Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu (born 15 March 1957) is a former president of the

Basque Autonomous Community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

in Spain. Also a leading member of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) during the period, he held office from 2 January 1999 to 7 May 2009. Ibarretxe is an advocate of Basque independence by peaceful means.

Origins and early political career

He was born in Llodio in the province of

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

, and holds a degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initiall ...

. In 1983 he was elected a member of the Basque Parliament for Álava, representing the PNV, and from then on rose steadily to prominence. From 1986-1990 and 1991-1994 he was the President of the PNV Economic and Budgetary Commission. On 4 January 1995, then Basque President

José Antonio Ardanza José Antonio Ardanza Garro (born 10 June 1941) is a former Spanish politician that became the second elected ''Lehendakari'' (President of the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain after the approval of the Statute of Autonomy. He was in office b ...

appointed him Vice President.

Lehendakari

On 28 March 1998, he was nominated PNV presidential candidate to compete in the October 25 Basque election, and became lehendakari (president) on 2 January 1999. In October 2003 he released the highly controversial

Ibarretxe Plan The Political Statute of the Community of the Basque Country, better known as the Ibarretxe Plan was a proposal by former ''lehendakari'' Juan Jose Ibarretxe to totally reform the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country by proposing a free ass ...

(''Plan Ibarretxe''), which foresaw a future Basque country freely associated with Spain, with its own separate legal system and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU) representation. In October 2007 while in office he was prosecuted for holding talks with other political agents in search for a compromise leading to peace, considered illegal by the judge for the participation of former members of Batasuna.

Private life and hobbies

Ibarretxe grew up speaking only

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, but now speaks

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

acceptably and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He is an avid

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

fan and has presided over a cycling club in Llodio. He is married and has two children. He is a non-practising Roman Catholic.

References

External links

*
New Opportunities for Peace in the Basque Area: A Discussion with Juan José Ibarretxe

U.S. Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...

, June 2006 (Audio, Remarks and Photos) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibarretxe, Juan Jose 1957 births Living people Members of the 2nd Basque Parliament Members of the 3rd Basque Parliament Members of the 4th Basque Parliament Members of the 5th Basque Parliament Members of the 6th Basque Parliament Members of the 7th Basque Parliament Members of the 8th Basque Parliament Members of the 9th Basque Parliament People from Álava Presidents of the Basque Government University of the Basque Country alumni Mayors of places in the Basque Country

Origins and early political career

Lehendakari

Private life and hobbies

See also

References

External links