The Board of Directors, the officers, and staff of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute deeply mourn the recent passing of its Chairman Emeritus, Dr. Fernando Aleu, 93, of Boulder, Colorado, and Barcelona, Spain, and extend sincere condolences to his family.
Dr. Aleu, a noted neuropathologist practicing in the United States, was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain; he earned his medical degree from the University of Barcelona’s School of Medicine in 1954 and completed his internship and research training in Iowa and New York. He joined the Board of Directors of the Spanish Institute in 1975 and served successively as President and Chairman of the Board from 1990 to 2004. Dr. Aleu was instrumental in attracting the patronage of H.M. Queen Sofía of Spain, and initiated the change in the name of the Spanish Institute to the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in her honor.
At the request of the current President, David Askren, Dr. Aleu assumed the chairmanship once again in 2018, and collaborated with the President and the Executive Director, Patrice Degnan, in giving new vigor to the Institute’s programs promoting Spanish culture in all of its forms. Having succeeded in this mission, Dr. Aleu returned to Emeritus status, and took to writing El Intercambio/ The Barcelona Incident, a novel based on true events occurring in World War II.
In addition to his interests in medical research, Dr. Aleu was at the foundation of Puig of Barcelona in the US, and led their interests in the country from 1968 to 1998, including the fashion and beauty houses of Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera, Antonio Puig, and Nina Ricci; he also served on the board of directors of Banca Catalana, and as President of the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout his several careers, Dr. Aleu received many awards and honors from Spain and France, as well as from medical, professional, and cultural institutions; he was awarded the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute’s Gold Medal in 2003 at the hands of Queen Sofía of Spain.
A remarkable intellect and personality, Dr. Aleu will be deeply missed by his friends and colleagues in the U.S. and Europe. Those who wish to remember him may contribute to the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute’s cultural activities, see https://queensofiaspanishinstitute.org/support-the-institute/.
David L. Askren
President & CEO
Queen Sofía Spanish Institute
Contact
About the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute:
The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1954 to stimulate Americans’ interest in the art, culture, customs, language, literature and history of the Spanish-speaking world. We strive to promote, among the Spanish-speaking peoples of the world, knowledge and understanding of ideals, culture and customs of the people of the United States, to the end that ties of friendship may be formed, mutual understanding promoted, and bonds of peace strengthened.
