Javier Ignacio Maroto Aranzábal is a Spanish politician serving as senator from

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

since 24 July 2019 and

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 ...

of the Popular Group in the Senate since 30 July. He was the Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz, from 2011 to 2015, the capital city of the Basque Country and of the province of

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

. At the same time, he served as member of 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 ...

and in 2016 he was elected Member of the Congress of Deputies until 2019.

Biography

Maroto was born in

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

, Basque Country, on 6 January 1972. After completing his studies at the San Viator School in Vitoria-Gasteiz, he studied

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

at 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 ...

and a master's degree in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

from

IESE IESE Business School is the Catholic graduate business school of the University of Navarra. It was established in Barcelona in 1958 by Opus Dei. From 1963, in collaboration with Harvard Business School, it offers a two-year Master of Business Adm ...

Business School. He is a People's Party politician in the Basque Country. In 1999, he took part in the elections for Mayor of Vitoria. After having been a member of New Generations of Álava and after the victory of the People's Party (PP) in Vitoria, he held the position of

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

and

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

for the PP from 1999 to 2007. In his two terms under Mayor Alfonso Alonso, he also served as Government Spokesman, president of the municipal company Gilsa, during which he was responsible for the management of industrial land in Vitoria; and Councillor in Charge of New Technologies. In 2008 Maroto became the

spokesman 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 ...

for the People's Party in Vitoria, and served on the board of the municipal company Widening 21, which was in charge of urban expansion in Vitoria's new Salburua and Zabalgana areas. He was also the secretary of the People's Party in Álava, and one of the few members of the party who have publicly criticized its position on

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

. On November 5, 2010, in an interview with Radio Vitoria, he stated that "it would be a mistake to eliminate the gay marriage bill". On June 23, 2010, Maroto submitted his candidacy for mayor of Vitoria for 2011. He won the election on May 22, 2011, earning a score of 9 seats, and was declared mayor on June 11, 2011. On May 24, 2015, Maroto's party received the most votes and won 9 seats in the local elections of 2015. However, on June 13, 2015, Gorka Urtaran from 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 ...

was declared mayor after gaining the votes of the councillors of

EH Bildu EH Bildu, short for Euskal Herria Bildu (English language, English: 'Basque Country Gather' or 'Basque Country Unite'), is a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Basque nationalism, Basque nationalist and Separatism, pro-independence federation of poli ...

, Sumando-Hemen Gaude and Irabazi. On June 18, 2015, he was appointed Sectorial Under-secretary of the People's Party by

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 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

, becoming a member of the People's Party's national board. He lost his seat in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in the 2019 Spanish general election, but the

Cortes of Castile and León The Cortes of Castile and León (Spanish: ''Cortes de Castilla y León'') is the elected unicameral legislature of the Autonomous Communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Castile and León. The tradition of the regional Cortes is traced ba ...

designated him as senator on 24 July 2019.

Family life

In June 2015, Maroto announced his engagement to longtime partner José Manuel "Josema" Rodríguez. The wedding was held on 18 September 2015 at Vitoria's city hall. The wedding gained political significance when it was announced that

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, who had challenged the law approving same sex marriage when he was Opposition leader, would be attending the wedding as a guest.

Awards

During the ceremony for the European Green Capital Award, passed from one Covenant signatory city to another, on November 29, 2012, Maroto gave the floor to Patrick Rimbert, Mayor of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. Vitoria-Gasteiz was the Green Capital of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in 2012, and Nantes was the Green Capital in 2013.

References

External links

Vitoria-Gasteiz's Town Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maroto, Javier 1972 births Spanish gay politicians LGBTQ legislators in Spain Living people Mayors of Vitoria-Gasteiz Members of the 13th Senate of Spain Members of the 14th Senate of Spain People from Vitoria-Gasteiz People's Party (Spain) politicians University of Deusto alumni University of Navarra alumni Members of the 12th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 10th Basque Parliament