05/04/2008
Spaniards are paying their last respects at the coffin of former Prime Minister Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo in the Parliament building.
Calvo Sotelo governed from February 1981 to December 1982, during Spain's rocky transition from the fascist dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco to liberal democracy.
During a vote to approve his premiership in 1981 a group of right-wing Civil Guards broke into Parliament, fired shots into the ceiling and held lawmakers captive.
Calvo Sotelo's steady hand in helping steer Spain's nascent democracy through the attempted coup earned his country's gratitude. His coffin was borne into Parliament by soldiers. The public were filing past Sunday.
He died of heart failure Saturday at the age of 82.
Submit this story to:
Digg
Del.icio.us
Technorati
