María Elena Nevado del Campo (; born 26 January 1967) is a Spanish politician of the People's Party (PP). She was a member of the city council of Cáceres from 2007 to 2015, serving as mayor from 2011. She was also a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from 2011 to 2015, a member of the

Assembly of Extremadura Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their represent ...

from 2019 to 2024, and was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

in 2024.

Early life and career

Nevado was born in Cáceres in

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

. Her younger sister Magdalena is also a politician, who was elected to the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

representing Vox in 2019. She has two daughters. Nevado graduated with a law degree from the

University of Extremadura University of Extremadura (in ) is a Spanish public university in Extremadura (Badajoz and Cáceres). It was founded in 1973 by Decree 991/1973, May 10 ( BOE May 18) of the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain. Currently the University ...

and obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in business legal advice. She was the vice dean of the Illustrious School of Lawyers in Cáceres.

Political career

Mayor, senator and regional deputy, 2007–2024

Nevado was first elected to her hometown's city council in 2007. In 2011, she ran for mayor and won an absolute majority for the PP, taking the leadership from the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(PSOE) candidate after an election in which five of the six lead candidates were women. She was elected to the

Senate of Spain The Senate () is the upper house of the , which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid. The presiding officer of the ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

for the Cáceres constituency; amid controversy over holding both offices, she took the lower salary from the senate and a far reduced salary for the basics of being mayor. In the 2015 local elections, she lost her absolute majority and was sworn in for a second term in coalition with

Citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

(Cs), on condition that she leave the senate. Nevado declined to run for a third term as mayor in 2019. She was put in 6th place on the PP list in the Cáceres constituency for the 2019 Extremaduran regional election. Her party took 20 seats in the

, remaining in opposition to the PSOE. She left her regional seat when she was elected in the

2024 European Parliament election in Spain The 2024 European Parliament election in Spain was held on Sunday, 9 June 2024, as part of the 2024 European Parliament election, EU-wide election to elect the Tenth European Parliament, 10th European Parliament. All 61 seats allocated to Spain ...

Member of the European Parliament, 2024–present

Nevado was placed 20th on the PP list for the

. The party said that Nevado would represent Extremaduran interests in the

, including the countryside, railways and the

Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station at Almaraz in Spain which uses the Tagus River, that runs into Portugal, for cooling. It consists of two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) of 1011 and 1006 MWe. Arrocampo reservoir Cooling ...

. While Spain is one constituency in the European Parliament, the PP was the most voted party in Extremadura for the first time in such elections, up over 15

percentage point A percentage point or percent point is the unit (measurement), unit for the difference (mathematics), arithmetic difference between two percentages. For example, moving up from 40 percent to 44 percent is an increase of 4 percentage points (altho ...

s. She was one of two residents of the region to be elected, the other being incumbent PSOE member

Nacho Sánchez Amor José Ignacio "Nacho" Sánchez Amor (; born 1960) is a Spanish politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019. Early life and education Born on 15 May 1960 in Cáceres, he was raised in Jaraíz de la Vera. He moved t ...

. In parliament, Nevado has since been serving on the

Committee on Regional Development A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

and the Subcommittee on Public Health. In addition to her committee assignments, she is part of the parliament’s delegation for relations with the countries of Central America.Elena Nevado

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevado, Elena 1967 births Living people People from Cáceres, Spain University of Extremadura alumni 20th-century Spanish lawyers 21st-century Spanish lawyers Spanish women lawyers People's Party (Spain) politicians People's Party (Spain) MEPs 21st-century women MEPs for Spain Mayors of places in Extremadura Women mayors of places in Spain Members of the 10th Senate of Spain Members of the 10th Assembly of Extremadura Women members of the Senate of Spain MEPs for Spain 2024–2029