Juan Carlos I

Juan Carlos I (born 5 January 1938 in Rome, during his family's exile) reigned as King of Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014. He was the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king before the Second Spanish Republic, and Francisco Franco named him as his successor, declaring him Prince of Spain in 1969. After Franco died in November 1975 and Juan Carlos became king, he did not continue the dictatorship but oversaw the dismantling of the Francoist system and Spain's transition to democracy. That path led to the 1977 general election, the first free election since 1936, and the Spanish Constitution of 1978, which re-established a constitutional monarchy. In 1981 he played a major part in preventing a coup that tried to restore Francoist government in the king's name.