Demetrio Velasco Criado

Demetrio Velasco Criado earned a Ph.D. in Political Science (Madrid), a «Magister» degree in Philosophy (Leuven-Paris) and an undergraduate degree in Theology (Deusto). Today he holds the chair of Political Thought at the University of Deusto and is the head of the Department of Sociological Theory and of the Ph.D. Programme in the University’s Faculty of Political Science and Sociology. He is the author of volumes such as La Agonía del marxismo (1987), Ética y poder político en la obra de M. Bakunin, (1993), Pensamiento político contemporáneo (1997. 2nd ed. 2001), Derechos humanos y doctrina social de la Iglesia (2000);of a number of book chapters including: «El extranjero en la cultura europea de nuestros días» (1997); «Cristianismo y economía en la construcción de Europa» (1998); «La declaración Universal de los derechos humanos en su cincuenta aniversario» (1999); «Ética y políticas para una ciudadanía universal» (2002); and of numerous articles in different journals. Prof. Velasco delivered the Opening Lesson for Academic Year 1993-1994, University of Deusto, entitled «Responsibility of Christians in the construction of Europe».

He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Iglesia Viva and Estudios de Deusto.

For eleven years, he was the Director of the Social Secretariat of the Diocese of Bilbao, and for four years was the national vice-president of Spain’s General Commission for Justice and Peace.