Francisco Antonio Blanco Ángel is the Secretary General of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of Spain.
This role involves the proposal, development and monitoring of the department's general policy in relation to industry and small and medium-sized businesses, as well as the preparation and execution of industrial and SME policies (both national and EU policies). It also involves the proposal and execution of SME support and promotion policies, along with cooperation and coordination with the Autonomous Communities in industry matters.
Prior to this role, he was an Associate Professor at the University of Oviedo from 1993 to 1997, the year in which he obtained a position as Full Professor of Applied Economics at that same university, to which he remains attached. He was also the General Economic and Financial Director of the Gijón City Council (2007-2011), responsible for the areas of budgets, taxation, accounting and assets. Additionally, he was a Councillor in the Gijón City Council from 2011 to 2015, a position that he combined with his tasks as a teacher. In 2015, he was appointed Minister of Employment, Industry and Tourism of the Government of the Principality of Asturias. In 2019 he was elected senator in the thirteenth and fourteenth legislature, a position in which he remained until his appointment as Secretary General of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises. As a senator, he was spokesperson for the Socialist Parliamentary Group in the Senate in the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Commission. In addition, he has held different positions in various organizations, such as the President of the Institute for Economic Development of the Principality of Asturias, the Public Society for Tourism and Cultural Management and Promotion and the Foreign Promotion Society. He has also held the position of Vice President of the Regional Promotion Society and has been a member of the boards of directors of PYMAR (Small and Medium Shipyards in Reconversion) and the Port of Gijón.