Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca (born 20 May 1945) is a Spanish former politician and

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

physicist. Born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, he served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

from 1999 to 2014 and served as First Vice President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007.

Career

Vidal-Quadras was elected on the People's Party ticket and sat with the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

group. In 2014, he announced that he was leaving the People's Party for a new party, Vox. He was the frontrunner for Vox in the

2014 European election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielde ...

, but the party failed to win a seat. He is a member of the European Friends of Israel, a lobby group aiming to defend Israel's interests within the European Union.

Relationship with Iran

In 2013 EL Pais reported that 35 Iranian dissidents said to be affiliated to the

National Council of Resistance of Iran The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI; ) is an Iranian political organization based in France and Albania and was founded by Massoud Rajavi and Abolhassan Banisadr. The organization is a political coalition calling to overthrow the I ...

(NCRI) gave VOX about one million euros. According to Vidal-Quadras, the donations were not made to VOX but to himself. After 2014, Vidal-Quadras operated the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ), a Brussels-based lobby supporting the NCRI against the Iranian government. Vidal-Quadras has aligned with People's Mojahedin of Iran, which led the Iranian Foreign Ministry to impose sanctions on him in 2023. The Iran Foreign Ministry accused Vidal-Quadras of "supporting terrorism and terrorist groups" while

Maryam Rajavi Maryam Rajavi (, , ; born 4 December 1953) is an Iranian dissident politician and the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating the overthrow of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian government ...

said that "Prof. Vidal-Quadras has dedicated an important part of his life to fight against ran's ruling religious fascism.

Attempted assassination

On 9 November 2023, Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

by a person on a motorbike in at 1:30 p.m. local time. He was taken to hospital and was described as recovering after suffering a fracture on his jawbone that required surgery. The assassination attempt is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack. On November 21, Spanish police arrested three people in connection to the shooting. Vidal-Quadras has claimed that Iran was behind the attempted assassination. According to Vidal-Quadras, his connection to the

, an

Iranian opposition The Iranian opposition consists of groups and individuals in Iran who oppose the government of the Islamic Republic since its foundation in 1979. These groups are ideologically diverse, ranging from monarchists to supporters of parliamentary dem ...

group, could be linked to the assassination attempt. To date, eight people have been arrested, including Mehrez Ayari who is linked to the

Mocro Maffia The Moroccan mafia (, , ) is a collection of criminal organisations that are primarily made up of people of Moroccan descent. These organisations are specialized in trafficking large quantities of cocaine and synthetic drugs through Spain, Por ...

. Vidal-Quadras is one of the first politicians that Tehran has added to their terrorist list. The Iranian opposition attributes the authorship to Religious Fascism that governs the country. In 2019 Vidal-Quadras stated that he considers the Iranian regime a cruel dictatorship which foments terrorism. He is the first European politician to be targeted within Europe.

Aftermath

In January 2024, a suspect in the assassination attempt was arrested in Colombia. Currently four individuals have been arrested in connection with the shooting, while the alleged shooter, a French citizen of Tunisian descent with multiple prior convictions in France, is still at large. Also Vidal-Quadras called for a change in the EU policy towards the Islamic Republic to avoid trying to "appease, to negotiate, to dialogue and to make concessions".

Political positions

Alejo Vidal-Quadras defines himself as liberal-conservative. He is the founder of far-right political party Vox, and is opposed to abortion rights and gay marriage.

Personal life

He currently lives off his pensions as a former university professor and a former member of the European Parliament. In addition to serving in the European Parliament, he has occupied several elected positions in Spain: he was a member of the Barcelona City Council (1987–1991), member of the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia (, ; ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 members, known as Deputy (legislator), deput ...

(1988–1996) and Senator in the

Spanish Senate The Senate () is the upper house of the , which along with the Congress of Deputies – the Lower house, lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palacio del Senado, Palace of the Senate in Madri ...

(1996–1999).

Books about politics

* "Cuestión de fondo" (Editorial Montesinos, 1993); * "Amarás a tu tribu" (Editorial Planeta, 1998); * "Ahora, cambio de rumbo" (Editorial Planeta, 2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal-Quadras, Alejo 1945 births Living people Politicians from Barcelona Scientists from Barcelona Members of the Parliament of Catalonia Members of the Senate of Spain MEPs for Spain 1999–2004 MEPs for Spain 2004–2009 MEPs for Spain 2009–2014 Vox (political party) politicians Members of the 5th Parliament of Catalonia Spanish shooting survivors