La Nación (Spanish: The Nation) is an Argentine daily newspaper. The country's leading conservative paper, the centrist Clarín is its main competitor.^[1]

Overview[link]

The paper was founded as La Nación Argentina on January 4, 1870, by former Argentine President Bartolomé Mitre and associates; until 1914, the managing editor was José Luis Murature, Foreign Minister of Argentina from 1914-1916. The daily was renamed La Nación on August 28, 1945.

Bouchard Plaza, the current writing headquarters.

Enjoying Latin America's largest readership until the 1930s, its daily circulation averaged around 350,000, and exceeded only by Crítica, a Buenos Aires tabloid.^[2] The 1945 launch of Clarín created a new rival, and following the 1962 closure of Crítica, and the 1975 suspension of Crónica, La Nación secured its position as the chief market rival of Clarín.^[1]

La Nación's daily circulation averaged 160,000 in 2008, and still represented nearly 20% of the daily newspaper circulation in Buenos Aires; the paper is also distributed nationwide and around the world.^[3]

Some of the most famous writers in the Spanish-speaking world: José Martí, Miguel de Unamuno, Eduardo Mallea, José Ortega y Gasset, Rubén Darío, Alfonso Reyes, Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa and Manuel Mujica Láinez have all appeared regularly in its columns.

Originally published in Bartolomé Mitre's home (today, the Museo Mitre), its offices were moved a number of times until, in 1929, a Plateresque headquarters on Florida Street was inaugurated.^[4] The publishing group today is headquartered in the Bouchard Plaza Tower, a 26-story Post-modern office building developed between 2000 and 2004 over the news daily's existing, six-story building.^[5]

The director of La Nación, Bartolomé Mitre (the founder's great-great-grandson), shares control of ADEPA, the Argentine newspaper industry trade group, and of Papel Prensa, the nation's leading newsprint manufacturer, with Grupo Clarín, and as such shares in the controversies between Clarín and Kirchnerism that developed during 2008 and 2009.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• (Spanish) Electronic version: lanacion.com.ar

Coordinates: 34°36′03″S 58°22′08″W / 34.60083°S 58.36889°W / -34.60083; -58.36889

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The Most Excellent Mariano Rajoy
Prime Minister of Spain
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 December 2011
Monarch	Juan Carlos I
Deputy	Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría
Preceded by	José Luis Zapatero
Personal details
Born	Mariano Rajoy Brey (1955-03-27) 27 March 1955 (age 57) Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Political party	People's Party (1989–present)
Spouse(s)	Elvira Fernández Balboa (1996–present) 2 children
Residence	Palacio de la Moncloa
Alma mater	University of Santiago de Compostela
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature
Website	Party website

Mariano Rajoy Brey (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈɾjano raˈxoi]; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish People's Party politician and the current Prime Minister of Spain, having served since 21 December 2011.

Under Prime Minister José María Aznar, Rajoy was Minister of Public Administration from 1996 to 1999 and Minister of Education from 1999 to 2000; he then served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2000 to 2003. Rajoy led the People's Party into the March 2004 general election, but that election was won by the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in the aftermath of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. Subsequently Rajoy was Leader of the Opposition from 2004 to 2011.

Early life and education[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Born 27 March 1955 in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. Rajoy is the grandson of Enrique Rajoy Leloup, one of the drafters of the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia in 1932, who was removed from university teaching by the dictatorship to the early 1950s. He is the son of Mariano Rajoy Sobredo jurist, president of the Provincial Court Pontevedra, the city where he grew up.

Later on his father, a judge, was transferred to Leon and the whole family moved there. Rajoy went to a school that was later also attended by Jose Luis Zapatero.

He was duly enrolled, together with his brothers Luis and Enrique, in a Jesuit school of that city, and spent ten years there before moving to the Jesuit school in Vigo. After finishing secondary school he started university, enrolling in the Law Faculty in Santiago de Compostela.

Rajoy graduated from the University of Santiago de Compostela and passed the competitive examination required in Spain to enter into the civil service, becoming the youngest ever property registrar aged 23.

He was assigned to Padrón (La Coruña), in Villafranca del Bierzo (León) and Santa Pola (Alicante) a position he still holds. At the same age, Rajoy was injured in the face following a traffic accident. Since then, he has always worn a beard to hide the scars of these injuries.

Mariano married on 28 December 1996 in La Toja Island (Pontevedra) to Elvira Fernández Balboa, known as Viri. The couple have two children.

While on the campaign trail in 2011, Mr. Rajoy published an autobiography, In Confidence, in which he recalled his studious and quiet youth, following a father who was climbing the ranks of Francisco Franco’s judiciary. He talks of a happy childhood, son of a judge, and how he used Vim and Ajax to clean the barracks during his military service in Valencia.

He stated that he married his wife Viri "for the rest of his life" and described how he was affected by the death of his mother when she was 61, as well as the large influence his father had on his life. Rajoy told his readers that he entered politics not against his own will, but against that of his father. He admitted he has thought about abandoning politics during the hard times, but that he stayed "because of personal responsibility and to keep the party united". He says he will donate the book sales to charity and the needy.

