to undertake a serene and peaceful succession to the PSOE in Extremadura during that term. He then ran again as a candidate for the May 28, 2023, elections, after which, in the event of defeat, he would, as he had stated days before, leave politics.
His loyalty to Sánchez was heavily criticized by the opposition in Extremadura, and many believe it could have cost him in this last election. Although the Socialist party's list received the most votes, with just over 6,000 more votes than the PP, Fernández Vara failed to secure enough strength to govern, as the PP and Vox each won 33 seats, compared to 32 for the PSOE and Unidas por Extremadura.
Despite the forcefulness of his words on election night, when he emphasized that he had "failed," and after it was leaked that he had requested reinstatement to his position as a forensic doctor the following day, the PSOE announced that the request was being put on hold due to the new political landscape that had opened up with Pedro Sánchez's call for elections on July 23, 2023.
Less than 48 hours after the polls, Fernández Vara reversed his election-night views and, following the meeting of the PSOE Regional Executive Committee, announced that he would attempt to govern because the Socialists had won the election.
In fact, weeks later, faced with a lack of agreement in the initial negotiations between the PP and Vox, the president of the Extremadura Assembly, Blanca Martín, proposed him as a candidate for investiture and set the dates for the debate, but Fernández Vara ultimately withdrew from the process following the agreement reached by the right-wing bloc. EFE
Miguel Ángel Gallardo , from Badajoz, who succeeded Fernández Vara as General Secretary of the PSOE in Extremadura, stated in a statement from the PSOE of Extremadura that with the death of Fernández Vara, a person who dedicated his entire life to serving his homeland, "a piece of our recent history is gone." "His loss deeply pains the entire socialist family," the socialist leader stated.
His successor as head of the Extremaduran government, María Guardiola (PP) , has already expressed her recognition and gratitude for him, and has declared three days of official mourning in this autonomous community. He carried out his public responsibilities "with dedication" and did so "with honor, with effort, and with a close relationship that we will always remember," she stated.
"Extremadura has lost a politician and a public servant who defended his ideas with moderation and respect for the rule of law. Above all, he loved his homeland, and during this final period, even in the most difficult times, he remained in contact to facilitate whatever he could."
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also lamented his death with "enormous sadness," describing the former Extremadura leader as a "socialist leader" and an "example of commitment, dialogue, and public service." "His legacy will always remain in the memory of the PSOE and Spain," he emphasized on the social network X.
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