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Undid revision 853155187 by Joan sense nick (talk) Why is it not appliable, and why it implies to also remove the President numbering? The monarch is who nominally appoints the officeholder. It is also used for other regional premiers such as Nicola Sturgeon, for reference
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{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable#Catalonia|The Right Honourable]]
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable#Catalonia|The Right Honourable]]
| name = Quim Torra
| name = Quim Torra
| honorific_suffix =
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Official photo of Quim Torra (cropped).jpg
| image = Official photo of Quim Torra (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 200
| image_size = 200
| caption = Torra in May 2018
| caption = Torra in May 2018

⚫
| order1 = [[List of Presidents of the Government of Catalonia|131st]]
| office1 = President of the Government of Catalonia
|order1 = [[List of Presidents of the Government of Catalonia|131st]]
⚫
|office1 = President of the Government of Catalonia
| term_start1 = 15 May 2018
|term_start1 = 15 May 2018
| term_end1 =
|term_end1 =
⚫
| vicepresident1 = [[Pere Aragonès]]
|monarch1 = [[Felipe VI of Spain|Felipe VI]]
⚫
| predecessor1 = [[Carles Puigdemont]]<br>{{small|([[2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis#Independence declaration and direct rule|Direct rule]] from 27 October 2017)}}
⚫
|vicepresident1 = [[Pere Aragonès]]
⚫
| successor1 =
⚫
|predecessor1 = [[Carles Puigdemont]]<br>{{small|([[2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis#Independence declaration and direct rule|Direct rule]] from 27 October 2017)}}
⚫
|successor1 =

| constituency_MP2 = the [[Barcelona (Parliament of Catalonia constituency)|Province of Barcelona]]
| constituency_MP2 = the [[Barcelona (Parliament of Catalonia constituency)|Province of Barcelona]]
| parliament2 = Catalan
| parliament2 = Catalan
| term_start2 = 17 January 2018
| term_start2 = 17 January 2018
| term_end2 =
| term_end2 =
| predecessor2 =
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| successor2 =

| birth_name = Joaquim Torra i Pla
| birth_name = Joaquim Torra i Pla
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|12|28|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|12|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Blanes]], [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]
| birth_place = [[Blanes]], [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Spanish
| nationality = Spanish
| party = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| party = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| otherparty = [[Junts per Catalunya]]
| otherparty = [[Junts per Catalunya]]
| spouse =
| children =
| spouse =
| children =
| residence = [[Barcelona]]
| alma_mater = [[Autonomous University of Barcelona]]
| residence = [[Barcelona]]
| alma_mater = [[Autonomous University of Barcelona]]
| occupation = Lawyer and editor
| occupation = Lawyer and editor
| signature = Firma de Quim Torra i Pla.svg
| signature = Firma de Quim Torra i Pla.svg
| website =
| footnotes =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
'''Joaquim Torra i Pla''' (born 28 December 1962), known as '''Quim Torra''', is a lawyer and journalist from [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]. Torra is a member of the [[Parliament of Catalonia]] and is the current [[President of the Government of Catalonia]].<ref name="GeneralitatdeCataluny17052018" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2018/0510/962665-catalonia-carles-puigdemont/|title=Puigdemont rejects being chosen as next Catalan leader|last=|first=|date=10 May 2018|work=Raidió Teilifís Éireann|access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref>
'''Joaquim Torra i Pla''' (born 28 December 1962), known as '''Quim Torra''', is a lawyer and journalist from [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]. Torra is a member of the [[Parliament of Catalonia]] and is the current [[President of the Government of Catalonia]].<ref name="GeneralitatdeCataluny17052018" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2018/0510/962665-catalonia-carles-puigdemont/|title=Puigdemont rejects being chosen as next Catalan leader|last=|first=|date=10 May 2018|work=Raidió Teilifís Éireann|access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref>

Revision as of 20:01, 2 August 2018

Template:Catalan name

The Right Honourable
Quim Torra
Torra in May 2018
131st President of the Government of Catalonia
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 May 2018
MonarchFelipe VI
Vice PresidentPere Aragonès
Preceded byCarles Puigdemont
(Direct rule from 27 October 2017)
Member of the Catalan Parliament
for the Province of Barcelona
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 January 2018
Personal details
Born
Joaquim Torra i Pla

(1962-12-28) 28 December 1962 (age 61)
Blanes, Catalonia, Spain
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Junts per Catalunya
ResidenceBarcelona
Alma materAutonomous University of Barcelona
OccupationLawyer and editor
Signature

Joaquim Torra i Pla (born 28 December 1962), known as Quim Torra, is a lawyer and journalist from Catalonia, Spain. Torra is a member of the Parliament of Catalonia and is the current President of the Government of Catalonia.[1][2]

Born in 1962 in Blanes, Torra graduated from the Autonomous University of Barcelona before joining the legal profession. He worked as lawyer and executive for a multinational insurance company for twenty years before starting his own publishing company. He later held senior positions for the City of Barcelona and Generalitat de Catalunya.