Legislative career[link]

Early political career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2011)

Rajoy started his political career in 1981, as a member of the right-wing party People's Alliance (AP), becoming a deputy in the inaugural legislature of the Galician Parliament. In 1982, he was appointed by Galician regional President, Antonio Rosón Pérez, as Minister of Institutional Relations of the Xunta de Galicia. On 11 June 1986, Rajoy was elected President of the Provincial Council of Pontevedra, a position he held until July 1991.

In the General Elections of 22 June 1986, he obtained a seat in the Congress of Deputies as the head of the AP's list for Pontevedra, although he resigned in November to take up the post of vice-president of the Xunta of Galicia following the resignation of Xosé Luis Barreiro and the rest of the ministers. He occupied this latter position until the end of September 1987. In May 1988 he was elected General Secretary of the PA in Galicia during an extraordinary congress of the regional party.

When in 1989 the AP merged with other parties to form the People's Party (PP), with Manuel Fraga as its president, Rajoy was named a member of its National Executive Committee and delegate for Pontevedra. He was reelected to parliament in 1993. Before the PP's triumph in the 1996 elections, he was a PP-designated member of the "Commission of Parliamentary Control of the RTVE".

In April, former president of Castile and León and presidential candidate of the government general elections in 1989, José María Aznar, was elected president of the PP. Confirmed in the National Executive, Mariano Rajoy was appointed deputy secretary general of the party. He was re-elected in Pontevedra in the election on 6 June 1993.

Ministerial debut[link]

3 March 1996, the PP won the early parliamentary and Mariano Rajoy, who had been elected MP, was appointed Minister of Public Administrations on 6 May in the first Aznar government. His term was marked by the adoption in 1997 of the Law on organization and operation of the general administration of the State (LOFAGE), which regulates the organization and functions of central government, and the Law on the Government.

It changes its portfolio 20 January 1999 and replaces Esperanza Aguirre, strongly criticized the Ministry of Education and Culture [3]. Just after his appointment, he was reelected vice-secretary general of the PP during its thirteenth national conference [4]. The prisoners of José María Aznar [edit]

In 2000, he led the Conservative election campaign for the elections on March 12, the latter won with an absolute majority of seats against socialists. Mariano Rajoy was appointed, April 28, Senior Vice President of Government and Minister of the Presidency [5].

Less than a year later, 28 February 2001, it replaces Jaime Mayor Oreja, candidate for President of the Government of the Basque Country, as Interior Minister [6]. In this role, he impulse including the Organic Law on the right of association, approved the decree implementing the Organic Law on the rights and duties of foreigners, and present the draft law on the prevention of alcoholism.

When major cabinet reshuffle of 9 July 2002, he converted a man because strong government becomes minister of the presidency, retains his vice presidency and was appointed spokesman of the government [7], [8]. In his new role, he faced two very difficult times of Aznar's second term: the Prestige oil tanker disaster off the coast of Galicia, and the participation of Spain in the Iraq war desired by George W. Bush.

Approached, with Rodrigo Rato and Jaime Mayor Oreja, to succeed Jose Maria Aznar at the direction of the PP and as presidential candidate of the government to the 2004 legislative [9], he was chosen by him on 1 September 2003 [10] and leaves the government two days later [11]

Minister of the Interior: 1996–2004[link]

Mariano Rajoy

A long-time associate of José María Aznar, Rajoy made the move into national politics when Aznar became Prime Minister in 1996 with the support of Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Convergence and Union (CiU) and the Canarian Coalition, serving as Minister of Public administration and Minister of Education and Culture in the first Aznar administration.

He managed the successful People's Party campaign in the 2000 elections. A grateful Aznar appointed him Deputy Prime Minister of the Spanish Government. In February 2001 he was named Minister of the Interior, after Jaime Mayor Oreja decided to run as head of the People's Party list in the 2001 Basque Elections.

Leader of the People's Party[link]

On 30 August 2003 Aznar announced that he would retire from politics in the 2004 elections and proposed Rajoy as his successor. After the 14th Congress of the People's Party in October 2004 he became the new Chairman of the party, by then in the opposition, having lost the elections to the PSOE.

Leader of the Opposition: 2004–2011[link]

Three days before the 2004 general elections terrorist attacks occurred in Madrid on 11 March, which were initially blamed on ETA and later on Al-Qaeda. Aznar's government and Party leaders insisted on accusing the armed Basque separatist organisation ETA of the attacks, and on 13 March, Rajoy claimed to believe this because he was convinced of their will and capability for committing such crimes.^[1] The government was accused of attempting to blame ETA for the attacks in order to stay on track to win the elections (as they were heavily favored to do), but then news broke that it was Al-Qaida, rather than ETA.

On 14 March 2004 the PSOE, under the leadership of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, won the elections with a majority of 1,300,000 votes over the PP, and obtained 164 deputies, while the PP obtained 9,763,144 votes but 148 deputies, 35 less than they obtained in 2000.^[2] Rajoy was elected for the province of Madrid.

