Juan Tomás de Salas

Juan Tomás de Salas (1938–2000) was a Spanish journalist. He was born in Valladolid on April 30, 1938, and died in Madrid on 22 August 2000. He was the founder of Cambio 16 and Diario 16. During his youth he also showed enthusiasm for journalism and interest in political activism. He began to engage in anti-Francoist activities, and in 1961 joined the Free Spanish Press Agency, associated with the People's Liberation Front.

In Colombia he started working with the newspaper El Tiempo, and that is where he seriously began to be involved in journalism. In 1966 he moved to France to work at France Press, and in 1969 to London, where he worked for the Spanish version of The Economist.

Diario 16 began bankruptcy proceedings in 1997 and Juan Tomás left the group entirely. In 1998 he launched the satirical weekly El gato encerrado, but it failed for lack of funding and De Salas gave up all entrepreneurial activities.

For the rest of his life he continued to publish opinion pieces in various publications. He adopted Colombian dual citizenship, for which he was entitled for his years of work there and as a reminder of the country that welcomed him during his exile.

Juan Tomas de Salas died of cancer on August 22, 2000, at age 62.