Torra Government
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The Torra Government was the
regional government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
of
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
led by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Quim Torra Joaquim Torra i Pla (; born 28 December 1962), known as Quim Torra, is a Catalan lawyer and journalist from Spain. He served as President of the Government of Catalonia from 17 May 2018 to 28 September 2020, when the Supreme Court of Spain conf ...
between 2018 and 2020. It was formed in May 2018 after the regional election.
Pere Aragonès Pere Aragonès i Garcia (; born 16 November 1982) is a Catalan lawyer and politician from Spain, serving as the President of the Government of Catalonia since 22 May 2021. He previously served between 2018 and 2021 as Vice President and Ministe ...
took office as the interim president when the
High Court of Justice of Catalonia The High Court of Justice of Catalonia ( ca, Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, TSJC) is the highest body and last judicial instance of the Spanish judiciary in Catalonia. Unlike the Parliament of Catalonia (legislative branch) or the ...
barred Torra from public office on 28 September 2020.


History

On 27 October 2017 the
Catalan Parliament The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 mem ...
declared independence in a vote boycotted by opposition MPs. Almost immediately the
Senate of Spain The Senate ( es, Senado) is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, 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. Th ...
invoked article 155 of the constitution, dismissing
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Carles Puigdemont Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (; born 29 December 1962) is a Catalan politician and journalist from Spain. Since 2019 he has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). A former mayor of Girona, Puigdemont served as President of Catalo ...
and the
Catalan government The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...
and imposing
direct rule Direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separatists declared independence o ...
on
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
. The following day
Spanish Prime Minister The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regula ...
Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...
dissolved the Catalan Parliament and called for fresh regional elections on 21 December 2017. At the election Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament. On 22 January 2018 Catalan Parliament President
Roger Torrent Roger Torrent i Ramió (born 19 July 1979) is a Spanish politician and urban planner from Catalonia. A former mayor of the municipality of Sarrià de Ter in north-eastern Spain, Torrent was President of the Parliament of Catalonia from January 20 ...
officially proposed Puigdemont to be president. However, on 27 January 2018 the
Constitutional Court of Spain The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...
ruled that Puigdemont, who had been living in
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
since 30 October 2017, could not participate in any
investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...
debate via
video conference Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
or by getting another MP to read his speech and that he had to appear in person in parliament after receiving "prior judicial authorisation". The ruling effectively blocked the investiture of Puigdemont who faced arrest on charges rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds if he returned to Spain. As a result Torrent announced on 30 January that Puigdemont's
investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...
vote would be postponed though he later insisted that Puigdemont "is and will be" the candidate for president. As the political
impasse A bargaining impasse occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. An impasse is almost invariably mutually harmful, either as a result of direct action which may be taken such as a st ...
continued Puigdemont came under pressure to step aside. On 1 March 2018 Puigdemont announced that he was withdrawing his candidature in favour of jailed independence activist
Jordi Sànchez Jordi () is the Catalan form of the ancient Greek name Georgios. Jordi is a popular name in Catalonia and is also given in the Netherlands and in Spanish-, English- and German-speaking countries. Jordi may also refer to: *Sant Jordi – patron sa ...
. However, on 9 March 2018
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
judge Pablo Llarena refused permission for Sànchez to leave prison in order to attend the investiture debate. Sànchez ended his candidature on 21 March 2018. The secessionists hastily nominated
Jordi Turull Jordi Turull i Negre (born 6 September 1966) is a Spanish politician associated with Together for Catalonia. Since March 2018 he has been in pre-trial custody by order of the Supreme Court of Spain and accused of sedition and rebellion. On 10 Ju ...
to be president. Turull was due to appear before the Supreme Court on 23 March 2018 and if the court jailed him he would not have been able to attend the investiture debate, scuppering his chances of becoming president. At the investiture vote held on 22 March 2018 Turull secured 64 votes ( JuntsxCat 33; ERC–CatSí 31) with 65 votes against ( Cs 36; PSC 17; CatComú–Podem 8; PP 4), four abstentions ( CUP–CC 4) and two absentees (JuntsxCat 1; ERC–CatSí 1). A second vote on Turull's candidature was to be held on 24 March 2018 but on 23 March 2018 Llarena
remanded in custody Remand, also known as pre-trial detention, preventive detention, or provisional detention, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is held i ...
Turull and four other Catalan leaders. On 3 April 2018 and 24 April 2018 the Catalan Parliament's bureau approved the two absentee MPs - Puigdemont (JuntsxCat) and
Antoni Comín Antoni Comín, born in Barcelona on March 1971, March 7 1971, is a Catalans, Catalan intellectual and politician from Spain. He is currently the executive vice-president of the Council for the Republic and has been an European Parliament, MEP sin ...
(ERC–CatSí) - voting by
proxy Proxy may refer to: * Proxy or agent (law), a substitute authorized to act for another entity or a document which authorizes the agent so to act * Proxy (climate), a measured variable used to infer the value of a variable of interest in climate ...
. Turull's investiture vote had set in motion a two month deadline for a new president to be sworn in or else parliament would be dissolved and elections called. On 10 May 2018 Puigdemont nominated
Quim Torra Joaquim Torra i Pla (; born 28 December 1962), known as Quim Torra, is a Catalan lawyer and journalist from Spain. He served as President of the Government of Catalonia from 17 May 2018 to 28 September 2020, when the Supreme Court of Spain conf ...
, the so-called "plan D", to be president. At the investiture vote held on 12 May 2018 Torra secured 66 votes (JuntsxCat 34; ERC–CatSí 32) with 65 votes against (Cs 36; PSC 17; CatComú–Podem 8; PP 4) and four abstentions (CUP-CC 4), failing to achieve the 68 votes necessary for an
absolute majority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
. As a result a second vote was held on 14 May 2018 at which he only needed a simple majority to become president. The result of the second vote was exactly the same as the first vote - 66 in favour, 65 against and four abstentions - and as a result Torra was elected the 131st President of Catalonia. King Felipe issued a
royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
on 15 May 2018 approving Torra's appointment and on 17 May 2018 he was sworn in. On 19 May 2018 Torra announced his new government of 13 ministers, two of whom were in jail (Josep Rull and Turull) and two were in exile (Comín and Lluís Puig). The
Spanish government gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...
condemned the inclusion of jailed/exiled politicians as provocative and refused to approve Torra's appointments or to revoke direct rule. Faced with this opposition Torra announced a new government on 29 May 2018 without the jailed/exiled politicians. In one of his last acts, ousted Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy ordered that direct rule be lifted as soon as the new ministers were sworn in. On 2 June 2018 the new ministers were sworn in at the
Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya The Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya is a historic palace in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It houses the offices of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that still function ...
, ending seven months of direct rule.


Executive Council


References

{{Government of Catalonia 2018 establishments in Catalonia Cabinets established in 2018 Cabinets of Catalonia