Recalde, José Ramón

José Ramón Recalde Díez (Donostia-San Sebastián, 1930-2016) was a jurist, essayist and politician. He held a doctorate in Law from the University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU. He was a professor, and later an emeritus professor of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Deusto University in Donostia-San Sebastián. He was a labour lawyer, and one of the founders of the Popular Liberation Front (better known as FELIPE).

José Ramón Recalde joined the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and UGT. When the Pre-autonomy Body of the Basque Country Government was created, he was named the Regional Ministry's director of Human Rights. He would later become the Basque Government minister of Education, Universities and Research from 1988 to 1991 and minister of Justice from 1991 to 1994.

His works include Fe de vida, published in 2004, for which he received the XVII Comillas Biography Award. Among his intellectual essays: Integración y lucha de clases en el neocapitalismo (1982), La construcción de las naciones (1982) and Crisis y descomposición de la política (1995) are worthy of note.

José Ramón Recalde held the Constitutional Order of Merit, and the Great Cross of Alfonso X, the Sage.

Prof. Recalde passed way the 17th of July of 2016 at the age of 85.