Spanish diplomat, businessman and politician
Manuel Prado y Colón de Carvajal (1931 - 5 December 2009) was a Spanish diplomat, businessman and politician. He served as an administrator for King Juan Carlos I of Spain for more than twenty years.[1]
Prado y Colón, the son of a Chilean diplomat,[1] was born in Quito, Ecuador, in 1931. He earned a law degree at the Complutense University of Madrid and a Bachelor of Science in economics at the London School of Economics. A businessman by profession, Manuel Prado worked in the automobile, telecommunications and financial industries.[1] He was chairman of Iberia Airlines from 1976 until 1978.[1] He also sat on the boards of directors of both Infeisa and WWF/Adena [es] at various times during his career.[1]
Prado y Colón was sentenced to two years in prison in 2004 in Sevilla, but was granted an early release two months later due to humanitarian reasons.[1] However, in 2007 the Supreme Court of Spain sentenced Colón to one year in prison for diverting funds to the Torras Group.[1] He was given an additional three months sentence in February 2008 in the Grand Tibidabo case.[1]
A personal friend and advisor to King Juan Carlos for more than twenty years, Colón founded the Foundation for Help Against Drug Addiction (FAD). Queen Sofia currently serves as FAD's president.[1]
Manuel Prado y Colón de Carvajal died of cancer at his home in Sevilla, Spain, on 5 December 2009, at the age of 78. He was survived by his second wife, Celia García Corona, and his children.[1] His son, Borja Prado, is the chairman of the Endesa power company as of 2009.[1]
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