Seville bids farewell to Manuel Olivencia, law professor and Commissioner General of Expo `92

Manuel Olivencia was 88 years old and was recovering from a recent fall, however yesterday, 1 January, he passed away due to respiratory complications. His family and a number of prominent figures from politics and law, including the Minister of Home Affairs, gathered at the funeral, officiated by the archbishop of Seville, Carlos Amigo Vallejo. President Rajoy and the President of Andalusia, Susana Díaz, have both expressed their condolences.

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He was born in Ronda, Malaga, in 1929, the year of the Ibero-American Exposition of Seville, and has passed away closely after the 25th anniversary of Expo `92. In the institutional commemoration held on 20 April, he was recognised as Commissioner General of the universal gathering.

Father of a generation of lawyers and professor of Commercial Law, at the tender age of 30 he founded one of the first law firms in Spain to specialise in this field. Olivencia was Dean of the Faculty of Law and Economics and a law professor, and among his many students was the former president Felipe González, who years later would task him with the commissioning of Expo `92. His life has been filled with acknowledgements, the most recent being awarded in Seville just a few weeks ago on Spanish Constitution Day, when he received the `Plaza de España¿ award.