Mertxe Aizpurua | |
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![]() Aizpurua in June 2023 | |
Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
Assumed office 21 May 2019 | |
Constituency | Gipuzkoa |
Mayor of Usurbil | |
In office 15 June 2011 –15 June 2015 | |
Preceded by | Xabier Mikel |
Succeeded by | Xabier Arregi |
Personal details | |
Born | María de las Mercedes Aizpurua Arzallus 18 January 1960 Usurbil,Basque Country,Spain |
Political party | EH Bildu |
Occupation | Journalist |
Mertxe Aizpurua Arzallus (born 18 January 1960) is a Basque journalist and politician who currently serves as Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain.
Aizpurua was born on 18 January 1960 in Usurbil,Basque Country. [1] [2] She has a Bachelor of Information Science degree. [1]
Aizpurua was editor of the Egin newspaper and Punto y Hora de Euskal Herria magazine. [3] In September 1983 Punto y Hora published an editorial on Basque separatist "soldiers" and an interview with a brother of an ETA separatist killed whilst handling an explosive device in Tafalla,Navarre. [4] In October 1984 the Audiencia Nacional convicted Aizpurua of "supporting terrorism" and sentenced her to one year in prison and barred her from working as a journalist for one year. [5] [6] [7]
Aizpurua was a journalist at the Gara newspaper since its establishment in 1999 and was a director from 1999 to 2004. [8] [9] In June 2001 she was interrogated by Audiencia Nacional judge Baltasar Garzón after Gara published an interview with two ETA leaders. [10] The case against Aizpurua was finally dropped in March 2004. [11]
Aizpurua is currently director of Gara's 7K Sunday newspaper. [9] [12] She is the author of Argala:Pensamiento en Acción :Vida y Escritos (2018),a biography of assassinated ETA leader Argala. [13]
Aizpurua contested the 2011 local elections as a Bildu electoral alliance candidate in Usurbil and was elected. [14] She was mayor of Usurbil from 2011 to 2015 and president of Udalbiltza (an association of municipalities from the greater Basque Country) from 2012 to 2015. [1] [9] She contested the 2019 general election as an EH Bildu electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Gipuzkoa and was elected to the Congress of Deputies. [15] [16]
Aizpurua is married and has a son. [1]
Election | Constituency | Party | Alliance | No. | Result | ||
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2011 local [14] | Usurbil | Bildu | 1 | Elected | |||
2019 general [15] [16] | Province of Gipuzkoa | EH Bildu | 1 | Elected |