Íñigo Urkullu Renteria (born 18 September 1961) is a Basque politician from Spain, and the

Lehendakari The President of the Basque Government (, ), usually known in the Basque language as the Lehendakari (, ), is the head of government of the Basque Autonomous Community. The lehendakari leads the executive branch of the regional government. T ...

(President) of the

Basque Government The Basque Government (, ; ) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the '' Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque Parliament every four years, after a re ...

from 2012 to 2024. As the President of the

, he headed the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

, and Third Urkullu Governments of the

Basque Autonomous Community 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 com ...

, Spain.

Early life and career

Iñigo Urkullu Renteria was born on 18 September 1961 in

Alonsotegi Alonsotegi () is a municipality in the province of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. Alonsotegi was attached to the Baracaldo municipality until the end of the 19th century, when it separated and was officially recognized as its own independent ...

, the only child of a

Basque nationalist Basque nationalism ( ; ; ) is a form of nationalism that asserts that Basques, an ethnic group indigenous to the western Pyrenees, are a nation and promotes the political unity of the Basques, today scattered between Spain and France. Since ...

working-class family. His father was a turner and died when Urkullu was a child. His mother, Flori Renteria, was a housewife from

Maruri-Jatabe Maruri-Jatabe is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with ter ...

, and she moved to Alonsotegi after her marriage. Urkullu studied

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

in the Avellaneda School of Sodupe,

Güeñes The council of Güeñes is a municipality in the county of Encartaciones (Biscay, Basque Country, Spain). It is furrowed by the waters of the river Cadagua and forms with its neighbor, the municipality of Zalla, Salcedo Valley. In the North it bor ...

. He was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

and enrolled to the

University of Deusto The University of Deusto (; ) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The University of Deusto is the oldest private university ...

to study Hispanic Philology, but dropped out to enrol in the Seminary of

Derio Derio is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is part of Greater Bilbao and was part of the municipality of Bilbao until 1983 and hosts Bilbao's biggest muni ...

to the

Teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related ...

degree, specializing in

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 ...

Philology. He contemplated becoming a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, eventually opting for practising as a teacher. He started working as a teacher at the

Asti Leku Ikastola Asti Leku Ikastola is a Basque private school, created in 1963, located in Portugalete (Biscay). It currently has 1,800 students (approx.) and is one of the largest private schools in the Basque Autonomous Community and in the whole Basque Coun ...

Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,294 inhabitants as of 2021 and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located ...

—where he taught future

Imanol Pradales Imanol Pradales Gil (born in Santurtzi on 21 April 1975) is a Basque sociologist, university teacher and politician from Spain, member of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV). He serves as Lehendakari of the Basque Government from 2024. He ser ...

—and at the Félix Serrano School of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

. Subsequently, he became a civil servant at the Landako School of

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, where he is currently on

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they ar ...

Early political career

Rise to power

In 1977, at 16 years of age, Urkullu joined

Euzko Gaztedi Euzko Gaztedi Indarra-EGI (Basque Language, Basque for "Basque Youth Force") is the youth wing of the main Basque nationalist political party, the Basque National Party (EAJ-PNV). Their presence is limited to the Basque Country, encompassing the ...

(EGI), the youth wing of the

Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party ( , EAJ; , PNV; , PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially the Basque National Party in English, is a Basque nationalist and regionalist political party. The party is located in the centre of the political spectrum. It has been de ...

(PNV). He quickly rose in the party ranks, as he became a member of the executive body of EGI at 19 years old and was elected to the executive of the Biscayan PNV in 1984. He was director of Youth and Community Action of the

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

Foral Government from 1987 to 1994. He was first elected to the

Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament (Basque language, Basque: ''Eusko Legebiltzarra'', Spanish language, Spanish: ''Parlamento Vasco'') is the legislative body of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected ...

for

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, and was subsequently re-elected in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. He served as chair of the Human Rights commission for three legislatures. However, his parliamentary career was characterized his low profile and few interventions, since he was more involved in the internal party affairs. Urkullu is a member of the "JoBuBi Generation" (Jóvenes Burukides Bizkainos), a group of young Biscayan PNV members that joined the party during the Transition and eventually took control of the whole party. Along with Urkullu, other JoBuBis were José Luis Bilbao,

Andoni Ortuzar Andoni Ortuzar Arruabarrena (born 13 July 1962) is a Spanish politician from the Basque Country and journalist, and was from 2013 to 2025 the president of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). Early life Andoni Ortuzar was born on 13 July 196 ...

and

Aitor Esteban Aitor Esteban Bravo (born 21 June 1962) is a Spaniards, Spanish jurist and politician. He is the president of the Basque Nationalist Party since March 2025 and was from 2012 to 2025 the party's Board of Spokespersons, Spokesperson in the Congre ...

. Eventually, in 1996, the group asserted its power over the Biscayan PNV when the JoBuBi-supported Javier Atutxa unseated Luis María Retolaza from the presidency of the Biscayan Executive Branch of the PNV (Bizkai Buru Batzar, BBB). Subsequently, Urkullu was appointed

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

and number two of the executive.

President of the BBB

Upon Atutxa's decision not to run for re-election in 2000, Urkullu was unanimously elected as the president of the BBB on 20 May 2000. He was the

(PNV)

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

from 2008 to 2013, when he was succeeded by

since the party's rules do not allow a Lehendakari to be the party's chairman at the same time.

Lehendakari

In 2017, he administered the

René Cassin René Samuel Cassin (5 October 1887 – 20 February 1976) was a French jurist known for co-authoring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Bayonne, Cassin served as a soldier in the First W ...

award to

Sexual Minorities Uganda Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) is an umbrella non-governmental organization based in Kampala, Uganda. It has been described as the country's leading gay rights advocacy group. One of their achievements include director Pepe Julian Onziema lea ...

for their achievements in LGBT and human rights activism. Amid the 2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis, Urkullu tried to mediate between the Spanish and Catalan governments to avoid the

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

and the application of

Article 155 Article 155 of the Constitution of Spain grants the government of Spain a coercive mechanism to force an autonomous community to comply with the law when it severely contravenes the Constitution of Spain or other laws, or when its actions seriously ...

, but these attempts failed. He declared as a witness in the

Trial of Catalonia independence leaders The trial of Catalonia independence leaders, legally named and popularly known as the , was an oral trial that began on 12 February 2019 in the Supreme Court of Spain. The Legal case, case was tried by seven judges and was chaired by judge Manu ...

on 28 February 2019. He resided in

Ajuria Enea The Palace of Ajuria Enea (Basque for "My Ajuria") is a building in Vitoria-Gasteiz, northern Spain. It is the official residence of the Lehendakari (the President of the Basque Autonomous Community). The building, chosen to be official residence ...

, the official residence of the president of the Basque Government, until the end of his term.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urkulla, Inigo 1961 births Living people Presidents of the Basque Government People from Alonsotegi Members of the 11th Basque Parliament Basque Nationalist Party politicians Leaders of political parties in Spain University of Deusto alumni Members of the 12th Basque Parliament Members of the 10th Basque Parliament Members of the 7th Basque Parliament Members of the 8th Basque Parliament Members of the 6th Basque Parliament Members of the 5th Basque Parliament