[en] ABSTRACT: The political career of Alfonso Osorio (1923-2018) must be one of the longest in the history of twentieth-century Spain and yet also one of the least known. He held any number of offices both under Franco and in the new Democracy, the most important of them during the years of political reform and the Transition after Adolfo Suárez made him Deputy Prime Minister. Osorio described himself as "monarchist by conviction, Christian Democrat by training, and Liberal by instinct" and those three principles would shape his public life, initially during his time in the reformist ranks under the dictatorship and then as part of what came to be known as the "civilized Right". His is the life of an éminence grise, a strategist who shunned the limelight and a permanent fixture on the Spanish political scene. He worked closely and loyally with prominent politicians, among them Federico Silva, Adolfo Suárez, Manuel Fraga, and Antonio Hernández Mancha, but when disagreements arose he was quite prepared to go his own way, driven by a sense of honour and by principles he refused to compromise. The eternal Number Two, whether of his own choice or that of others, and a never-ending source of ventures that came to nothing, this statesman from Santander was an indispensable and vital part of the political scene. Alfonso Osorio's life story is that of the "perpetual" yet necessary "Loser" and as we examine it we shall not only learn more about him but also be able trace the story of the Right in Spain —of how it adapted, reorganized, and transformed itself as Francoism faded and Democracy assumed centre stage— and, by painting a composite picture of those who shared that journey with him, to shed some light behind the scenes of twentieth-century Spanish politics. This political biography of Alfonso Osorio has been conceived as a way of getting closer to the man and his times in order better to understand our recent history.

[es] RESUMEN: La trayectoria política de Alfonso Osorio (1923-2018) probablemente sea una de las más largas y desconocidas de la historia española del siglo XX. Fueron numerosos los cargos que ejerció entre el franquismo y la democracia, siendo durante los años de la reforma política posfranquista y la Transición cuando desempeñó más elevadas funciones, tras alcanzar la vicepresidencia del Gobierno de la mano de Adolfo Suárez. "Monárquico de convicción, democratacristiano de formación y liberal de talante", según él mismo se definía, fueron estos tres principios los que rigieron su vida pública, primero desde las filas reformistas en tiempos de la dictadura, posteriormente desde aquello que vino a conocerse como la "derecha civilizada". La suya es la biografía de un cerebro gris, de un estratega en la sombra, de una estadista omnipresente de la política española. Estrecho y fiel colaborador de destacadas personalidades, como Federico Silva, Adolfo Suárez, Manuel Fraga o Antonio Hernández Mancha, cuando surgieron las discrepancias tampoco dudó en abandonarles, guiado por una actitud crítica insobornable. Eterno número dos por vocación o relegación, teórico constante de proyectos muertos, este político santanderino constituyó, sin embargo, una figura indispensable y de referencia. La vida de Alfonso Osorio es la historia de un perdedor "imprescindible", cuyo estudio biográfico no solo permitirá conocer su figura sino, también, trazar un recorrido de las derechas en España —en su proceso de acomodación, reorganización y transformación entre el franquismo y la democracia—, recomponer un retrato colectivo de los copartícipes de su experiencia vital y arrojar luz entre las bambalinas de la política española del siglo XX. La biografía política de Alfonso Osorio pretende ser un acercamiento al hombre y su tiempo para un mejor conocimiento de nuestra historia reciente.