| Office1: | Minister of Social Affairs |
| Primeminister1: | Felipe González |
| Successor1: | Cristina Alberdi |
| Term Start1: | 1988 |
| Term End1: | 1993 |
| Birth Date: | 24 January 1950 |
| Birth Place: | Madrid, Spain |
| Party: | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party |
| Birth Name: | Matilde Fernández Sanz |
| Alma Mater: | Complutense University of Madrid |
Matilde Fernández (born 24 January 1950) is a Spanish social feminist and politician who served as minister of social affairs of Spain from 1988 to 1993.
Fernández was born on 24 January 1950 in Madrid.[1] [2] She graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid, receiving a degree in psychology.[3]
Following her graduation Fernández worked as an industrial psychologist in different companies.[3] Later she became a member and the leader of the labor union movement.[4] [5] She began to serve as the general secretary of the Federation of Chemical Industries of the Unión General de Trabajadores in 1977.[3] Between 1982 and 1988 she was the general secretary of the Chemical and Energy Industries.[3] She joined the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) being part of the reformist group within it.[6] In 1984, she became a member of the PSOE's federal executive committee and was appointed head of the secretariat for women’s participation.[5]
Fernández was appointed minister of social affairs to the cabinet led by Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales in 1988.[7] [8] Fernández became the first minister of social affairs since the ministry was established by her appointment.[9] [10] She was backed by the PSOE group led by Alfonso Guerra.[11] She was replaced by Cristina Alberdi in the post in 1993.[4] In the Spanish Congress, she represented Cantabria from 1989 to 2000. From 1999 to 2003 Fernández was a councilor for the Madrid City Council.[3]
In 2000, Fernández ran for the PSOE presidency, but lost election to José Luis Zapatero.[12] [13] Her candidacy was backed by the faction called guerristas.[14] She was a regional deputy at the Assembly of Madrid from 2003 to May 2015.[3]
Fernández became a board member of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Spain in 2007.[3] She was elected as a senator in 2008 and served in the IXth Legislature until 2011.[15] As of 2018 Fernández was serving as the president of the UNHCR in Spain.[16] Then she was made one of its honorary members.[3]