Ernest Maragall i Mira (; born 5 January 1943, 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 ...

) is a Spanish economist, politician, 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 ...

and former Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. He was previously

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

, a member of 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 ...

and a member of

Barcelona City Council The City Council of Barcelona ( Catalan: ''Ajuntament de Barcelona''; Spanish: ''Ayuntamiento de Barcelona'') is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the municipality of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. In terms of political structure, ...

. Born in 1943 in

, Maragall joined the anti-fascist

Workers' Front of Catalonia The Workers' Front of Catalonia (, FOC) was a clandestine political movement in Catalonia, Spain, formed in 1961, and active during the Spanish State of caudillo Francisco Franco. It was the continuation of the Popular Democratic Association of Ca ...

in his youth. He worked in advertising and marketing before holding several positions in BCC. A socialist, Maragall was one of the founders of the Socialist Convergence of Catalonia and its successors, the

Socialist Party of Catalonia–Congress Socialist Party of Catalonia–Congress (, PSC–C) was a political party in Catalonia, Spain. PSC–C was founded in 1976 as a continuation of Socialist Convergence of Catalonia (CSC). It also unified with various sectors originating in Workers' ...

and

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (, PSC–PSOE) is a social democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socia ...

(PSC). He left the PSC in 2012 due to its opposition to

Catalan independence The Catalan independence movement (; ; ) is a Social movement, social and political movement with roots in Catalan nationalism that seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. While proposals, organizations and individuals advocating for Ca ...

and founded the pro-independence New Catalan Left which later merged with others to form the

Left Movement Left Movement of Catalonia ('' de Catalunya'', MESCat) is a social-democratic, pro-independence political party in Catalonia. The party was founded in November 2014 from the merger of New Catalan Left (NECat) and Catalonia Movement (Moviment Cat ...

. He is currently a member of the

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...

. Maragall was a member of BCC from 1995 to 2004 and held several senior positions in the socialist administration, including that of his brother Pasqual who was

Mayor of Barcelona This is a list of mayors of Barcelona since 1835. The Mayor of Barcelona is the highest political authority of the City Council of Barcelona, Barcelona City Council. In accordance with Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, on the General Electoral Regi ...

till 1997. He was elected to the

in November 2003 but resigned upon being appointed secretary of the

regional government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

presided by his brother Pasqual. He was re-elected to the Catalan Parliament in November 2006 but resigned again upon being appointed Minister of Education in the

presided by

José Montilla José Montilla Aguilera (; born 15 January 1955 in Iznájar, Andalusia, Spain) is a Spanish politician who is currently a member of the Spanish Senate. He was the 128th President of Generalitat de Catalunya. He became the First Secretary of ...

. He was re-elected in November 2010 but the socialists lost power to the

Convergence and Union Convergence and Union (, CiU; ) was a Catalan nationalist electoral alliance in Catalonia, Spain. It was a federation of two constituent parties, the larger Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and its smaller counterpart, the Democratic ...

and Maragall lost his ministerial post. Maragall was a member of the

from July 2014 to December 2016 and in December 2017 he was re-elected to the Catalan Parliament. In June 2018 he became Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency.

Early life and family

Maragall was born on 5 January 1943 in

. He is the grandson of poet

Joan Maragall Joan Maragall i Gorina (; 10 October 1860 – 20 December 1911) was a Catalan poet, journalist and translator, the foremost member of the movement in literature. His manuscripts are preserved in the Joan Maragall Archive of Barcelona. Li ...

, son of

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 ...

Jordi Maragall i Noble and brother of

Pasqual Maragall Pasqual Maragall Mira (; born 13 January 1941) is a Spanish retired politician and former President of Generalitat de Catalunya. He had previously been Mayor of Barcelona, from 1982 to 1997, and helped run the city's successful Olympic bid. ...

President of Catalonia 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

and

. He was educated at Virtene School and was a member of the Agrupament Escolta de la Confraria. He was a member of the

, an underground

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

against the fascist dictatorship of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

, from its foundation in 1961.

Career

Maragall worked in advertising and marketing from 1958 and 1970. He then held several positions at Barcelona City Council: computer analyst (1970–79); economist at the Technical Project Office; manager of the Institut Cartogràfic de Barcelona S.A.; and director-general of the Municipal Institute of Information Technology.