A supporter of Catalan independence,[3][4] Torra does not belong to any political party.[5] He has held senior positions in several pro-independence organisations including the Òmnium Cultural and Assemblea Nacional Catalana. He was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia at the 2017 regional election as an independent candidate for the pro-independence Junts per Catalunya electoral alliance. In May 2018 he was elected 131st President of Catalonia[1] after the Spanish courts blocked three other candidates.

Early life and family

Torra was born on 28 December 1962 in Blanes, a town in the Province of Girona in north-eastern Catalonia (Spain).[6][7] He is the third of four children (three boys and one girl).[8] His family were originally from Santa Coloma de Farners but moved to Blanes where his father, also known as Quim Torra, worked as an engineer at the Sociedad Anónima de Fibras Artificiales (SAFA) plant.[9] The family then moved to Barcelona where Torra's father worked as a manager for SAFA.[8] Torra was educated at St. Ignatius College, Barcelona, better known as Jesuïtes Sarrià.[8]

Torra joined the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1980, graduating in 1985 with a degree in law.[6][8][5] His parents later returned to Santa Coloma de Farners where his father was a municipal councillor in 1991 and where his widowed mother still lives.[8][9]

Professional career

Torra receiving the Carles Rahola [ca] award in October 2009

Torra worked as a lawyer and executive for Winterthur Group, a multinational insurance company, for nearly twenty years including two years at the company's offices in the Canton of Zürich in Switzerland.[6][7] Whilst in Switzerland he started researching Eugeni Xammar, a Catalan journalist who worked for the United Nations, igniting a passion for Catalan journalism during the 1920s and 1930s.[10] When AXA took over Winterthur Torra was offered a position in Madrid but he chose to return to Catalonia to devote himself to journalism and publishing.[6][8]

Torra at the opening of the d'El 300 del Born restaurant in September 2013

In 2008 Torra founded A Contra Vent Editors, a publisher specialising in literary and humorous journalism, focusing on the revival of Catalonia's literary and journalistic tradition during the 1920s and 1930s.[6][7] Torra has written several books on the history of Catalonia, journalism and biographies and in 2009 he won the "Carles Rahola" award for Viatge Involuntari a la Catalunya Impossible, an essay on the history of Catalan journalism that mixes fact and fiction to narrate the life of several Catalan journalists during the Second Spanish Republic, including Just Cabot, Lluís Capdevila, Àngel Ferran, Manuel Fontdevila and Francisco Madrid.[6][11] He has also written articles for the Ara, El Punt Avui, El Temps and Nació Digital.[11]

From September 2011 to 2015, during the mayorship of Xavier Trias, Torra was in charge of promoting the district of Ciutat Vella as director of Foment de Ciutat Vella, SA.[6][10] In June 2012 he became director of the Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria but in September 2015, shortly after Ada Colau became mayor, he left the organistaion.[6][7] He was appointed director of Revista de Catalunya in May 2015.[10][12] He was director of the Generalitat's Center for Contemporary Subject Studies from March 2016 to October 2017.[5][13] He is currently working as a lawyer and is a member of the Bar Association of Barcelona.[11]

Activism and politics

Torra speaking at the Òmnium Cultural's general assembly in December 2015

Torra is a member of the pro-Catalan independence Òmnium Cultural (OC), of which he was vice-president from 2013 to 2015, and Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC).[6][11] He was president of the pro-independence Sobirania i Justícia from 2010 to 2011 and a member of the permanent council of the ANC in 2012.[13] In 2011 Torra and lawyer Jordi Cortada filed a lawsuit before the European Court of Human Rights against the Constitutional Court's re-writing of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.[6][13] When the OC president Muriel Casals i Couturier was chosen as a candidate for the Catalan regional election, 2015 Torra was appointed as president in July 2015, serving until December 2015 when he was replaced by Jordi Cuixart.[6][7]

