List of Complutense University of Madrid alumni

Pre–20th century

• Don John of Austria – Victor of the Battle of Lepanto, Spanish Governor of the Netherlands, Grandee of Spain, the last Knight of Europe.
• Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza.
• Cardinal Mazarin – 2nd Prime Minister of France (1642–1661), successor of Cardinal Richelieu.
• Gaspar de Borja y Velasco – Served as Primate of Spain, Archbishop of Seville, Archbishop of Toledo and viceroy of Naples.
• Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos – Prime Minister of Spain, theorist behind the Constitution of 1812
• Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso – President of the First Spanish Republic
• Emilio Castelar y Ripoll – Journalist, Essayist, Minister during the First Spanish Republic

II Spanish Republic

• Manuel Azaña – Head of State & President of Spain at various points throughout the Second Spanish Republic
• Juan Negrín López – Last President of the Second Spanish Republic
• Gregorio Marañón – Spanish physician, scientist, historian, writer, philosopher and political reformer
• Julián Besteiro Fernández – Socialist Politician, Deputy during the Second Spanish Republic
• Clara Campoamor – Feminist Politician, Deputy during the Second Spanish Republic
• Victoria Kent – Essayist, Feminist, Deputy during the Second Spanish Republic
• Claudio Sánchez–Albornoz y Menduiña – Historian, Deputy during the Second Spanish Republic
• Fernando de los Ríos Urruti – Anarquist Politician during the Second Spanish Republic

Transition and Contemporary Administrations

• Adolfo Suárez – first democratically elected Prime Minister after the Franco regime
• Américo Castro – Politician, Spanish cultural historian, philologist, and literary critic
• José María Aznar – Former President of the Spanish Government (1996–2004)
• Javier Solana – European Union foreign policy chief and former NATO Secretary General
• Esperanza Aguirre – Former regional President of Madrid
• Enrique Barón Crespo – President of the European Parliament
• Manuel Fraga Iribarne – Former interior minister/father of the Spanish Constitution of 1978/founder and president of the Spanish conservative People's Party/former president of the Xunta de Galicia/member of the Spanish Senate
• María Teresa Fernández de la Vega – Former vice president of the Spanish Government (2004–)
• Marcelino Oreja Aguirre – Secretary General of the Council of Europe/Member of the European Parliament /European Commissioner for Transport/European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy
• Manuel Prado y Colón de Carvajal – Spanish diplomat/Politician/Royal Senator/Administrator of the Royal Household

• Rodrigo Rato – Politician/former Spanish Minister of Economy and Finance/9th Chairman of the International Monetary Fund
• Josep Borrell – former president of the European Parliament and former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
• Manuel Marín – former member of the European Commission and President during the interim Santer Commission/President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain
• José Bono – former president of Castile–La Mancha, former Defense Minister, former president of the Spanish Congress of Deputies
• Ana Palacio – former Spanish minister of foreign affairs
• Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba – Chemist/ former minister of the Ministry of Education (Spain), former Defense Minister, former minister of the Spanish Interior Minister
• Elena Salgado – former Spanish Minister of Economy and Finance
• German Vargas Lleras – former Ministry of the Interior and Justice (Colombia)
• José María Barreda – former president of Castile–La Mancha
• José Manuel González Paramo – former member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank
• Isabel Díaz Ayuso – Politician and president of the Community of Madrid
• Juan Pizarro Navarrete – former deputy and former member of the Parliament of Andalusia
• Sara Aagesen – current Secretary of State for Energy
• Teresa Ribera – current First Executive Vice-President of the European Commission ^[1]

Foreign Government Figures

• Luis J. Lauredo – former United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States and executive director of the First Summit of the Americas
• Mario Crisostomo Belisario – former Philippine Ambassador to Romania, Hungary, Consul, and Assistant Secretary of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs
• Manuel Sarmiento Enverga- former Congressman of the First District of Quezon Province, lawyer, academic, and founder of Enverga University, finished Doctor of Civil Law.

