Alfred Bosch | |
---|---|
Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia | |
In office 22 November 2018 –9 March 2020 | |
President | Quim Torra |
Preceded by | Ernest Maragall |
Succeeded by | Bernat Solé |
Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
In office 5 December 2011 –27 October 2015 | |
Constituency | Barcelona |
Member of Barcelona City Council | |
In office 13 June 2015 –23 November 2018 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Alfred Bosch i Pascual 17 April 1961 Barcelona,Catalonia,Spain |
Political party | Catalonia Yes |
Other political affiliations | Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Academic, journalist, author |
Alfred Bosch i Pascual (born 17 April 1961) is a Catalan academic, journalist, author, politician and a former Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia. He was previously a member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain and a member of Barcelona City Council.
Bosch was born on 17 April 1961 in Barcelona, Catalonia. [1] [2] He is the second of five siblings and grew up in the Esquerra de l'Eixample district of Barcelona. [3] He later lived in Sant Antoni before settling in Ciutat Vella in the 1980s. [3] He was educated at a British school near Barcelona where he was taught in English. [4]
Bosch joined the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in 1979, graduating in 1984 with a degree in philosophy and letters. [4] [5]
In 1984, after graduating from university, Bosch joined the Barcelona team bidding to host the 1992 Summer Olympics and from 1987, after the city was chosen, he worked for Comitè Organitzador de les Olimpíades de Barcelona (COOB'92), the organising committee. [5] [6] Afterwards he moved to South Africa to research his doctoral thesis and in 1994 he received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Barcelona after producing a thesis titled Nelson Mandela, l'Últim Home-Déu (Nelson Mandela, the last Man-God). [5] [6]
Bosch joined the UAB in 1995 as a professor of African history. [4] [7] He has taught at several other universities including Pompeu Fabra University, Autonomous University of Madrid, University of London, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Ibadan, Hood College and University of Chicago. [5] [7]
Between 1984 and 1996 Bosch also travelled the world, working as a free lance journalist reporting on conflicts such as such as apartheid South Africa, Palestinian intifada, Lebanese Civil War, Nicaraguan Revolution, Sri Lankan Civil War and Yugoslav Wars. [4] [7] His work was published in Avui , Diario de Barcelona , El Periódico de Catalunya , El Temps , Catalunya Ràdio and others. [4]
Bosch has written several novels and essays. [7] His 1997 essay La Via Africana won the Joan Fuster Prize for Essay. [2] The novel L'Atles Furtiu won the Sant Jordi prize in 1997 whilst Les Set Aromes del Món won the Ramon Llull Novel Award in 2004. [2] [8] [9] He has also won the Néstor Luján and Prudenci Bertrana prizes. [8] [10]
In 2010 Bosch became spokesperson for Barcelona Decideix, the organisation behind the 2011 independence referendum in Barcelona. [5] [11] Bosch was one of the founding members of the secretariat of the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC) in 2011 and he has served on the board of Òmnium Cultural. [12]
Bosch contested the 2011 general election as an independent Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected to the Congress of Deputies. [5] [13] [14] He was spokesman for the ERC group in the congress. [8] In 2013, he was suspended from the Congress for addressing it in English as part of a protest against an anti-corruption bill. [15]
Bosch contested the 2015 local elections as a Republican Left of Catalonia-Left Movement-Barcelona Open City-Advance-Catalonia Yes-Acord Municipal (ERC-MES-BcnCO-AVANCEM-CatSí-AM) electoral alliance candidate in Barcelona and was elected. [16] [17]
In November 2018 he replaced Ernest Maragall as Catalonia's Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency. [18] [19] He resigned on 9 March 2020 after his chief of staff was accused of harassment of department workers. [20]
Bosch is divorced and has two children. [1] [5] He speaks Catalan, Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. [7] He is an amateur opera singer and has taken part in various zarzuela and musicals. [21]
Election | Constituency | Party | Alliance | No. | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 general [13] [14] | Province of Barcelona | Independent | Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes | 1 | Elected |
2015 local [16] [17] | Barcelona | Catalonia Yes | Republican Left of Catalonia-Left Movement-Barcelona Open City- Advance-Catalonia Yes-Acord Municipal | 1 | Elected |
Josep Bargalló i Valls is a Spanish teacher and politician from Catalonia and the current Minister of Education of Catalonia.
