Juan Carlos I. - King of Spain
His majesty the king, "Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria de Borbón y Borbón", was born on 05.01.1938 in Rome. The royal family lived there, after they had to leave Spain, when the Republic of 1931 was proclaimed. The parents of Juan Carlos were "Juan de Borbon y Battenberg", count of Barcelona and executive committee of the Spanish kings house, and "Maria de Las Mercedes De Borbon y Orleans". On desire of his father, he was educated in Spain since the age of 10, after he was educated a time long at the "Marianist school" in the swiss city of Fribourg. During this time his parents lived in the Portuguese city of Estoril.
In the year 1954 he terminated his secondary training at the "San Isidro school" in Madrid and studied at the war academies and at the universities of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force to reach the rank of the officer. During this time Juan Carlos qualified himself as a military pilot. He completed his training in the time of 1960 to 1961 at the "Complutense University of Madrid" in which he studied constitutional and international law, national economy and taxation.
On the 14th of May 1962 Juan Carlos married "Princess Sofia of Greece" in Athens, the oldest daughter of "King Paul I." and "Queen Federica". After their honeymoon the prince and the princess lived in Madrid in the palace "La Zarzuela", which is this very day their domicile. Their first daughter "Elena" was born 1963, two years later followed "Cristina" and 1968 the future successor to the throne "Prince Felipe", who married the television journalist Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano on the 22nd of May 2004. In the year 1969 was specified, that Juan Carlos will be successor of the dictator Franco and head of state, so he specified a set of official activities and traveled around Spain and the foreign countries.
Short time after the death of Francisco Francos on 22.11.1975, Juan Carlos I. was named as king of Spain. In its first speech to the nation in the Spanish parliament, he announced the philosophies of his future rule: re-establishment of the democracy and to become king of all Spaniards. Juan Carlos I. said in the wording: "Today a new section in the history of Spain begins. A free and modern society requires the participation of all decisions, at the information media, at the different educational facilities and at control of the national wealth. Each day this participation of safe and to make more effective, a common task and the goal of the government are to become." He decided not to continue the dictatorship Francos, but used themselves for a new, democratic and modern Spain. In June 1977 the first democratic elections took place.
The Spanish language, the legacy of the Spanish community and its promising future in the world today are issues where Juan Carlos attends his special interest. The king supports for example the "Cervantes Institute", which promotes the dissemination of the Spanish language worldwide. Juan Carlos also supports the creation and development of new technologies in Spain and promotes initiatives in the areas of economics and research.
Juan Carlos is also committed sporty - skiing and sailing are his favorite sports. He is a promoter and patron of numerous sports events in Spain.