He was born in Malaga in 1942. He is married and has four children.
He graduated in Sociology from the Pontifical University of Salamanca; Regional Development Specialist from Rennes, France; and Doctor of Agricultural Engineering from the University of Madrid.
Mayor of Malaga since 2000, he was re-elected by an absolute majority on three consecutive occasions leading the PP list (2003, 2007 and 2011), and he won the elections again by a simple majority in 2015, achieving the inauguration with the support of Ciudadanos. In 2019 he revalidated the majority, expanding it to 14 councilors, being invested as mayor with the votes of the PP and the two Ciudadanos councilors with whom he signed an agreement to govern in coalition. In 2023 he regains the absolute majority in the May 28 elections with 49.17% of the votes.
He is vice-president of the Bureau of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) on behalf of the Council of Municipalities and Regions of Europe (CMRE) and other associations since 2012, a position for which he was proposed again in February 2021, and vice-president until 2020 of the Euro-Mediterranean Association of Local and Regional Authorities (COPPEM).
He has chaired the Finance Commission and the Mobility and Accessibility Commission of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). He has been Vice President of the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and a member of the Congress of Local and Regional Powers of the Council of Europe. Deputy for Malaga (UCD), between 1977 and 1982, and Senator for Malaga (PP), between 2011 and 2014. He was President of the Provincial Council of Malaga and Minister of Economy, Finance and Tourism of the first Pre-autonomous Board of Andalusia.
He was decorated in 2017 by the French Republic with the Legion of Honor for his role as an exceptional collaborator with France in cultural matters. In 2019, he was awarded the Distinction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan for his outstanding contribution to fostering friendly relations between Japan and Spain. The United Kingdom has awarded the Mayor of Malaga in 2022 an Hon OBE (Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to bilateral relations and highlights his services to promote relations between the United Kingdom and the city of Malaga .
In 2020, he is appointed to the advisory board of Unitar, the United Nations Agency for Vocational Training and Research. This body ensures that the quality standards adopted in accordance with the UNITAR mandate and UN guidelines are respected and well integrated into all activities of both the agency and the CIFAL Global Network.