José Manuel Romay Beccaría

José Manuel Romay Beccaría
69th and 71st President of the Council of State
In office 3 May 2012 – 5 July 2018
Preceded by	Francisco Rubio Llorente
Succeeded by	María Teresa Fernández de la Vega
In office 25 December 2002 – 19 April 2004
Preceded by	Íñigo Cavero
Succeeded by	Francisco Rubio Llorente
Senator
In office 29 November 2011 – 2 May 2012
Constituency	Parliament of Galicia
Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs
In office 6 May 1996 – 27 April 2000
Preceded by	Ángeles Amador
Succeeded by	Celia Villalobos
Vice President of Galicia
In office 22 January 1982 – 7 January 1983
President	Xerardo Fernández Albor
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	José Luis Barreiro
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office 12 March 2000 – 3 January 2003
Constituency	A Coruña
In office 28 October 1982 – 13 February 1990
Constituency	A Coruña
Personal details
Born	José Manuel Romay Beccaría (1934-01-18) 18 January 1934 Betanzos, A Coruña
Political party	People's Party (since 1989)
Other political affiliations	People's Alliance (until 1989)
Alma mater	University of Santiago de Compostela

José Manuel Romay Beccaría (born 18 January 1934) is a Spanish lawyer and politician. During his political life, he has been regional minister in several occasions in the Regional Government of Galicia, Member of the Congress of Deputies and Senator. The highest and most important offices that he held were Health Minister of Spain and two times President of the Council of State.

Career

Born in Betanzos, Romay was trained as a lawyer at the University of Santiago de Compostela, where he later taught. He became a lawyer for the Spanish Council of State in 1959. Romay was first elected to the Congress of Deputies from A Coruña in 1982. He stepped down in 1990 after his second consecutive term to return to the Xunta de Galicia as an adviser and minister, in which he had first served as vice president between 1982 and 1983. Romay returned to the national government in 1996, accepting an appointment as health minister.

In 2000, Romay began his second stint in the Congress of Deputies, again representing A Coruña.

In 2002, he became president of the Council of State. He was succeeded by Francisco Rubio Llorente in 2004. Romay was appointed to the senate between 2011 and 2012 by the parliament of Galicia. That same year, Romay was named president of the Council of State for the second time.