Roger Torrent i Ramió (born 19 July 1979) is a Spanish politician and

urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

from

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

. A former mayor of the municipality of

Sarrià de Ter Sarrià de Ter () is a village in the province of Girona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the metropolitan area of the city of Girona. Sarrià borders Sant Julià de Ramis to the north, Girona to the south and east, and ...

in north-eastern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, Torrent was

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain ...

from January 2018 until March 2021. Since 26 May 2021 he is the Minister of Business and Work of Catalonia.

Early life

Torrent was born on 19 July 1979 in

, a village in the

Province of Girona Girona (; es, Gerona ; french: Gérone) is a province of Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest by the province of Barcelona, on the n ...

in north-eastern

. He has a degree in political science and administration from the

Autonomous University of Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; , es, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; UAB), is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. ...

(UAB) and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in territorial and urban studies from the

Polytechnic University of Catalonia The Technical University of Catalonia ( ca, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, , es, link=no, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña; UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is the largest engineering university in Catalonia, Spai ...

and

Pompeu Fabra University Pompeu Fabra University ( ca, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, UPF, ; es, link=no, Universidad Pompeu Fabra) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. The university was created by the Generalitat de Catalunya, Auton ...

. He has a

postgraduate degree Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and s ...

in political communication from the UAB's Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials (Institute of Political and Social Sciences).

Career

Torrent joined the Young Republican Left of Catalonia, the youth wing of the

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, 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 ...

(ERC), in 1998 and in 2000 joined the ERC. He contested the 1999 local elections as a Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal (ERC-AM)

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

candidate in Sarrià de Ter and was elected. He was re-elected at the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

local elections. After the 2007 election ERC-AM formed an administration with the

Convergence and Union Convergence and Union ( ca, Convergència i Unió, 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 cou ...

(CiU) and Torrent became Mayor of Sarrià de Ter. He was re-elected at the 2011 and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

local elections. Torrent was the secretary of regional parliamentary policy in the federation of Girona from 2000 to 2008 and the ERC spokesperson on the Diputació de Girona between 2011 and 2012. He was a member of the Municipal Commission of Catalonia and the Local Government Commission of Catalonia between 2007 and 2011 and is a member of the executive of the Association of Catalan Municipalities. Torrent contested the 2012 regional election as a

Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya–Catalunya Sí, ERC–CatSí) is a Catalan pro-independence electoral alliance. The alliance is formed by Republican Left of Catalonia, Catalonia Yes and ind ...

(ERC–CatSí) electoral alliance candidate in the

and was elected to the

. He was re-elected at the

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

regional elections. He was elected President of the Parliament of Catalonia on 17 January 2018, defeating

Citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

candidate José María Espejo-Saavedra Conesa by 65 votes to 56 votes. He is the youngest president of the Catalan Parliament. According to an investigation by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' and ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El ...

'', Torrent's phone was hacked using the Pegasus software from the

NSO Group NSO Group Technologies (NSO standing for Niv, Shalev and Omri, the names of the company's founders) is an Israeli cyber-intelligence firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus, which is capable of remote zero-click surveillance o ...

Personal life

Torrent is married and has two daughters. He is a keen runner and skier, and a fan of football and handball.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrent, Roger 1979 births Living people Autonomous University of Barcelona alumni Mayors of places in Catalonia Members of the 10th Parliament of Catalonia Members of the 11th Parliament of Catalonia Members of the 12th Parliament of Catalonia Pompeu Fabra University alumni Polytechnic University of Catalonia alumni Presidents of the Parliament of Catalonia Republican Left of Catalonia politicians