by Paula Foces (European Political and Governance Studies - Manuel Marín Promotion)
On October 9th, the 331 students of the College of Europe Bruges campus, representing 49 different nationalities, met in the Concertgebouw for the opening ceremony of the 2018-19 academic year.
Behind the stage we could see the poster for our promotion. An imposing figure in black and white with the countenance of an honest and trustworthy man; piercing eyes that seemed capable of reading your mind and examining your most secret thoughts. He seemed proud to see us all there as students of the College while warning us, with a shy half-smile, that a considerable further effort lies ahead.
He is Mr Manuel Marín González, the first College alumnus (Promotion Giuseppe Mazzini, 1973-1974) to be made Promotion Patron. ‘Manolo’, as he was kindly called by his family, friends and acquaintances, was a Spanish politician, highly committed to European affairs, who sadly passed away last year after suffering from an illness.
Under his watchful eye, we could find between the assistants the three most important women in his life: his widow Carmen Ortiz and his two daughters, Paloma and Alejandra. “As you can imagine, we are very proud of Manolo and we are greatly honoured of this public recognition,” Mrs Ortiz said. “Bruges and Brussels were his life. We spent a great part of our life here in Belgium.”
An outstanding student, his life was intimately bound up with the College: he was an academic assistant, and later a professor and President of the Administrative Council. Marín was said to be serious, but this seems to have been a role rather than his real personality. “At home, he was extremely fun. Like a good Manchego [1], he had the typical Castilian wit,” Mrs Ortiz said. For non-Spaniards, this means he was calm and quiet but then, when you least expected it, he graciously dealt the final blow, knocking the counterpart down.
A typical figure from his home town is Don Quixote, the outstanding character from Spanish literature, characterised by his madness to fight windmills. “Manolo struggled, too”, his wife remembered. For example, he was key in the negotiations on the accession of Spain to the European Communities in 1986. And although the Erasmus program is probably his most well-known achievement (a great majority of our promotion can be considered to be the children of this magnificent European project), he was highly committed to other areas of interest, such as the battle against cancer, Latin America, or the environment. Moreover, he was the promoter of the Aid Office to the European Union (ECHO).
For his youngest daughter, Alejandra, “he was the best father we could ask for. Even though he was strict, highly meticulous and demanding” – especially regarding the academic records, Carmen pointed out – “he was sweet and tender, wishing all the best for us”. Alejandra noted one of the most important lessons he gave her and her sister was teaching them how to become strong and independent women. As for Paloma, his eldest daughter, Marín gave her the spirit of the College: she is an alumnus of the Albert Einstein Promotion 2010-11 at the Natolin campus.
All in all, Manolo was not only a great father to his daughters but he will also go down in history as the father of an entire generation: the Erasmus generation.
[1] Demonym of people coming from Castilla la Mancha, a Spanish region.
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