This article continues the series The Tale of a President, where the personality profile of the last two Presidents of the Government of Spain, namely Jose María Aznar López and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is assessed. The personality profile includes a brief fact sheet of the President along a synopsis of his psychological profile according to the three authors Rhenson, Barber and Greenstein.

GROWING UP

1. Youngest of four siblings (three brothers one sister)
2. High middle-income family / no economic suffering
3. His father was a successful journalist
4. College graduate
5. No deceased parent or siblings
6. Fluent in French

POLITICAL TRAJECTORY

1. From the right when he was President of Castilla-Leon to center-right
2. From the center-right during his Opposition Years to the center in his four years as President
3. From the center to the center-right in 2000-2002
4. From the center-right to the right in 2002-2004
5. From the right to a more pronounced right that flirts with neoliberal positions in his last four years

CHARACTERS THAT INFLUENCED HIM

1. Grandfather
2. Political Mentor Manuel Fraga Iribarne

POLITICAL PERIODS

1. Opposition (1989-1996): active-negative, pragmatist
2. First Presidency (1996-2000): active-positive, pragmatist
3. Second Presidency (2000-2002): active-positive, pragmatist
4. Second Presidency (2002-2004): active-negative, ideologue

DIMENSIONS

1. Cabinet Members: some belong in Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic group
2. Foreign Policy: strong ties to Europe and the United States
3. Basque Terrorism: negotiated ceasefire, strong fighter of terrorism (Islamist/Basque)
4. Relation with Nationalist Parties: increasingly worsening in his eight years as President
5. Family Life: well balanced, stable marriage, two sons and one daughter
6. First Lady: Ana Botella, increasingly involved in politics, now #3 in Madrid’s City Hall

Authors

RHENSON

1. Ambition: Strong, Explicit
2. Ideology vs Pragmatism: Pragmatism
3. Rationality vs Judgement: Judgement
4. Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Average, strong leadership

BARBER

1. Active positive
2. Active negative
3. Passive positive
4. Passive negative

GREENSTEIN

1. Political communication: Average
2. Organization capacity: Strong
3. Political skill: Strong
4. Vision: economic (Strong), social (Weak), foreign policy (Europe: Strong, international: Weak)
5. Cognitive style: Average
6. Emotional intelligence: Weak