PARES | Spanish Archives

Identification

Type:

Person

Preferred form:

Letamendía Belzunce, Francisco (1944-)Other forms

Fechas de existencia:

Donostia-San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa, España) 1944-02-05 - existente actualmente

History:

Spanish politician and labor lawyer. He graduated in Law from the University of Barcelona and he got his PhD in Social History from the Université Paris 8. He is a professor of Political Science at the UPV-EHU. He participated as a defence counsel in the historic 'Burgos Trial' (Proceso de Burgos).

In 1982 he moved to Paris in order to postpone several judicial proceedings in which he was involved. This stage marked his estrangement from active politics, dedicating himself completely to research and teaching and making contact with renowned French intellectuals such as Pierre Vilar, Madeleine Réberioux, Pierre Bourdieu, Gilles Deleuze, or Félix Guattari.

In 1985 he returned to the Basque Country, being condemned by one of the processes.

Deputy of Euskadiko Ezkerra (EE) for Guipúzcoa between 1977 and 1979, and of Herri Batasuna (HB) for Vizcaya between 1979 and 1982. He was the first radical abertzale parliamentarian that was existed in Madrid. He voted 'no' to the Constitution because it did not plan the right of self‑determination of the peoples.

He is a leading researcher in the fields of Basque history and nationalism, comparative nationalisms, political violence, European construction and cross‑border relations, political culture and Basque cuisine, political theory, Basque political networks, social movements, trade unionism in general and in the Basque case and indigenism. Prolific author, in the last 20 years he has published, in addition to multiple articles in specialized magazines and collaborations in collective books.

Francisco Letamendia reappeared in the Spanish media in February 2002, when they echoed the dispute that he had with Edurne Uriarte, Professor of Political Sciences at the University of the Basque Country (UPV), on the occasion of the Chair that both opted in 2001.

Cortes Constituyentes, 1977-1979

Date of the event: 1977-07-13 - 1979-01-02

Spanish transition to democracy