Enrique Sarasola

A native of San Sebastian, Spain, at age twenty, Sarasola emigrated to Colombia as an auditor with Price Waterhouse. He married Cecilia Marulanda, from a wealthy family, and eventually went into business for himself. Highly successful, in 1970 he returned to his native Spain where he became active in politics. Working behind the scenes where political opposition was suppressed by the government of General Franco, Sarasola used his wealth to help the then illegal Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) headed by Felipe Gonzalez. After Gonzalez was elected Prime Minister of the Spanish government in 1982, Enrique Sarasola became a powerful figure during Gonzalez' fourteen years in office. However, he would come under much criticism and be involved in court battles over charges of patronage and political corruption.
Enrique Sarasola owned a number of successful racehorses, the best known of…