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Former presidents

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Matías Rodríguez Inciarte Presidency: 2008 - 2018

Chairman of Santander Universidades and vice-president of Universia, Matías Rodríguez Inciarte was born in Oviedo on 23rd March 1948. President of the Princess of Asturias Foundation from April 2008 to April 2018.

He holds a degree in Economics from Madrid’s Complutense University, earning a national prize for being the most outstanding graduate. He completed his business studies at Boston’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Through a public completion in 1972 he joined the State’s Corps of Economists and Business Engineers, moving on to posts related to international commerce in business negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and later, as a trade adviser for the Spanish Embassy in Chile.

He was named technical secretariat general of the Ministry of the Treasury in July 1977 and in February 1978 secretariat general of the Ministry of Relations with European Communities, where he had an active role, alongside Minister Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, in the negotiations for Spain’s admission to the European Communities.

In 1980 he assumed the Secretaryship General of the Government’s Economic Vice-presidency and in 1981 he was appointed Secretary of State attached to the President. In 1981 he was named Minister of the Presidency.

In February 1984 he began his stint at Banco Santander, a firm where he was a member of its board (1988-2017), vice-president since (1994-2017) and a member of the Group’s Executive Committee until November 2017. He is currently chairman of Santander Universidades and vice-president of Universia.

He is also chairman of SANITAS, UCI and the Social Council of the Carlos III University, Madrid, as well as a director of Financiera El Corte Inglés, FIPONSA and BUPA. He has been vice-president of the Entrepreneurs Circle (Círculo de Empresarios).

He holds several national and international distinctions, outstanding among which are the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III of Spain, the Medal of the Order of Constitutional Merit and the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

In 1995 he joined the Princess of Asturias Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
José Ramón Álvarez Rendueles Presidency: 1996-2008

President of the Prince of Asturias Foundation from 1996 to 2008, he is currently Emeritus Trustee of The Foundation and chairman of the board of Peugeot Spain and Sanitas.

He holds a PhD in Economics and a Law Degree from Madrid’s Complutense University. He also has a degree in trade and accounting from Gijon Trade School. He joined the State Corps of Commercial Technicians and Economists in 1964 and has held the post of university professor since 1973.

He is a former governor of the Bank of España (1978-84), Secretary of State for Economy (1977-78), technical secretary and undersecretary of the Treasury (1973-76) and head of Development Plan Studies (1970-73). Within the private sector, he has been chairman of Aceralia and Banco Zaragozano.

In the Asturian business world, he has been chairman of the Juliana Constructora Gijonesa shipyards and a member of the boards of Uninsa, Ensidesa and Hunosa. He was the first chairman of the Principality of Asturias Foundation for Technical and Scientific Research (FICYT) and is a trustee of several foundations. He currently sits on the boards of Asturiana de Zinc, ArcelorMittal Spain and Generali Spain.

Among other distinctions, he holds the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit, the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, the Order of Constitutional Merit, the title of Officer of the French Legion of Honour, the Italian Grand Cross for Civil Merit, Brazil’s Cruceiro do Sul and Luxemburg’s Couronne de Chêne. Alvarez-Rendueles is married and has five children.

He was president of the Prince of Asturias Foundation from 1996 to 2008.
Plácido Arango Arias Presidency: 1987-1996

President of the Prince of Asturias Foundation from July 1987 to March 1996, Plácido Arango, (Tampico, Mexico, 1931 - Madrid, España, 2020) was founder of Grupo Vips.

Born in Mexico to Asturian immigrants, he lived in Spain since 1966. A businessman, he had a Doctorate in Economics from the Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology.

He founded Grupo Vips, one of the most important restaurant companies, in 1969.

He was an associate member of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts, a member of the board of trustees of the National Museum Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, a founding member and member of the executive committee of the Foundation for Help Against Drug Addiction, and trustee emeritus of New York’s Metropolitan Museum and Boston’s Tufts University.

He had been honoured with the following awards: the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit, the Gold Medal for the Fine Arts, the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute of New York’s Gold Medal and the Juan Lladó Award for Cultural Patronage and Research. He had been named Adoptive Son of Salas – the town where his father was born – and also of the Principality of Asturias. He received the Manzana de Oro from the Asturian Centre of Madrid, the Llámpara Natural from Salinas (Asturias), the Madreña de Oro from the Asturian Centre of Seville and the Gold Medal of Asturias.

He owned an important art collection and he was president of the Prado Museum’s Royal Board of Trustees since 2007 until 2012.
Pedro Masaveu Peterson Presidency: 1980-1987

The first president of the Prince of Asturias Foundation, since its establishment and until 25th June 1987, Pedro Masaveu Peterson (Oviedo, 1938 – Madrid, 1993) was a financier and businessman.

His economic contribution and personal implication were decisive for the establishment and consolidation of this institution.

Member of one of the most prominent families in the Asturian industry and finances, he graduated in Law from the University of Oviedo. The Masaveu family arrived in Asturias in the mid 19th Century from Catalonia. Together with other renowned upper-middle class families, they carried out a decisive role in the industrialisation of Asturias. From his father, he inherited the management of the Banca Masaveu, as well as his family’s businesses in cement works, real state, finances and the agro-alimentary sector. Masaveu was also a member of Banesto´s Board of Directors and Vice-president of its industrial corporation; and adviser for Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico.

Patron of the arts, Masaveu added 600 pieces to the significant private art gallery initiated by his father, which includes pieces by Berruguete, Ribera, Zurbarán, El Greco, Rubens and Goya. After his demise, his sister and only inheritor, María Cristina donated it to the Principality of Asturias, retaining his father’s private collection for the family. The pieces can be visited at the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias, under the title “Pedro Masaveu Collection”.

In 1984, he was presented with the Great Cross for Civil Merit and, a year later, with the Order of St. Charles of the Government of Colombia.

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