Josep Tarradellas i Joan, 1st Marquess of Tarradellas (; 19 February 1899 – 10 June 1988) was a

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

politician known for his role as the first president of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), after its re-establishment in 1977 under the new

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and the end of the

Francoist Dictatorship Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. He was appointed the role of 125th President of Catalonia in 1954 but spent 23 years in exile until 1977 when he was officially recognised as the President of Catalonia by the Spanish Government.

Biography

In 1931, Tarradellas became general secretary 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 ...

(ERC). He also was deputy at the

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that year, Governance and Health councillor when Francesc Macià was President of the

Generalitat of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is Self-governance, self-governed as an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parli ...

as well as Public Services, Economy and Culture councillor during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Exiled to France since 1939, he became

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

when Josep Irla resigned, in 1954. On 23 October 1977, two years after

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 ...

's death, the President of the Spanish Government

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...

met him to negotiate the reestablishment of the Government of Catalonia, an event which occurred. The sentence pronounced at his arrival has become famous as a symbol: "Ciutadans de Catalunya, ja sóc aquí!" (Catalan for "Citizens of Catalonia, I am here at last!"). He was welcomed solemnly in Barcelona and set up a unity government. He finished his work with the elections for the Catalan Parliament (March 1980), and

Jordi Pujol Jordi Pujol i Soley (, born 9 June 1930) is a retired Catalan politician who was the leader of the party Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) from 1974 to 2003, and President of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1980 to 2003. Early life ...

was elected in April. On 24 July 1986 Tarradellas received the hereditary title ''marqués de Tarradellas'' (English: Marquess of Tarradellas) from

King Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Sp ...

. Tarradellas died in Barcelona in 1988. The hereditary marquessate is now held by his son, who became the second marquess. On 21 December 2018 the

Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...

announced that Barcelona–El Prat Airport would be renamed after Tarradellas.

References

External links

* Tarradellas, Josep. ''The financial work of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Discourse pronounced by the Honourable the Councillor of Finances Josep Tarradellas in the Parliament of Catalunya during the session of the 1st March 1938''. Barcelona: 1938. 61 p.
Web page of The "Montserrat Tarradellas i Macià" Archive
at the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet, in Catalonia. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarradellas I Joan, Josep 1899 births 1988 deaths People from Baix Llobregat Republican Left of Catalonia politicians General secretaries of the Republican Left of Catalonia Presidents of the Government of Catalonia Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France