Manuel Fraga Iribarne

Manuel Fraga, also known as Don Manuel, (born November 23, 1922) is the prime minister of the Spanish province of Galicia, and is one of the oldest heads of government in the world.

Manuel Fraga began his political career during General Franco's fascist dictatorship in Spain, being minister and ambassador in London. As culture minister he relaunched the tourism industry under the slogan "Spain is different!" which was taken as having political undertones. In 1966 he went swimming at Palomares where a US aviation nuclear accident had led to a release of radioactivity and a hydrogen bomb falling into the sea. He also introduced a censorship law which, by formalising the system, had the deliberate effect of allowing greater freedom of the press.

After Franco's death, democracy returned to Spain. Fraga formed a right-wing party called People's Alliance (Alianza Popular), which later changed its name to the People's Party (Partido Popular). The party was ignored in its first years, but gained popularity when UCD (Unión de Centro Democrático, a moderate right wing party which won the first two elections after Franco's death) disbanded and most of its members joined AP.

In 1987 Fraga handed over the presidency of the PP to José María Aznar and returned to his homeland, Galicia. He won the elections and became prime minister of Galicia, and has since remained in charge.

In late 2002, when an oil tanker ship called Prestige sank near Galician coast, Fraga saw his credibility damaged.