Iratxe García Pérez (; born 7 October 1974) is a Spanish politician of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

(PSOE). She has served as

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

since 2004, and has served as the Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats parliamentary group since 2019.

Biography

Early life

Born on 7 October 1974 in

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo h ...

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, she obtained a diplomature in Social Work at the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The u ...

in 1995. A resident of Laguna de Duero, she served as municipal councillor of Laguna de Duero and as member of the Valladolid Provincial Deputation from 1995 to 2000.

Member of the Spanish Parliament, 2000–2004

García became a member of the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

after being elected in the 2000 general election in representation of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–present

In her first parliamentary term between 2004 and 2009, García served on the

Committee on Regional Development The Committee on Regional Development (REGI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its current chair, elected on 10 July 2019, is Younous Omarjee Younous Omarjee (born 30 September 1969 in Saint-Denis, Réunion) is a French politician who ...

(REGI), the Delegation to the

Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PAUM), previously known as the ''Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly'' (''EMPA''), established in Naples on 3 December 2003 by decision of the Ministerial Conference of the Eu ...

(EMPA), and the Delegation for Relations with the Maghreb countries and the

Arab Maghreb Union The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) or simply the Maghreb Union (MU) ( ar, اتحاد المغرب العربي ', french: Union du Maghreb Arabe) is a political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity am ...

(including

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

). She also serves on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the

Arab Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

. In addition, she is a member of the

European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights is an intergroup of the European Parliament's legislators which focuses on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons both inside and outside the European Union ...

and of the European Parliament Intergroup on the

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

. In July 2014, García was elected chairwoman of the

European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) is a committee of the European Parliament. Membership Chair Vice Chairs *Eugenia Rodríguez Palop *Sylwia Spurek * Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi *Robert Biedroń Members *Regina Bastos ...

(FEMM). In September 2014, PSOE chairman Pedro Sánchez appointed her as head of the party's delegation of MEPs in the S&D Group, replacing Elena Valenciano. Following the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...

, the S&D Group chose García as new leader, a day after incumbent Udo Bullmann withdrew his candidacy. In March 2021, as leader of the Democrats and Socialist in the EP, she together with the parliamentary group opposed a debate on the murder of

Daphne Caruana Galizia Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese writer, journalist, blogger and anti-corruption activist, who reported on political events in Malta. In particular, she focused on investigative journalism, repor ...

and corruption revelation in Maltese politics; she insisted on calling it "

fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...

References

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Iratxe 1974 births Living people Spanish municipal councillors Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain) MEPs for Spain 2004–2009 MEPs for Spain 2009–2014 MEPs for Spain 2014–2019 MEPs for Spain 2019–2024 21st-century women MEPs for Spain People from Barakaldo Spanish Socialist Workers' Party MEPs Basque women in politics University of Valladolid alumni 20th-century Spanish women