Former Franco minister dies

MANUEL Fraga Iribarne, a blunt-talking politician who founded Spain’s ruling conservative party and ignited divisive reactions as the last surviving minister from General Francisco Franco’s right-wing regime, has died. He was 89.

Spanish news agency Europa Press said Fraga died late on Sunday of heart failure at his Madrid home, citing a family member.

In a career spanning 60 years, Fraga served as Franco’s information and tourism minister and as Spain’s interior minister after the dictator died in 1975.