Royalty

• Infanta Cristina of Spain – Spanish princess, the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain.
• Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano – Queen consort of Spain
• Miriam, Princess of Turnovo – Spanish jewellery designer and member of the Bulgarian royal family

• Antonio de Nebrija – writer, grammarian
• Antonio Machado – poet, member of the Generación del '98 literary movement
• Basilio Rodríguez Cañada – writer, president of the PEN Club of Spain
• Camilo José Cela – writer, poet, Nobel Prize in Literature (1989), Miguel de Cervantes Prize Recipient, member of the Generación del '50 literary movement
• Carmen Camacho (writer) - writer, columnist
• Concepción Arenal – journalist, essayist, political figure
• Dámaso Alonso y Fernández de las Redondas – writer, poet, philologist, member of the Generación del '27 literary movement, Miguel de Cervantes Prize Recipient
• Enrique Tierno Galván – writer, politician
• Elísabet Benavent – romance writer
• Federico García Lorca – poet, playwright
• Paloma García Ovejero – journalist, news broadcaster, first woman vice director of the Holy See Press Office
• Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio – Spanish playwright
• Fermín Caballero – early journalist / publisher, Congressional Deputy

• Francisco Ayala – writer, Nobel Prize for Literature Candidate, Principe de Asturias Award for Literature, Miguel de Cervantes Prize Recipient
• Francisco de Quevedo – classical writer
• Gerardo Diego – writer, poet, Member of the Spanish Royal Academy, Member of the Generación del '27 literary movement, Miguel de Cervantes Prize Recipient
• Giannina Braschi – author of Empire of Dreams, Yo–Yo Boing!, and United States of Banana
• Jacinto Benavente – playwright, Nobel Prize in Literature (1922)
• Javier Marías – writer, translator, member of the Spanish Royal Academy
• José Echegaray y Eizaguirre – writer, Nobel Prize in Literature (1904)
• José Rodríguez Carracido – writer, pharmacist, chemist
• Mar Abad – Spanish journalist, writer, businesswoman
• María Zambrano – writer, philosopher
• Mario Vargas Llosa – Peruvian writer (naturalized Spaniard), Principe de Asturias Award, Miguel de Cervantes Prize, Nobel Prize in Literature (2010)
• Mercedes Gallego – journalist and author^[2]
• Miguel de Unamuno – writer, member of the Generación del '98 literary movement, Neo–Humanist Philosopher
• Mónica Martínez, journalist, television presenter^[3]
• Pío Baroja – writer, member of the Generación del '98 literary movement
• Ramiro Ledesma Ramos – writer, politician
• Torcuato Luca de Tena y Álvarez–Ossorio – journalist, founder of ABC
• Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena – journalist, playwright, diplomat
• Vicente Aleixandre – writer, poet, Nobel Prize in Literature (1970)
• Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín – writer
• José Ortega Spottorno – journalist, founder of Alianza Editorial, co–founder of El País
• Jesús de Polanco – journalist, co–founder of El País, founder of Editorial Santillana, Grupo PRISA and Cadena SER
• Juan Luis Cebrián – journalist, co–founder and former editor–in–chief of El País, member of the Real Academia Española, head of Grupo PRISA
• Ribhi Kamal, Palestinian writer, teacher, and radio broadcaster.
• Queen Letizia of Spain, Queen consort of Spain, former journalist at RTVE and EFE
• Carmen Porter – mystery journalist

• Antonio de Nebrija – Renaissance Humanist, Philologist
• Domingo de Soto – Philosopher, Theologian, Theorist at the Council of Trent
• Fernando Savater – Philosopher
• José Gaos y González Pola – Neo–Humanist Philosopher
• Jose Luis López Aranguren – Philosopher
• José Ortega y Gasset – Neo–Humanist Philosopher, Founder of Ratio–Vitalism, Writer, Journalist, Deputy during the Second Spanish Republic
• Julián Marías – Philosopher
• Francisco Elías de Tejada y Spínola – Philosopher, Law Theorist, Political Theorist
• María Isidra de Guzmán y de la Cerda – First woman to earn a doctorate in Spain, Philosopher
• Raimon Panikkar – Philosopher, Theologian, Scholar of Comparative Philosophy of Religion
• Tomás de Villanueva – Roman Catholic Saint, Archbishop of Valencia, Theologian
• Xavier Zubiri Apalategui – Philosopher, Philologist
• María Zambrano – Philosopher

