Death of Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, former Vice President of Spain and key negotiator for the end of ETA

The former vice president of the Spanish government Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, one of the leading leaders of the Socialist Party over the past two decades, died at 67 in Madrid after suffering a cerebral infarction on Thursday.

The Spanish politician, whohe judged active politics in 2014, it's been for years a reference from the Socialist Party and became a candidate for the presidency of the government in the 2011 general elections.

He was vice president of the executive between 2010 and 2011, with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as president.and later, he led the Socialist Party (PSOE) between 2011 and 2014, when he was replaced by Pedro Sánchez, following an extraordinary party congress.

In addition, he exercised Minister of Education (1992-1993), Minister of the Presidency (1993-1996) and of the Interior (2006-2011), in which the mandate of ETA was terminated. Rubalcaba was decisive in the contacts with the terrorist group ETA which resulted in 2011 in the announcement of the "final cessation" of its violent activities.

The historical socialist leader was considered a big negotiatedr, a virtue also recognized by his political opponents.

The last few years he has served as Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

"It leaves us a good and brilliant man in every respect, leaving us a man of state who has worked for the peace and well-being of all", lamented the PSOE in a statement.

Kings Felipe VI and Letizia were "deeply saddened" by the death of Rubalcaba, who badured them that they will always appreciate "their permanent and deep institutional vision and their keen sense of the state" during their political career serving the country.

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, who also remembers Twiter, is the man who put "signature" at the end of ETA.

The pepista Mariano Rajoy, former Spanish president and political rival of Rubalcaba, remembered him as "Intelligent, clever negotiator and relentless dialectician, he was a formidable rival: brilliant and sharp as a scalpel, but sincere in negotiations and as loyal as possible between political opponents". "What we are missing is Rubalcaba," revealed Rajoy who appeared in the ranks of the PP several times.