Thousands of people in our country have been shocked to hear the news of the death of César Alierta, lawyer, businessman and president of Telefónica between 2000 and 2016.

The former director of the multinational telecommunications company died this Wednesday, January 10, at the age of 78 in a hospital in his native Zaragoza. It should be noted that the businessman was hospitalized a few days ago in serious condition and that, despite doctors’ attempts to improve his health, Alierta has not been able to move forward.

The businessman, retired for some time, passed the baton to the current president (José María Álvarez-Pallete) in 2016, but it was not until 2022 when he disassociated himself from the foundation of the company to hand over to the aforementioned man. .

“With a heart full of sadness, we express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the beloved former president of Telefónica. We will always remember with enormous gratitude and affection his immense work at Telefónica,” the company wrote on its social networks.

It should be noted that during the time that Alierta was at the head of the multinational, it grew exponentially and crossed borders around the world, achieving large numbers and influence in countries such as Brazil or Germany.

Although he was a very reserved man with his privacy and rarely granted interviews, we can know that Alierta had contact and a good relationship with figures of the stature of the king emeritus, Angela Merkel and Fidel Castro.

It should be noted that Alierta shared almost 50 years with Ana Cristina Placer, a woman who died in 2015 (at age 70) due to lung cancer. ”We were one, I miss her but when I remember her I get in a good mood, she tells me what I have to do,” the businessman said about his deceased wife in an interview for the program Gigantes de La 2 de Spanish Television, which Mari Cruz Soriano hosted.

In the same interview he publicly acknowledged that he had considered paternity many times and that he had come to the conclusion that he regretted not having had children, since he really liked children and went out of his way to care for his nephews.

Despite the initial shock of the death of the woman who had accompanied him all his life, Alierta found love again with Isabel Sartorius and Zorraquín, with whom he had a romantic relationship that lasted three years and ended in 2021. She It was his last known partner.