Former director of the Civil Guard Santiago López Valdivielso dies at 73

The former general director of the Civil Guard Santiago López Valdivielso died this Tuesday in Madrid, as confirmed by sources from the PP of Valladolid, a group that he presided over before developing a long political career. López Valdivielso directed the armed institute between 1996 and 2004, in the governments chaired by José María Aznar, with whom he had coincided during his time in Castilla y León.

Born in Valladolid in 1950, he was the son of Santiago López González, who was one of the promoters of the establishment of the Fasa Renault factory in Valladolid. He had a degree in Law and combined his political career with his business activity. Between 1983 and 1986 he was attorney for Valladolid in the Cortes of Castilla y León. Also in 1983 he was named president of the PP in the province, a position he held for 10 years. Between 1986 and 1996, he served as a deputy in Congress and, between 2011 and 2016, he held a seat in the Senate representing his province. In 1996 he was appointed by the then President of the Government, Aznar, general director of the Civil Guard, a position in which he remained until 2004, when he finished his mandate, the longest in that responsibility in democracy.

The president of the PP of Valladolid, Conrado Íscar, has regretted the death this Tuesday of Santiago López Valdivielso from Valladolid, who was general director of the Civil Guard from 1996 to 2024 and whom he has referred to as “an example of responsibility and commitment to service of society.” Íscar has also highlighted that López Valdivielso has carried out “many responsibilities” during his time and during his political career and has highlighted that the politician and businessman has always defended and carried Valladolid in his heart.

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and former mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente, has conveyed his condolences to the PP for the death of the former director of the Civil Guard and whom he has described as “a great guy, part of a very important family in the history of Valladolid”.