On 1 December 2005, Rajoy survived a helicopter accident, along with Madrid Regional Government President Esperanza Aguirre; he broke a finger in the accident.^[3]

Rajoy faced a serious situation within his party after receiving public pressure from the electorally successful Alberto Ruiz Gallardón (Madrid's Mayor) to be included in the PP lists for the March 2008 general election. Gallardón represents a more centrist sector within the party, whereas Rajoy, Angel Acebes and Eduardo Zaplana are widely accepted^[vague] as representing a more conservative wing of the party, closer to Aznar^{[citation needed]}. Rajoy's final decision was to leave Gallardón out of the list for those elections, an action which provoked concern about the alienation of potential PP voters. Some experts and newspapers even argued that it could cost Rajoy the elections^{[citation needed]}. In any case, the power struggle for succession created a tense situation for him and for the party.^[4]

On 30 January 2008, Rajoy received the support of Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy for the March 2008 general election.^[5][6] The PP was defeated in the general election, however, and Rajoy continued to lead his party in opposition.

His criticisms of the Zapatero administration were focused on what he perceived as:

• The derogation of ambitious plans of the previous executive,
• The Plan Hidrológico Nacional National Hydrological Plan,
• The LOCE Organic Law on the Quality of Education,
• The alleged "unnecessary" statutory reforms, such as submitted in the Catalan, and Andalusian referendums with very high levels of abstention. According to Rajoy, some of those reforms constitute concealed changes of the autonomous communities towards a confederation, endangering the integrity of the State.
• He has said that if Zapatero wants to apply his view of Spain, it would be better if he proposed a reform of the Spanish Constitution, a reform that would need approval in a national referendum.
• The alleged weakness facing the peace process opened as a result of the permanent ceasefire declared by the organisation ETA in 2006, broken by the Barajas bombing and the arms robbery.^[specify]
• The legalization of abortion until 14 weeks of pregnancy, a law that Mariano Rajoy sees as "criminal" and against the will of large sectors of the Spanish society

In Foreign policy

• The alleged cold relations with United States and Poland.
• The alliances with Hugo Chávez, from Venezuela, Fidel Castro, from Cuba and Evo Morales, from Bolivia.

Election Campaign[link]

This election will show exactly how Spaniards feel about the state of their economy. "Election campaign begins, crushed by the economic situation," was today's headline in El Pais newspaper. "The unemployment election campaign begins," said El Mundo. Job creation is the key issue here - almost the only topic of discussion in the campaign. Almost 5m people are out of work, and 1.5m households now have no wage-earner at all.

The Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is trying to blame this desperate state of affairs on the economic crisis. They suggest it will be a punishment vote, which will likely hand the Popular Party an all-out majority in parliament. The party's candidate for prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has already lost two general elections. Positioning himself carefully as a moderate, he is pitching this election as a vote for change whilst steering clear of radical proposals.

Mr Rajoy slammed Spain's unemployment rate as "unbearable and unacceptable" as the latest data showed 4,350 people per day losing their job in October. The Socialists, he said, "did not know how to manage Spain's economy, and now the Spanish people are paying the price for that." He promises he will shepherd Spain out of crisis - recovering the shaky confidence of international investors and so reducing the government's ominously high borrowing costs. The debt crisis in Greece has raised concerns over the solvency of other weak economies, like Spain, So the PP campaign slogan calls on voters to "Join the change!" The party manifesto stresses its commitment to cutting the country's swollen budget deficit in line with EU requirements. It proposes tax breaks for savers and small firms who hire staff; benefits for those who take on young employees; more flexible labour contracts and wage negotiations and big cuts in red tape, to encourage entrepreneurs to set up in business. At the same time, it pledges to protect public healthcare and education, saving money through efficiency and better management.

Prime Minister[link]

Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, greeting former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy in the Moncloa Palace (16 January 2012)

In November 2011, Mr. Rajoy’s center-right Popular Party won its biggest majority since the country’s return to democracy in the 1970s, securing 186 of the 350 seats in the lower house of Parliament. Voters turned to him in hopes of alleviating the pain of Europe’s debt crisis. Following the general election held in 2011, Rajoy was elected Prime Minister by the Congress of Deputies on 21 December 2011.

Prime Minister of Spain and Humala

Inauguration

December 19, Mariano Rajoy, designated presidential candidate of the government of Juan Carlos I, appeared before the Congress of Deputies, its government program. He says that to achieve the objective of a deficit of 4.4% of GDP in 2012, an effort of 16.5 billion euros will be needed [30]. He added that his only increased public spending will be the revaluation of pensions from 1 January 2012, it will not create any jobs in the public, except for security forces, he intends "to resize the area public, "the possibility for employees to enjoy a holiday will be moved to Monday to avoid the" bridges ", and it will end early departures for retirement [31].

