José María Aguirre Gonzalo (12 August 1897 – 7 April 1988) was a Basque civil engineer, businessman and banker.

He began work with the Otamendi brothers on the Madrid Metro, which by 1919 had opened almost 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) between the Sol and Cuatro Caminos stations.

[1] In 1934 Manuel Sánchez Arcas (1897–1970) and Eduardo Torroja (1899–1961) founded the Instituto Técnico de la Construcción y Edificación (ITCE, Technical Institute of Construction and Building).

[3] Other founding members were Aguirre Gonzalo, the architect Modesto López Otero (1885–1962) and the engineer Alfonso Peña Boeuf (1888–1966).

The ITCE was a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and applying technical innovations in engineering civil structures.

Aguirre played a central role in the economic development of the country, and founded or promoted major companies in a range of business sectors.

[10] He became chairman of the Banco Guipuzcoano in 1956, and held this position until his death in April 1988, when he was replaced by his son, also named José María Aguirre González, who had been a director of the bank for five years.