Due to the Civil War, the family went into exile in Estoril, Portugal. Gil-Robles, in 1953, returned to Spain to study Law at the University of Deusto, from which he graduated with an Extraordinary Prize.[3][2] In 1959 he became a lawyer in the Francoist Courts, a position he held during the Spanish transition to democracy and the democratic Congress of the Deputies.[2] was also editor of the "Boletín de Legislación extranjera" (Foreign Legislation Bulletin) and between 1959 and 1964 he was a professor of Political Law at the Complutense University of Madrid.[2] Between 1959 and 1997 and from 1999 onwards he practiced law and since 1974 he has published several legal works related to the restoration of democracy and to parliamentary and public law.[2] In 2004 Gil-Robles obtained the "Jean Monnet" Chair at the Complutense University of Madrid.[2]
In 1994, after being re-elected MEP in the 1994 election, was appointed Vice-President of the European Parliament, a position he held until 1997.[2] In January of that year he was elected President of the European Parliament after obtaining a large majority of 338 votes,[4] office he held until 1999.[2] This position allowed him to play a key role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997, treaty that expanded the powers of the European Parliament.[4] He also oversaw the beginning of negotiations of the accession of new state members to the European Union, and the approval of the Agenda 2000.[3][4] He also had to manage the institutional crisis after the resignation of the Santer Commission.[5]