It invested two days later by 187 votes to 149 votes against and 14 abstentions. It thus receives the support of the PP, the Forum of Asturias (FCC) and Navarrese People's Union (UPN), while the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Convergence and Union (CiU), the United Left (IU ) and Union, progress and Democracy (UPyD) deny him the confidence. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), the coalition Amaiur, to general surprise, and the Canary Coalition (CC) not [32]. He was appointed a few hours later, president of the government by King Juan Carlos I. [33] and sworn in the next day at the Zarzuela Palace, before the royal couple, Zapatero, the Presidents of the Cortes Generales, between other [34].

Government formation

It presents, December 21, his government, which has thirteen Ministers, the lowest number of Spanish democratic history although Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, Vice President of the Government, Minister of the Presidency, the government spokesman, and Ana Pastor, Minister of Equipment, occupy prominent positions,

The Ministries of Culture, Science, Territorial Policy are deleted, the Ministry of Economy and Finance is split into two, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is maintained, unlike statements by the new head of government in his speech before Congress [37].

Among the ministers, Pastor, Cristóbal Montoro, Minister of Finance, and Miguel Arias Cañete, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, were part of last Aznar government, the latter two also occupying the same positions [38].

First austerity plan

On 30 December, the Council of Ministers approves a decree of urgent measures to 8.9 billion euros in savings and € 6.2 billion in new revenues. Treatment of the public service are frozen, the workweek in public administration to 37 ½ hours, recruitment is canceled, except in the areas of health, education, security, aid for rent for young people is removed, the minimum wage is stuck, for the first time since 1966, the income tax and tax on real property are increased for 2012 and 2013, but pensions are uprated 1%, the premium of 400 euros for the unemployed at the end of law is maintained, the value added tax at the rate of 4% superréduit is extended to the purchase of new dwellings, and the tax deduction for the purchase of a dwelling is restored [39].

Awards and honors[link]

Order of Charles III (12 September 2003)

Honorary Doctorate by the Sergio Arboleda University in Bogota Colombia (21 April 2012).

Genealogy[link]

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (June 2012)

• http://fr.euronews.com/2011/11/20/mariano-rajoy-je-ne-promets-aucun-miracle/
• http://www.publico.es/espana/373519/el-cis-ja-en-10-puntos-la-ventaja-del-pp-sobre-zapatero
• http://elpais.com/diario/1999/01/19/espana/916700412_850215.html
• http://elpais.com/diario/1999/01/30/espana/917650807_850215.html
• http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/10/29/espana/1193663089.html
• http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/06/21/espana/1214081240.html
• http://www.abc.es/20120419/espana/abci-rajoy-bogota-reformas-201204190831.html
• (es) « Mariano Rajoy confirma que creará un Ministerio de Agricultura », dans El Día, 19 décembre 2011 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 22 décembre 2011)]
• http://www.lavanguardia.com/temas/mariano-rajoy/index.html
• (es) Carlos Cué, « Un Gobierno de amigos y fieles », dans El País Política, 22 décembre 2011 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 22 décembre 2011)]
• http://www.intereconomia.com/noticias/mariano%20rajoy
• ↑ (es) María Jesús Güemes, « Rajoy incumple su palabra y sube los impuestos », dans Público, 30 décembre 2011 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 31 décembre 2011)]
• http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2012/04/19/actualidad/1334865385_051210.html
• http://politica.elpais.com/tag/ley_reforma_laboral/a/

External links[link]

• Personal page (Spanish)
• Extensive biography by CIDOB (Spanish)

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Cayo Lara
General Coordinator of United Left
Incumbent
Assumed office December 2008
Preceded by	Gaspar Llamazares
Member of the Congress of Deputies
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 November 2011
Constituency	Madrid
Personal details
Born	(1952-01-29) January 29, 1952 (age 60) Argamasilla de Alba, Ciudad Real Province, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Political party	United Left
Children	2
Residence	Madrid, Argamasilla de Alba
Profession	Farmer

Cayo Lara Moya (born 1952) is a Spanish politician. He has been the leader of United Left (IU) since December 2008. He is also a member of the leadership of the Communist Party of Spain.

Early Years and Regional Leadership[link]

Born at Argamasilla de Alba in Ciudad Real Province, Lara, the son of a truck driver, has spent most of his life there. At the age of 13 he abandoned his studies to help his family's economy having several jobs, until returning from his military service where he established his own farm.^[1] By the late 1970s he was one of the main leaders of the Farmers' Unions in his province and joined the Communist Party of Spain. With the restoration of democracy in Spain he was elected a member of the executive committee of the Coordination of Farmers Organisations (COAG).

