Dec 14, 2007, 12:19 GMT
Madrid - Socialist Felipe Gonzalez, 65, was modern Spain's longest-serving prime minister, heading four governments from 1982 to 1996.
Taking power seven years after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, Gonzalez is credited with helping to modernize social benefits and the economy, though privatizations led to clashes with trade unions.
Gonzalez also oversaw Spain's entry into the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the EU, in 1986.
The final years of the Gonzalez era were tarnished by corruption scandals and allegations that the government had sponsored death squads killing members of the Basque separatist group ETA.
Gonzalez resigned as party leader after his election defeat to conservative Jose Maria Aznar in 1996. No longer a member of parliament, he nevertheless occasionally participates in political debates.
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