The Catalan independence movement is a social and political movement which seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain.
Oriol Junqueras i Vies is a Catalan politician and historian. A former mayor of the municipality of Sant Vicenç dels Horts in Catalonia, Junqueras served as Vice President of Catalonia from January 2016 to October 2017, when he was removed from office following the Catalan declaration of independence and entered prison until June 2021 for his role in organizing the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. He is president of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC). Born in 1969 in Barcelona, Junqueras grew up in the municipality of Sant Vicenç dels Horts. After graduating from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, he taught history at the university.
Left Movement of Catalonia 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, which had both been formed by dissident members of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) who were dissatisfied with what they saw as the party's lack of support for the independence movement. Its founders included Marina Geli and Ernest Maragall (NECat), but both have ever since left for other parties—Geli joined the Together for Catalonia alliance ahead of the 2017 Catalan regional election, whereas Maragall defected to Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) in 2018.
The 2017 Catalan regional election was held on Thursday 21 December 2017 to elect the 12th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was called by Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy after the invocation of Article 155 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution to enforce direct rule in Catalonia and the subsequent dismissal of the Catalan government under President Carles Puigdemont. The three pro-Catalan independence parties won a slim majority of parliamentary seats, claiming 70 out of 135, but fell short of a majority in the popular vote by securing 47.6% of the share.
Catalonia Yes is a Catalan independence political platform founded in 2011 bringing together people from civil society and various public figures in favour of independence for Catalonia.
The Catalan Republic was a state proclaimed in 1931 by Francesc Macià as the "Catalan Republic within the Iberian Federation", in the context of the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic. It was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, and superseded three days later, on 17 April, by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalan institution of self-government within the Spanish Republic.
The 2021 Catalan regional election was held on Sunday, 14 February 2021, to elect the 13th/14th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election.
Roger Torrent i Ramió is a Spanish politician and urban planner from Catalonia. A former mayor of the municipality of Sarrià de Ter in north-eastern Spain, Torrent was President of the Parliament of Catalonia from January 2018 until March 2021. Since 26 May 2021 he is the Minister of Business and Work of Catalonia.
Joaquim Torra i Pla, known as Quim Torra, is a 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 Spain confirmed a court ruling by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia condemning him for disobeying the Central Electoral Board during the April 2019 general election, leading to his disqualification from office.
Pere Aragonès i Garcia is a Catalan lawyer and former politician who served as President of the Government of Catalonia from 2021 to 2024. He previously served between 2018 and 2021 as Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance of Catalonia, as well as Acting President between September 2020 and May 2021. He is a member of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) political party.
Laura Borràs i Castanyer is a Spanish philologist, academic and politician from Catalonia who was the President of the Parliament of Catalonia between 2021 and 2022, when she was suspended as member of the Parliament of Catalonia under allegations of corruption.
Ester Capella i Farré is a Spanish lawyer and politician from Catalonia. She was the Minister of Justice of Catalonia in the Torra Cabinet. She was previously a member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain and Senate of Spain.
Chakir El Homrani Lesfar is a Spanish-Moroccan trade unionist, politician Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of Catalonia between 2018 and 2021.
Maria Teresa Jordà i Roura is a Spanish politician from Catalonia and the current Minister of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of Catalonia.
Ernest Maragall i Mira is a Spanish economist, politician, member of the Parliament of Catalonia and former Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia. He was previously Minister of Education, a member of the European Parliament and a member of Barcelona City Council (BCC).
Alba Vergés i Bosch is a Catalan economist and politician who is current serving as the First Vice President of the Parliament of Catalonia since 2021 and as Acting President of the Parliament of Catalonia from July 2022 until June 2023, when she was succeeded by Anna Erra.
Bernat Solé i Barril is a Spanish industrial engineer and politician from Catalonia, member of the Parliament of Catalonia and Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia between 2020 and 2021. He was previously mayor of Agramunt. He is currently awaiting trial on charges of disobedience for his role in the Catalan declaration of independence.
The 2024 Catalan regional election was held on Sunday, 12 May 2024, to elect the 15th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election.
Joan Ignasi Elena i Garcia is a Spanish lawyer and politician from Catalonia, former member of the Parliament of Catalonia and the current Minister of the Interior of Catalonia.