Politics

Maragall was one of the founders of the Socialist Convergence of Catalonia (CSC) in 1974. The CSC merged with other groups in 1976 to form the

(PSC–C), a forerunner to the

(PSC). He was a member of the executive committee of the Barcelona branch of the PSC from 1977 to 2012.

Local politics

Maragall contested the 1995 local elections as a PSC candidate in Barcelona and was elected. He was re-elected at the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

local elections. Maragall was councillor of Finance and Public Function (1995–99) and Presidency and Finance (1999-04). He was spokesperson for the city government led by mayor

Joan Clos Joan Clos i Matheu, GCIH (; born 29 June 1949) is a Spanish politician who was mayor of Barcelona, Spain from September 1997 to September 2006. He took over from Pasqual Maragall in 1997. In 1999 he was elected to a four-year term, and was th ...

from July from 2001 to June 2003. He was president of the District Council of Sant Andreu, Municipal Institute of Informatics and Municipal Institute of Finance, and vice-president of Municipal Institute of Education. He was the city council's representative in the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia, vice-president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces' Public Function Commission and vice-president of the Board of Directors of Localret.

Regional politics

Maragall contested the 2003 regional election as a Socialists' Party of Catalonia-

Citizens for Change Citizens for Change (, CpC) was a political platform in Catalonia created in 1999 to support Pasqual Maragall's bid to the presidency of the Government of Catalonia in order to put an end to the hegemony of Jordi Pujol's Convergence and Union af ...

(PSC–CpC) electoral alliance candidate in the

Province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .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 ...

. He resigned from parliament in January 2004. He was secretary of the

presided by his brother Pasqual from December 2003 to September 2006. Maragall contested the 2006 regional election as a PSC–CpC electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was re-elected. He resigned from parliament in December 2006. He was

from November 2006 to November 2010 in the

led by

Maragall contested the 2010 regional election as a PSC candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was re-elected. Maragall supported

but the PSC's leadership opposed this and eventually Maragall and others left the party in October 2012 to form the pro-independence New Catalan Left (NECat). He contested the 2014 European elections as

The Left for the Right to Decide The Left for the Right to Decide (, EPDD) was an electoral alliance formed for the 2014 European Parliament elections. The leading candidate was Josep Maria Terricabras. The alliance consisted of three parties: Republican Left of Catalonia, N ...

(EPDD) electoral alliance candidate and was elected to the

. NECat merged with Moviment Catalunya to form the

(MES) in November 2014. In December 2016, half-way through his term, Maragall resigned from the European Parliament to allow Jordi Solé i Ferrando to become an MEP. Maragall contested the 2017 regional election as a

Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes (, ERC–CatSí) was a Catalan pro-independence electoral alliance. The alliance was formed by Republican Left of Catalonia, Catalonia Yes and independents, and in the 2015 and 2016 Spanish genera ...

electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected. At the election Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament. Maragall was touted as a candidate for President of Catalonia. In May 2018 Maragall announced that he had joined the

(ERC). On 19 May 2018 newly elected President

Quim Torra Joaquim Torra i Pla (; born 28 December 1962), known as Quim Torra, is a Catalans, 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 S ...

nominated a new government in which Maragall was to be Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency. He was sworn in on 2 June 2018 at the

Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya The Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia ( Catalan: ''Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya'', ; Spanish: ''Palacio de la Generalidad de Cataluña'') is a historic palace in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It houses the offices of the Presidency ...

. On 22 July 2024, he announced he was leaving ERC because of the "shame and horror" regarding the disclosure of posters mocking his brother Pasqual's

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

during the campaign of the 2023 Barcelona municipal council election as being created within the ERC ranks.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maragall, Ernest 1943 births Barcelona municipal councillors Education ministers of Catalonia Foreign ministers of Catalonia Living people Members of the 7th Parliament of Catalonia Members of the 8th Parliament of Catalonia Members of the 9th Parliament of Catalonia Members of the 12th Parliament of Catalonia MEPs for Spain 2014–2019 Politicians from Barcelona Republican Left of Catalonia MEPs Socialists' Party of Catalonia politicians Torra Government Barcelona municipal councillors (2019–2023) Barcelona municipal councillors (2023–2027)