In 1987, Lara was elected Mayor of Argamasilla de Alba, remaining in that position until 1999. In 2000 he was appointed as General Coordinator of IU in Castile-La Mancha. He was a candidate for the Presidency of that community in the 2007 Regional elections, failing to win a seat in the Community's parliament. At that time he was known for his defence of the Mayor of Seseña in Toledo and Party colleague Manuel Fuentes against building enterpeur Francisco Hernando, el Pocero, for the alleged corruption charges in that municipality.^{[citation needed]}

National leadership[link]

In the wake of IU's poor results in the 2008 Spanish general election, the previous General Coordinator, Gaspar Llamazares, resigned. IU, with its alliance with the Catalan Initiative for Catalonia Greens had lost three of their five seats in those elections.^[2]

Subsequently three factions emerged prior to the 9th Federal Assembly of IU. One around the leadership and the majority of the membership of the Communist Party of Spain, one formed by the membership closer to the positions of Gaspar Llamazares and a third one formed by the leaderships of Madrid, Aragon and Catalonia (with the Communist Party of Catalonia being prominent) was called the N-II (after the road that joins these territories). Lara, a member of the first group, and considered a moderate communist by the press,^[3] was chosen in October 2008 by the Federal Committee of PCE as the party's candidate to lead the list for the leadership election in the subsequent assembly along with several other internal allies.

The 9th Assembly, held on 14 and 15 November 2008, ended with five lists contending: that of the PCE and its allies, led by Lara; that of Llamazares' followers, led by Inés Sabanés IU's spokeswoman in the Madrid Assembly; that of the so called N-II led by IU's Senator Joan Josep Nuet; one formed around discontented members of PCE's and Sabenés' groups, led by the 25 year old Haizea Miguela; and one formed by an Andalusian minority and led by the Mayor of Marinaleda and Andalusian MP, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo. The list led by Lara obtained 43% of the votes, the list led by Sabanés 27%, the list led by Nuet 19%, and the lists led by Miguela and Gordillo 6% and 5% respectively. The outcoming Federal Political Council of IU, unable to elect a candidate with an outright majority, chose Lara as the chair of a committee meant to prepare the next meeting of the council.

The Federal Political Council held on 14 December saw Lara achieve 65% support and he was thus appointed General Coordinator. Since then Lara has opted for vocal opposition to the measures taken by the Spanish Government to contrast the effects of the economic crisis.^[4]

References[link]

Nonito Donaire
Donaire in 2010
Statistics
Real name	Nonito Donaire, Jr.
Nickname(s)	The Filipino Flash
Rated at	Flyweight Super Flyweight Bantamweight Super Bantamweight
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Reach	68 in (173 cm)
Nationality	Filipino American
Born	(1982-11-16) November 16, 1982 (age 29) Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	29
Wins	28
Wins by KO	18
Losses	1
Draws	0

Nonito Donaire, Jr. (born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American^[1] professional boxer. Known as "The Filipino Flash," Donaire is a four-division world champion and the reigning WBO Super Bantamweight Champion. He is also the former WBC and WBO Bantamweight, Interim WBA Super Flyweight and IBF Flyweight Champion.

He is a known switch-hitter with the ability to fight either southpaw or orthodox.^[2][3] His surname is often mispronounced as do-nayr but it's properly pronounced as do-nigh-reh.

Donaire is currently rated by The Ring as the number four pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

Personal life[link]

Nonito Donaire was born in Talibon, Bohol, Philippines to Filipino parents, Nonito Sr. and Imelda Donaire. He is the third among four siblings: Glenn, Rosiel and Ermie.^[4] Back then, there was no electricity in Bohol.^[5] He grew up in General Santos City, South Cotabato, where he lived until age six^[5] and went to the same school as boxing icon eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.^[6] His father, a second year high school dropout, was in the Philippine Army for eight years and fought as an amateur before trying his luck alone in the US in 1990. In 1993, at the age of eleven, he had joined his father in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California and they lived in San Leandro.^[4][7] He later moved to San Mateo in the Bay Area.^[8]

In childhood, Donaire was a frail, asthmatic and wimpy kid who got bullied in school and went back home crying.^[7][9][10] He was picked on for three years, until a little after he migrated to San Leandro.^[11] At home, he felt no attention has been paid to him, as a middle child. He wanted to be recognised by his parents, especially his father.^{[* 1]} As soon as his brother started boxing, ten year old Nonito craved the respect and recognition the brother got from it,^[5] and started it.^[12] His father took him to a boxing gym at age eleven to get him off the streets.^[11] In his first amateur bout as a kid, he beat the opponent with his straight punches, all the while just thinking that "I’m going to kill him before he kills me."^[12] However, he had had no confidence until he earned four or five knockout victories in the professional bouts.^[11]

During their younger years, Donaire and his older brother Glenn would spar, with the younger brother being beaten often. As a kid, Donaire watched videos of his hero Alexis Argüello, using them to learn how to throw his powerful left hook.^[6] While in San Lorenzo High School in San Lorenzo, California the brothers won an assortment of regional and district amateur boxing championships.^[4] His cousin, Richard Donaire, is also a professional boxer.^[13]

Donaire is married to Rachel Marcial, a Filipino-American USA National Collegiate and Military Taekwando Champion.^[14][15] They were married on August 8, 2008 in a private ceremony in Carmel, California, with all their close relatives.^[16] Subsequently, they had a church wedding in the Philippines on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11).^[7]