Torra was associated with the Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC), a regionalist center-right party, and later Reagrupament, a splinter group of the left-wing pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).[8][14][15] Torra isn't a member of any political party and is known to have reservations about certain policies of the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT), the main constituent of the pro-independence Junts per Catalunya (JuntsxCat) electoral alliance.[5] He is believed to be on good terms with the left-wing pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) which is not a member of JuntsxCat.[5]

Installation of Torra as President of Catalonia on 17 May 2018

Torra contested the 2017 regional election as an independent JuntsxCat candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia.[16][17] At the election Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament.[18][19] Attempts by the secessionists to inaugurate three candidates - Carles Puigdemont, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Turull - as President of Catalonia were thwarted by the Spanish courts.[5] In May 2018 Torra, the so-called "plan D", was nominated as candidate for president.[5][20] At the investiture vote held on 12 May 2018 Torra secured 66 votes (JuntsxCat34; ERC–CatSí 32) with 65 votes against (Cs 36; PSC 17; CatComú–Podem 8; PP 4) and four abstentions (CUP-CC 4), failing to achieve the 68 votes necessary for an absolute majority.[21][22] As a result a second vote was held on 14 May 2018 at which he only needed a simple majority to become president.[23][24] The result of the second vote was exactly the same as the first vote - 66 in favour, 65 against and four abstentions - and as a result Torra was elected the 131st President of Catalonia.[25][26][27] He was sworn in on 17 May 2018.[3][28] On May 19 he appointed his government, which included as regional ministers, Jordi Turull and Josep Rull (in preventive custody) as well as Toni Comín and Lluís Puig, in self-imposed exile in Belgium and also required by the Spanish justice.[29][30][31] Since article 155 was still in force, Mariano Rajoy decided not to publish the appointments in the Generalitat government gazette, which let to a criminal complaint for prevarication brought by President Torra. In order to avoid extending the appliaction of article 155, on May 29 President Torra appointed a new government[32], which took office on June 2, which ended a period of 7 month of direct rule on Catalonia from Madrid.

Controversial writings

The tone and content of articles written by Torra alluding to Spanish-speakers in Catalonia and Spaniards generally have elicited strong criticism from numerous sectors. Critics have accused Torra of being xenophobic and a supremacist.[20][33][34] At European level, the President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, Hans van Baalen, to which Torra's own PDeCAT party is affiliated condemned his rhetoric as "separatist and racist"[35] and the Party of European Socialists stated that "his racist remarks are utterly disgusting and cast deep doubts about his fitness for the job".[36] The Catalan chapter of French NGO SOS Racisme also criticized the tone of the articles, but stated they cannot be considered racism.[37]

In addition several controversial tweets including "Spaniards only know how to plunder" and "Spaniards in Catalonia are like energy - they transform themselves but do not disappear."[20][38][39][40] Torra apologised for the tweets after being nominated to be president.[41]

Personal life

Torra is married to teacher Carola Miró.[8] They have three children, two girls and a boy.[8]

Published works

  • Ganivetades Suïsses (2007, Símbol Editors; ISBN 8495987546, 9788495987549)
  • Periodisme? Permetin! La vida i els Articles d'Eugeni Xammar (2008, Símbol Editors; ISBN 8495987635, 9788495987631), biography of Eugeni Xammar
  • El Bibliobús de la Llibertat (Miquel Joseph i Mayol, 2008, Símbol Editors; ISBN 8495987619, 9788495987617) (ed. with Jaume Ciurana)
  • Viatge Involuntari a la Catalunya Impossible (2010, Proa Edicions; ISBN 8482569171, 9788482569178)
  • Honorables. Cartes a la Pàtria Perduda (2011, A Contravent; ISBN 8493889717, 9788493889715)
  • Un Bohemi al Cabaret del Món. Vida de Manuel Fontdevila, un Senyor de Granollers (2013, A Contravent; ISBN 9788415720119)
  • Els Últims 100 Metres : el Full de Ruta per Guanyar la República Catalana (2016, Angle Editorial; ISBN 8416139997, 9788416139996)
  • Muriel Casals i la Revolució dels Somriures (2016, Editorial Pòrtic; ISBN 8498093775, 9788498093773)

Electoral history

Electoral history of Quim Torra
Election Constituency Party Alliance Result
2017 regional[16] Province of Barcelona Independent Junts per Catalunya Elected

