MADRID, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Former Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba died on Friday at the age of 67 after suffering a stroke.
Rubalcaba's death was confirmed by the Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro de Majadahonda, where he had been treated since suffering the stroke on Wednesday evening.
Rubalcaba was First Deputy Prime Minister between 2010 and 2011 and had been the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs between 2006 and April 2011, before stepping down to lead the Socialist Party (PSOE) campaign into the November 2011 general election, in which he was defeated by Mariano Rajoy's People's Party.
Rubalcaba was elected as the General Secretary of the Socialist Party in early 2012 and was leader of the opposition until his resignation following poor results in the 2014 elections for the European Parliament.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who succeeded Rubalcaba as PSOE leader, tweeted that his predecessor had been "a statesman and a committed socialist," with his "entire life dedicated to the service of this country."
Government spokesperson Isabel Celaa commented that Rubalcaba had "always thought of the good of the state" and was "one of those who best interpreted Spanish socialism."
