The comarques of Catalonia, often referred to in English as counties, are an administrative division of Catalonia. Each comarca comprises a number of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the United States. Currently, Catalonia is divided into 42 comarques and Aran, considered a "unique territorial entity" and not a comarca.
Aran is an autonomous administrative entity in northwest Catalonia, Spain, consisting of 620.47 square kilometres (239.56 sq mi) in area, located in the Pyrenees mountains, in the Alt Pirineu i Aran region and in the province of Lleida. The capital is Vielha e Mijaran.
The Socialists' Party of Catalonia is a social-democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Congress, and the Catalan Federation of the PSOE. It is the Catalan instance of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), and its Aranese section is Unity of Aran. The party had also been allied with federalist and republican political platform Citizens for Change until the 2010 election. PSC–PSOE has its power base in the Barcelona metropolitan area and the comarques of Tarragonès, Montsià, and Val d'Aran.
Aranese is a standardized form of the Pyrenean Gascon variety of the Occitan language spoken in the Val d'Aran, in northwestern Catalonia close to the Spanish border with France, where it is one of the three official languages beside Catalan and Spanish. In 2010, it was declared the third official language in Catalonia by the Parliament of Catalonia.
Anna Simó i Castelló is a Spanish Catalan politician. A member of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), she became the Minister of Social Welfare and Family Affairs of the Generalitat de Catalunya in 2003 as part of the first "Tripartite" coalition government formed by the Socialists' Party of Catalonia, ERC and Initiative for Catalonia Greens, a position she held until ERC's ministers were removed from the government in May 2006.
Unity of Aran is a political party in Val d'Aran, Spain. Practically the Aranese section of Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), it is the ruling party of the comarca.
The Popular Unity Candidacy is a left-wing to far-left pro-Catalan independence political party active primarily in Catalonia, where it has political representation, but also in other autonomous communities in Spain it considers to be part of the Catalan Countries. The CUP traditionally has focused on municipal politics, and is made up of a series of autonomous candidatures that run in local elections. Its presence is strongest within the borders of Catalonia.
Occitan Republican Left is an Occitanist political party in Val d'Aran comarca of Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 2008 to contest Unity of Aran and Aranese Democratic Convergence at 2011 elections for the Aranese General Council, the party acts practically as the local section of the Republican Left of Catalonia and is chaired by Jusèp Loís Sans Socasau.
Aranese Democratic Convergence is a political party in Val d'Aran that formed the Aranese section of CDC. CDA is, along with Unity of Aran, one of the two major parties of the comarca that contest elections for the Aranese General Council. It had been led for 30 years by Josep Luís Boya until Carlos Barrera Sánchez was elected as the new chairman in 2008. The party gained 42.6% of the votes at the General Council elections in 2007. Maria Pilar Busquets became the 1st Sindic d'Aran in 1991.
The 2019 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 10th Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in eleven other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 2019 European Parliament election.
Partit Renovador d'Arties e Garòs is a political party active in Arties e Garòs, the southeasternmost terçon of Aran (Catalonia).
Mireia Boya Busquet is a Catalan scientist, activist, and politician from Spain. She is a councilor of the Aran municipality of Les. Since February 2018 she has been part of the national secretariat of the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP). She was a member of the Catalan Parliament from 2016 to 2017.
Republican Front was a Catalan left-wing and republicanist electoral alliance formed for the April 2019 Spanish general election by Free People, We Are Alternative and Pirates of Catalonia and the support of La Forja.
The Invasion of Val d'Aran, known under the code name Operación Reconquista de España, was a military operation launched in October 1944 by the Unión Nacional Española (antifrancoist) (UNE). In October 1944, with the Spanish Civil War over and the Axis powers in World War II in retreat, guerrilla fighters loyal to the Republic tried to conquer Val d'Aran in Catalonia and establish a provisional Republican government presided over by Juan Negrín in order to later overthrow the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The invasion, led by communist militant and French resistance member Vicente López Tovar, managed to overrun a number of Civil Guard outposts and take over several hamlets in the high areas of Arán, but was eventually repelled by the Francoist army, led by General José Moscardó, the defender of the Alcázar during the civil war.
Maria Pilar Busquets i Medan was a Spanish Aranese politician and writer, 1st Síndic d'Aran between 1991 and 1993.
Mireia Vehí i Cantenys is a Spanish sociologist and politician from Catalonia, who served as Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain. She was previously a member of the Parliament of Catalonia.
Maria Vergés Pérez (born ?) is a Spanish politician and musician from Aran, currently serving as the Síndic d'Aran, the head of government of the valley, since October 2020.
Amparo Serrano Iglesias (born ?) is a Spanish Aranese politician who served as the second Síndic d'Aran, the head of government of the autonomous Val d'Aran, from July 1993 until June 1995. She was also the second woman to hold the office of Síndic d'Aran after her predecessor, Maria Pilar Busquets.
The 2023 Aranese Council Election, was held on Sunday, 28 May 2023, to elect the General Council of Aran, an administrative entity in the province of Lleida (Spain). All 13 seats in the council were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
Catalonia, referring to the autonomous community in Spain, is territorially divided into numerous types and levels of subdivisions with varying administrative, organisational and cultural functions.