Donaire's wife is a pivotal member of his team,^[10][17] with her father acting as his chief security.^[7] His parents-in-law, Gerry and Rebecca Marcial, are the leading members of his support group.^[7] Donaire wants to be with people who are there for him even if he has nothing and likes to please them above all. During his early career, he had hated boxing. Due to excessive pressure, he had not only never enjoyed boxing, but had even dreaded it every day.^{[5][11][12][18]} Nevertheless, he did stick with it because he did not want to disappoint his father. Currently, he always fights for such people who support him and believe in him, and finally for himself, so he loves and enjoys boxing.^[5][12]

Amateur career[link]

As a young American amateur, Donaire won three national championships: the National Silver Gloves in 1998, National Junior Olympics in 1999 and the National USA Tournament in 2000. He also won the International Junior Olympics in 1999.^[19] Donaire's amateur record was 68–8 with 5 TKOs.

Professional career[link]

Donaire turned professional with his brother in 2001. They signed up with promoter Jackie Kallen, who paid the boys a monthly salary of $1,500 each. When Donaire lost his second fight in 2001, via a dodgy decision, he tasted the intense feeling that he did not want to see the sorrow, sadness or pity in people's faces. Since then, he has continued a winning streak for over ten years.^[5] After four pro bouts, Donaire and his brother Glenn left Kallen and returned to Manila with their father. Initially mulling restarting their boxing careers in the Philippines, they decided to go back to the better facilities in San Leandro, where their father felt there were fewer distractions.^[4]

Early years as professional boxer[link]

Donaire won his first regional title in flyweight division by defeating Kaichon Sor Vorapin for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title in Guam on 9 September 2002. Donaire knocked out the future world title challenger in the second round.

Donaire won his second regional title, the NABF Super Flyweight title, by defeating Kahren Harutyunyan on Shobox by split decision on January 20, 2006. The scores were 97–92, 97–92 for Donaire and 95–94 for Harutyunan.^[20]

On October 7, 2006, Donaire outpointed veteran Oscar Andrade by the scores of 118–109, 116–112, and 116–112. His older brother, Glenn Donaire, fought and lost to Vic Darchinyan on the same night.

Flyweight division[link]

A 7–1 underdog, Donaire won the IBF Flyweight title with a one-punch, fifth round knockout of the then-undefeated Vic Darchinyan on July 7, 2007.^[21] This victory was awarded Ring Magazine's "Knockout of the Year" and "Upset of the Year" on December 23, 2007.^[22][23][24] On July 31, 2007, Donaire met Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo along with Florante Condes, who won the IBF Minimumweight title on the same weekend as Donaire. Donaire said the experience was, "An overwhelming feeling. It was indescribable. The moment I walked up the stairs and she was up there and when I looked it was a moment when I couldn’t even look at her face. It was a great honor."^[25]

Nonito Donaire with his IBF and IBO Flyweight belts in 2007.

On December 1, 2007, Donaire made the first defense of his IBF title against Luis Maldonado of Mexico by technical knockout in the 8th round. Donaire stated: "I guess my validation was today but I didn't feel my best; I felt sluggish. I didn't have my legs. I don't know what the problem was. I couldn't move well so I tried to rely on my upper body movement."^[26]

In late June 2008, Donaire severed ties with promoter Gary Shaw because the number of fights had not matched the number stated in the contract and Shaw had failed to properly disclose revenue from previous fights as stated under the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act.^[27] Days after leaving Gary Shaw Productions, he would sign with Top Rank Boxing.^[28]

Donaire, on November 2, 2008, retained his IBF Flyweight title via a 6th-round (1:31) technical knockout of Moruti Mthalane.^[29][30][31] During sparring for that fight, Donaire had an asthma attack. He could not carry through twelve rounds as his father ordered. While his father did not notice the reason and tried to force it to him, he left the gym to go to a hospital. He had a slight symptoms of bronchitis, and was diagnosed with recurrence of asthma.^{[8][* 2]} After the Mthalane fight, he became estranged from his father.^[5]

On April 19, 2009, Donaire faced flyweight Raul Martinez for his third defense of his IBF Flyweight title at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines. Donaire scored the TKO after 2:42 into the 4th round.^[33] Donaire has been trained by the Peñalosa brothers (Gerry, Dodie Boy and Jonathan) since the training camp for the match against Martinez. Because of his victory over Martinez, Donaire was included for the first time in the Ring Magazine pound for pound rankings, in the 7th spot.^[34]

Super Flyweight division[link]

