Let's make this birthday one to remember.

72 years old (Born on February 25, 1953)

Happy birthday, José María Aznar! May your day bring you as much enthusiasm as when you ambitiously ushered Spain into the era of the euro. It takes real guts—or at least a remarkable sense of optimism—to convince an entire nation to trade pesetas for currency they'll always mentally convert back.

And who could forget your courageous stance supporting the U.S.'s Iraq invasion? You followed conviction over opinion polls, proving once and for all that political popularity is overrated. Here's hoping your birthday meets far less opposition than some past policy decisions—because today you're definitely winning our approval rating!