In the News: King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Juan Carlos his full name is  Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; was born on 5 January 1938 was the King of Spain.

Spanish dictator Francisco Franco named Juan Carlos as the next head of state in 1969. He became King on 22 November 1975, two days after Franco's death, the first reigning monarch since 1931. Soon after enthronement, Juan Carlos introduced reforms to dismantle the Francoist regime and begin the Spanish transition to democracy. This led to the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum, which established a constitutional monarchy. Juan Carlos also played a major role in stopping the 1981 coup attempt.

According to the Spanish Constitution, the monarch is the head-of-state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces and also plays a role in promoting relations with Ibero-America, the "nations of its historical community".In this capacity, the King of Spain serves as the president of the Ibero-American States Organization, representing over 700 million people in 24 member nations worldwide. In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader in all Ibero-America.
On 2 June 2014, Juan Carlos announced that he would abdicate in favour of his son, Felipe. The instrument of abdication is expected to become effective on 18 June 2014.