The IBF ordered a mandatory rematch between Donaire and previous challenger Moruti Mthalane by August 1, 2009. However, Donaire's agent has expressed interest in moving up to the junior bantamweight/super flyweight division at 115 pounds.^[35] Initially, Donaire was set to face Hugo Fidel Cazares on August 15, but talks for the bout had fallen through 2009.^[36] Rafael Concepción of Panama then replaced Cazares as Donaire's opponent for the Interim WBA Super Flyweight title, which headlined the card titled "Pinoy Power 2."^[37] Donaire added conditioning coach Mike Bazzel to supplement Dodie Boy and Jonathan Peñalosa in their camp at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos, a Bay Area suburb near San Mateo. He dedicated his fight against Concepcion in memory of late Philippine President Corazon "Cory" Aquino where he requested Everlast, a boxing equipment company, to provide a yellow robe with the inscription “I. M. O. (in memory of) former Pres. Cory Aquino.”^[8] Because Concepcion failed to weigh within the super flyweight limit (115 lbs.), only Donaire, who made weight successfully, can win the title. Donaire won the bout via unanimous decision. Two days after the win over Concepcion, he arrived to a rousing welcome in Manila, where he was feted in a motorcade by Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Donaire's trainer was switched from his father to Roberto García Cortez in late 2009.^[38] Donaire does not want to be rude to Garcia by not training hard. So, even when he is not with Garcia, Donaire is working to the limit.^[39]

On February 13, 2010, Donaire faced Manuel "Chango" Vargas for his first defense of the Interim WBA Super Flyweight title at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. The latter was only a late replacement to Gerson Guerrero, who did not pass eye examinations and was forced to pull out. Vargas took the fight on less than 3 days short notice and had to move up 3 weight divisions. The bout headlined the card titled "Pinoy Power 3." Donaire won the fight via a 3rd-round (1:33) knockout and successfully retained his title.^[40]

After the fight Donaire expressed his interest in fighting Vic Darchinyan, for a rematch, or Fernando Montiel, both boxing champions, as he plans to move up to the bantamweight division.^[41]

According to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, Donaire would have faced the reigning WBC and WBA Super Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan on August 21, 2010 at the Home Depot in California.^[42] After weeks of uncertainty regarding the Donaire-Darchinyan rematch, Arum said the fight was done.^[43] However, the deal fell apart on May 5, 2010, so the bout was called off.^[44]

Donaire is also looking for a fight with WBO Bantamweight Champion Fernando Montiel of Mexico.^[45] However, Donaire stated that he is looking forward to a regular world title match in super flyweight division first before taking on Montiel.^[46]

Following this events, Bob Arum announced that Donaire would fight in the undercard of Juan Manuel López and Bernabe Concepcion bout on July 10, 2010 at the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Opponent for this fight was expected to be announced in the coming days.^[47] Donaire challenged Puerto Rican boxer Eric Morel, but the latter turned the offer down.^[48] As a result, Donaire planned a bantamweight move, as he did not find any available opponent in the super flyweight division; at first he refused to fight Hernan "Tyson" Marquez, who was coming from a lopsided loss against Richie Mepranum. The Donaire-Marquez bout took place in the super flyweight division. Donaire won the match by TKO in the eight round.^[3][49] The bout was supposed to be his last fight in the super flyweight division.

Bantamweight[link]

Donaire with his WBO and WBC Bantamweight belts slung over his shoulders, at his public workout at Gleason's Gym, in October 2011.

Following his win against Marquez, Donaire stated his intention to compete in the bantamweight division (118 pounds) to challenge WBO and WBC Champion Fernando Montiel.^[50][51]

On December 4, 2010, Donaire challenged former WBA Bantamweight Champion Wladimir Sidorenko for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Bantamweight title. Donaire knocked down Sidorenko thrice and became the first man to stop Sidorenko.^[52]

The win against Sidorenko gave Donaire the chance to face Mexican Fernando Montiel.

On February 19, 2011, Donaire stopped Fernando Montiel in the second round to take the WBC and WBO Bantamweight titles.^[53] Donaire took a right to the head from the Montiel, then immediately countered with a devastating left to the head that sent Montiel crumpling to the canvas. Montiel rose to continue and Donaire rushed over to land a left and a right before referee Russell Mora stopped the fight after two minutes and 25 seconds of the second round.^[54] With the victory, Donaire became the second Filipino and third Asian to become a three-division world champion, a fighter who won world titles in three different weight divisions.^[55][56]

On February 28, 2011, the Philippine Senate formally adopted two Senate Resolutions filed by Senators Pia Cayetano and Manuel Lapid congratulating and commending Donaire for being an outstanding Filipino boxer and for bringing honor and pride to the country.^[57]

On October 22, 2011, Donaire made his New York debut by beating previously undefeated two-division world champion Omar "El Huracán" Narvaez at Madison Square Garden in New York. Donaire dominated the fight against an obviously outmatched Narvaez but did not get the knockout he sought.

