President Zapatero has a Law degree from the University of Leon (Spain) where he then taught Constitutional Law before being elected Member of Parliament in 1986.

He became PSOE Secretary General in 2000 and won his first general elections in 2004.

As President of the Spanish Government, he worked on the creation and extension of civic and social rights for all in Spain, dedicating his second term to working on reducing the effects of the financial and economic crisis in Spain. He also achieved that the terrorist group ETA declare a cease of violent activity in October 2011. Internationally he worked for peace and reducing poverty, with the creation of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, a Water Fund in Latin America and the Debt for Education swaps.

President Zapatero published “El Dilema. 600 días de vértigo” (Planeta) in 2013 and “No voy a traicionar a Borges” (Huso) in 2021.

Currently President Zapatero is President of Gate Center and Foundation Onuart Advisory Councils; President of the Foro de la Contratación Socialmente Responsable; patron of the Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad and of Fundación CERMI Mujeres. He is a Member of Club de Madrid and of the International Commission against the Death Penalty.

He has received Honorary Doctorates from the Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, France (2015); the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Bolivia (2015) and la Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2017), a from the University of Leon, his alma mater, in February 2023.

As Prime Minister of Spain, President Zapatero welcomed President Nazarbayev to Madrid on 20 May 2004, less than a month after being sworn in. In 2011, during an official visit to Kazakhstan, President Zapatero was able to strengthen the political and economic relationships between Spain and Kazakhstan.

President Zapatero has travelled to Kazakhstan three times since leaving the government. In 2013 he visited Astana to attend a World Bank meeting; in September 2009 he participated in the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs “Kazakhstan Peace Talks” and in November 2019 he attended the V International Astana Club. During the pandemic, President Zapatero participated in the II Astana Economic Forum online in November 2020.