increased. President Jacques Santer fought off an attempt to dismiss the commission, but in January 1999 had to agree to the appointment of a so-called Committee of Independent Experts to examine the commission's accounts. Following the biting report of the group, which (among other things) criticised Marín for his lack of responsibility, the Santer Commission resigned en bloc on 15 March 1999. Marín's role in the downfall of the Santer Commission is still not clear. He has been strongly attacked without clear evidence for cronyism and nepotism in the European Parliament. But the Group of Experts largely cleared most members aside Cresson. After the resignation of the Santer Commission, Marín took over as interim President. Marín was charged with the interim presidency of the commission on a "care and maintenance" basis until a new Commission could be appointed. The Prodi Commission was eventually appointed in September of that year. Life after Europe Following the appointment of the Prodi Commission Marín returned to Spain. He was elected in Ciudad Real for the PSOE in the general elections of 12 March 2000 and 14 March 2004. Following the latter he was elected as Speaker of the Spanish Congress of Deputies. He was also a member of the Global Commission on International Migration. Manuel Marín was married with two children. Death Marín died in Madrid on 4 December 2017 at the age of 68 from lung cancer. External links Manuel Marín on European Commission. References |- |- |- 1949 births 2017 deaths College of Europe alumni Complutense University of Madrid alumni Members of the constituent Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 1st Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 2nd Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 8th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Nancy-Université alumni People from Ciudad Real Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Presidents of the European Commission Spanish European Commissioners Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Deaths from lung cancer in Spain European Commissioners 1985–1988 Secretaries of State of Spain Alumni of the Erasmus Programme Erasmus Programme