Super Bantamweight[link]

After the fight between WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Toshiaki Nishioka and Rafael Márquez, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum stated that he had an agreement for the winner of the Nishioka-Marquez title fight to face Nonito Donaire, who wants to move up to super bantamweight after his WBC and WBO Bantamweight title fight with Omar Andres Narvaez. However, in an interview after Nishioka won, Arum said that the planned Donaire-Nishioka fight will not happen as earlier planned for mid-January and that "probably Nishioka won't fight Donaire until May or June (2012) because he wants to take a rest." Instead, Arum raised the possibility of Donaire fighting WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Jorge Arce.^[58]

Donaire vs. Vázquez Jr.[link]

After twelve rounds, scores of 117–110 twice were read in Donaire’s favor as the third judge had a surprising 115–112 for Vázquez Jr. He won via split decision to capture the WBO Super Bantamweight title, even though Donaire connected 60 percent of his power shots, outlanded Vázquez in eleven rounds except for the sixth round and knocked him down in the ninth round.^[59] That makes him the second Asian (only other than Manny Pacquiao) to win championships in four different divisions. Donaire fights have been broadcast on HBO since 2011. He reportedly earned 725 thousand dollars from Narvaez fight and a million dollars from Vázquez fight.^{[7][* 3]}

Professional boxing record[link]

28 Wins (18 knockouts, 10 decisions), 1 Loss (by decision), 0 Draws[60]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
N/A	28–1	Jeffrey Mathebula	-	? (12)	2012-06-30	Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, United States	Defending WBO Super Bantamweight title. For IBF Super Bantamweight title.
Win	28–1	Wilfredo Vázquez, Jr.	SD	12 (12)	2012-02-04	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, United States	Won vacant WBO Super Bantamweight title.
Win	27–1	Omar Andres Narvaez	UD	12 (12)	2011-10-22	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Retained WBC & WBO Bantamweight titles.
Win	26–1	Fernando Montiel	TKO	2 (12)	2011-02-19	Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, United States	Won WBC & WBO Bantamweight titles.
Win	25–1	Wladimir Sidorenko	KO	4 (12)	2010-12-04	Honda Center, Anaheim, California, United States	Won vacant WBC Continental Americas Bantamweight title.
Win	24–1	Hernan Marquez	TKO	8 (12)	2010-07-10	José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico	Retained Interim WBA Super Flyweight title.
Win	23–1	Manuel Vargas	KO	3 (12)	2010-02-13	Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, United States	Retained Interim WBA Super Flyweight title.
Win	22–1	Rafael Concepcion	UD	12 (12)	2009-08-15	Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, United States	Won Interim WBA Super Flyweight title.
Win	21–1	Raúl Martínez	TKO	4 (12)	2009-04-19	Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines	Retained IBF & IBO Flyweight titles.
Win	20–1	Moruti Mthalane	TKO	6 (12)	2008-11-01	Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, United States	Retained IBF & IBO Flyweight titles.
Win	19–1	Luis Maldonado	TKO	8 (12)	2007-12-01	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, United States	Retained IBF & IBO Flyweight titles.
Win	18–1	Vic Darchinyan	TKO	5 (12)	2007-07-07	Harbour Yard Arena, Bridgeport, United States	Won IBF & IBO Flyweight titles.
Win	17–1	Kevin Hudgins	TKO	1 (8)	2007-05-12	Reno Events Center, Reno, United States
Win	16–1	Oscar Andrade	UD	12 (12)	2006-10-07	Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, United States	Retained NABF Super Flyweight title.
Win	15–1	Jose Luis Cardenas	TKO	2 (8)	2006-07-29	Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, United States
Win	14–1	Kahren Harutyunyan	SD	10 (10)	2006-01-20	Pechanga Resort and Casino, Temecula, United States	Won NABF Super Flyweight title.
Win	13–1	Ilido Julio	UD	8 (8)	2005-11-05	Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, United States
Win	12–1	Daniel Gonzalez	KO	1 (8)	2005-10-01	Reno Events Center, Reno, United States
Win	11–1	Larry Olvera	UD	6 (6)	2005-07-02	Reno Events Center, Reno, United States
Win	10–1	Paulino Villalobos	TKO	6 (8)	2005-05-13	Civic Arena, San Jose, United States
Win	9–1	Gilberto Bolanos	UD	8 (8)	2004-11-12	Quiet Cannon, Montebello, United States
Win	8–1	Ricardo Barreras	TKO	4 (6)	2004-06-18	Quiet Cannon, Montebello, United States
Win	7–1	Jorge Lopez	TKO	1 (6)	2003-06-27	Mare Island Sports Center, Vallejo, United States
Win	6–1	Mark Sales	TKO	5 (12)	2002-11-02	Joe Cantada Boxing Arena, Taguig City, Philippines
Win	5–1	Kaichon Sor Vorapin	KO	2 (12)	2002-09-01	University of Guam, Agana, Guam	Won vacant WBO Asia Pacific Super Flyweight title.
Win	4–1	Noel Alma	KO	1 (?)	2002-05-31	Elorde Sports Complex, Parañaque City, Philippines
Win	3–1	Jose Luis Torres	TKO	1 (4)	2001-07-03	Hyatt Regency Hotel, Monterey, United States
Win	2–1	Saul Santoyo	UD	4 (4)	2001-06-08	Hollywood Park Casino, Inglewood, United States
Loss	1–1	Rosendo Sanchez	UD	5 (5)	2001-03-10	Pacific Sports Center, Vallejo, United States
Win	1–0	Jose Lazaro	KO	1 (4)	2001-02-22	Hollywood Park Casino, Inglewood, United States