He was chairman and chief executive officer of Repsol YPF, Spain's largest oil and gas group.
His father Pedro Cortina Mauri, originally from Catalonia, was foreign minister during the Francoist dictatorship.
His maternal grandfather Alberto Alcocer y Ribacoba, originally from Biscay, was Mayor of Madrid in the 1920s and again in the 1930s.
Alfonso Cortina de Alcocer became president of the Spanish oil firm Repsol in 1996 despite his lack of experience in the petroleum industry.
He also served as Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor for Spain and Latin America, Rothschild Europe.