He was born in Málaga in 1942. He is married and has four children.

He holds a degree in Sociology from the Pontifical University of Salamanca, is a specialist in Regional Development from Rennes, France, and a Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Madrid.

Mayor of Málaga since 2000, he serves as Vice President of the Bureau of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) representing the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and other associations since 2012, a role for which he was reappointed in February 2021. Until 2020, he was also Vice President of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities (COPPEM).

He has chaired the Finance and Mobility and Accessibility Committees of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), and has been Vice President of the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and a member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. He served as Deputy for Málaga (UCD) between 1977 and 1982, and as Senator for Málaga (PP) from 2011 to 2014. He was also President of the Provincial Council of Málaga and Councillor for Economy, Finance, and Tourism of the first Pre-autonomous Government of Andalusia.

In 2017, he was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French Republic for his exceptional contributions to cultural collaboration with France. In 2019, he received the Minister of Foreign Affairs Distinction from Japan for his notable contributions to fostering friendship between Japan and Spain. The United Kingdom awarded him an honorary OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2022 for his services to bilateral relations, particularly recognizing his efforts to strengthen ties between the United Kingdom and the city of Málaga.

In 2020, he was appointed a member of the advisory board of UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. This body ensures that the quality standards adopted in line with UNITAR's mandate and UN guidelines are respected and well integrated into all the agency's activities, as well as those of the CIFAL Global Network.