Manuel Medina Ortega studied Law at the University of La Laguna and graduated in 1957. Ortega also holds a PhD in Law from the University of Madrid and a Master of Comparative Law from the University of Columbia.
Medina Ortega began his career in academics, working as a teacher at the Complutense University of Madrid. He was also a professor at the University of Redlands in California. In 1975 he was appointed dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology of the Complutense University of Madrid. Between 1975 and 1978, Medina Ortega worked as a professor of International Law at the University of La Laguna. Between 1978 and 1982, he was a professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Medina Ortega joined the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and in 1982 he became a deputy of the Congress of Deputies.
In 1986, Medina Ortega was elected member of the European Parliament and remained as an MEP until 2009. During that period he was member of the Socialist Group, Chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South America, Vice-Chair of Committee of Inquiry into the crisis of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, Vice-President of the European Parliament and the Parliament’s Bureau, member of the Political Affairs Committee, member of the Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries, member of the Political Affairs Committee, member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South America, member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights, member of the Delegation for relations with Russia, member of the Temporary committee of inquiry into BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), member of the Committee on Fisheries, member of the Delegation for relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia, member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South America and MERCOSUR, member of the Temporary committee on the Echelon interception system, member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of the Andean Community and member of the Committee on Legal Affairs.