• 

  Carmen Agulló Díaz – History of Education professor
• Ambrosio de Morales – historian
• Francisco Giner de los Ríos – Historian
• Juan de Mariana – historian, Political Theorist
• María Luz Navarro Mayor - curator
• Beatriz Rico – neurologist
• José Amador de los Ríos – historian
• Manuel Colmeiro Penido – economist, historian, jurist
• Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo – scholar, historian
• Ramón Menéndez Pidal – historian
• Salvador Salort–Pons – art historian
• Eugenia Tenenbaum – art historian

• Carlos Jiménez Díaz – medical pioneer
• Florestán Aguilar – medical pioneer
• Jimena Fernández de la Vega – physician and researcher
• Galo Leoz – ophthalmologist and supercentenarian
• Gregorio Marañón – Physician/Scientist/Historian/Writer/Philosopher
• José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda – Philippine national hero, polyglot, writer, biologist, ophthalmologist, and author.
• Santiago Ramón y Cajal – Nobel Prize in Medicine (1906), founder of modern Neuroscience
• Javier de Felipe – neuroscientist^[4]
• Severo Ochoa – Nobel Prize in Medicine (1959)
• Elisa Soriano Fisher – physician, teacher, feminist
• Joaquín Gómez Mira – radiation oncologist and medical researcher
• Juan José López–Ibor – psychiatrist
• Simón Pardiñas – dentist, and youtuber
• María Sáinz Martín - researcher specializing in preventive medicine

• Albert Einstein – Doctor of Science degree Honoris Causa (first one he accepted from a European University)
• Antonia Ferrín Moreiras mathematician, professor, and the first Galician woman astronomer^[5]
• Ángel Martín Municio – chemist/pharmacist/President of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
• Antonio Luna – Philippine General, Commanding General of the Philippine Revolutionary Army (Philippine–American War), Doctorate in Pharmacy (1890)
• Blas Cabrera y Felipe – physicist/President of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, member of the Solvay Conference
• Bruno Brandão Fischer – Brazilian professor
• Carlos Sánchez del Río – physicist/President of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
• Eduardo Torroja Caballé – mathematician, disciple of Karl Georg Christian von Staudt, member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
• Enrique Moles Ormella – physicist
• Federico Mayor Zaragoza – pharmacist/Director–General of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999
• Juan Manuel Rodríguez Parrondo – physicist
• Javier Fernández Aguado – Economics PhD, author and management expert^[6]
• Eva Barreno, Spanish botanist and lichenologist
• José Cuatrecasas – botanist
• José Rodríguez Carracido – chemist/pharmacist/Dean at the Faculty of Pharmacy/Rector of the Complutense University of Madrid /President of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
• Juan Luis Arsuaga – biologist/paleontologist
• Julio Rey Pastor – mathematician
• Margarita Salas – scientist/President of the Instituto de España
• Miguel Catalán Sañudo – scientist
• Germán Sierra – theoretical physicist
• Myriam Gorospe – scientist
• Samer Hassan – computer scientist
• Sixto Ríos – mathematician/statistician
• Jesús Huerta de Soto – economist, law scholar
• Juan Ignacio Cirac Sasturain – quantum physicist, Wolf Prize in Physics 2013
• Vicente Lopez Ibor Mayor – solar energy
• Jimena Quirós – Oceanographer, scientist of the Spanish Institute for Oceanography (IEO).
• María Teresa Miras Portugal – Spanish scientist, pharmacist, biochemist, molecular biologist and Emeritus professor.
• Victoria Escandell-Vidal - theoretical linguist