References

  1. ^ a b "Quim Torra pren possessió com a 131è president de la Generalitat". Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan). 17 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Puigdemont rejects being chosen as next Catalan leader". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Quim Torra sworn in as Catalan president amid xenophobia claims". The Guardian. 17 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Quim Torra: Catalonia elects hardline separatist as new regional president". The Independent. 14 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lasalas, Marta (10 May 2018). "Quim Torra to be 131st president of Catalonia". El Nacional. Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Perfil · Quim Torra, exlíder d'Òmnium proper a Puigdemont per presidir el Govern". Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e Martí, Pep (11 May 2018). "Les 10 coses que potser no sabies de Quim Torra". NacióDigital (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Aragay, Ignasi (10 May 2018). "La Catalunya impossible de Quim Torra". Ara (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  9. ^ a b "El Perfil - Qui és Quim Torra?". Regió 7 (in Catalan). Manresa, Spain. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Cardús, Pere (10 May 2018). "Quim Torra, l'home que no prenia precaucions". VilaWeb (in Catalan). Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d "Quim Torra, un independentista irreductible, sin carné de partido y fiel a Puigdemont". RTVE (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Quim Torra, nou director de la Revista de Catalunya". Ara (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  13. ^ a b c "Torra, un independentista sin carné de partido ungido para una etapa provisional". La Región (in Spanish). Ourense, Spain. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  14. ^ Álvaro, Francesc-Marc (11 May 2018). "Quim Torra, un activista cultural de los años treinta". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  15. ^ Geli, Carles (11 May 2018). "Quim Torra, un interino nato contra todo lo español". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2017: Composició del Parlament" (in Catalan). Generalitat de Catalunya. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Los 135 diputados del Parlament de Catalunya tras el 21-D". La Vanguardia (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  18. ^ Jackson, Russell (22 December 2017). "Catalan independence supporters win majority in election". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, U.K. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  19. ^ Parra, Aritz; Giles, Ciaran (21 December 2017). "Catalan secessionist parties win slim majority in regional parliament". Toronto Star. Toronto, Canada. Associated Press. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  20. ^ a b c Strange, Hannah (11 May 2018). "Catalans nominate 'radical' presidential candidate Quim Torra". The Daily Telegraph. London, U.K. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  21. ^ "Catalan lawmakers fail to agree on new president in first-round vote". The Straits Times. Singapore. Agence France-Presse. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  22. ^ Guasch, Albert (12 May 2018). "Catalunya: Pleno de investidura de Quim Torra en directo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Separatists fail to elect Quim Torra as new Catalonia leader". Al Jazeera. Doha, Qatar. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Torra not elected in first round – second vote called for Monday". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Catalans elect new separatist leader Quim Torra". BBC News. London, U.K. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  26. ^ Cutrona, Judith (14 May 2018). "Quim Torra, investido president de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Las reacciones en directo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Nuevo presidente en Cataluña: últimas noticias de Quim Torra en directo". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  28. ^ "New Catalan leader Quim Torra shuns constitution as sworn in". The New Indian Express. Chennai, India. Agence France-Presse. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Catalonia's cabinet picks are 'provocation' says Spain's ruling party". Reuters. 19 May 2018.
  30. ^ "Catalonia postpones swearing in new regional government". The Local. 23 May 2018.
  31. ^ Bathgate, Rachel. "Torra nominates new government including jailed and exiled officials". Catalan News Agency. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  32. ^ Bathgate, Rachel. "New cabinet most egalitarian ever". www.catalannews.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  33. ^ Hedgecoe, Guy (11 May 2018). "Catalan pro-independence candidate could break deadlock". The Irish Times. Dublin, Ireland. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  34. ^ "Los tuits supremacistas de Quim Torra no son un bulo". El Plural (in Spanish). 11 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  35. ^ Periódico, El (15 May 2018). "El partido europeo que integra al PDECat también critica a Torra".
  36. ^ "Bruselas ignora los polémicos escritos de Quim Torra: "No los dignificaré con un comentario"".
  37. ^ "Aclariment i posicionament sobre la polèmica entorn el Sr. Joaquim Torra". SOS Racisme (in Catalan). 18 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  38. ^ Baquero, Camilo S. (11 May 2018). "Investiture vote called for hard-line Catalan separatist Quim Torra". El País. Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 14 May 2018. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  39. ^ Jones, Sam (11 May 2018). "Hopes of end to Catalan impasse as Puigdemont anoints new successor". The Guardian. London, U.K. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  40. ^ Stothard, Michael (11 May 2018). "Catalonia set to vote on Quim Torra as regional head". Financial Times. London, U.K. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  41. ^ Orriols, Núria (11 May 2018). "Torra: "Només contemplo la possibilitat d'obeir el que decideixi el Parlament"". Ara (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 14 May 2018.

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