Íñigo Urkullu Renteria(born 18 September 1961) is a Basque politician from Spain, and theLehendakari(President) of theBasque Governmentfrom 2012 to 2024.[1][2]
Iñigo Urkullu | |
|---|---|
 Urkullu in December 2019 | |
| Lehendakari of the Basque Government | |
| In office 15 December 2012 – 21 June 2024 | |
| Vice Lehendakari | Josu Erkoreka(First) Idoia Mendia(Second) |
| Preceded by | Patxi López |
| Succeeded by | Imanol Pradales |
| President of theBasque Nationalist Party | |
| In office 18 January 2008 – 15 December 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Josu Jon Imaz |
| Succeeded by | Andoni Ortuzar |
| Member of theBasque Parliament | |
| In office 20 November 2012 – 14 May 2024 | |
| In office 30 November 1994 – 28 December 2007 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Iñigo Urkullu Renteria 18 September 1961 Alonsotegi(Biscay), Spain |
| Political party | Basque Nationalist Party(since 1977) |
| Alma mater | University of Deusto |
| Profession | Teacher |
As the President of theBasque Government,he headed theFirst,Second,andThird Urkullu Governmentsof theBasque Autonomous Community,Spain.
Early life and career
editIñigo Urkullu Renteria was born on 18 September 1961 inAlonsotegi,the only child of aBasque nationalistworking-class family.[3][4]His father was a turner and died when Urkullu was a child. His mother, Flori Renteria, was a housewife fromMaruri-Jatabe,and she moved to Alonsotegi after her marriage.[5][6]
Urkullu studiedprimary educationin the Avellaneda School of Sodupe,Güeñes.[7]He was aconscientious objectorand enrolled to theUniversity of Deustoto study Hispanic Philology, but dropped out to enrol in the Seminary ofDerioto theTeachingdegree, specializing inBasquePhilology.[3][4]He contemplated becoming apriest,eventually opting for practising as a teacher.[4]He started working as a teacher at theAsti Leku IkastolaofPortugalete—where he taught futureLehendakariImanol Pradales—and at the Félix Serrano School ofBilbao.[3][8]Subsequently, he became a civil servant at the Landako School ofDurango,where he is currently onleave of absence.[9]
Early political career
editRise to power
editIn 1977, at 16 years of age, Urkullu joinedEuzko Gaztedi(EGI), the youth wing of theBasque Nationalist Party(PNV).[4]He quickly rose in the party ranks, as he became a member of the executive body of EGI at 19 years old and was elected to the executive of the Biscayan PNV in 1984.[4][10]He was director of Youth and Community Action of theBiscayForal Government from 1987 to 1994.[11]He was first elected to theBasque ParliamentforBiscayin1994,and was subsequently re-elected in1998,2001,2005.[a]He served as chair of the Human Rights commission for three legislatures.[14]However, his parliamentary career was characterized his low profile and few interventions, since he was more involved in the internal party affairs.[13][15]
Urkullu is a member of the "JoBuBi Generation" (Jóvenes Burukides Bizkainos), a group of young Biscayan PNV members that joined the party during theTransitionand eventually took control of the whole party.[16][17]Along with Urkullu, other JoBuBis were José Luis Bilbao,Andoni OrtuzarandAitor Esteban.[17]Eventually, in 1996, the group asserted its power over the Biscayan PNV when the JoBuBi-supported Javier Atutxa unseated Luis María Retolaza from the presidency of the Biscayan Executive Branch of the PNV (Bizkai Buru Batzar, BBB). Subsequently, Urkullu was appointedspokespersonand number two of the executive.[10]
President of the BBB
editUpon Atutxa's decision not to run for re-election in 2000, Urkullu was unanimously elected as the president of the BBB on 20 May 2000.[10][18]
He was theBasque Nationalist Party(PNV)chairman[19]from 2008 to 2013, when he was succeeded byAndoni Ortuzarsince the party's rules do not allow a Lehendakari to be the party's chairman at the same time.
Lehendakari
edit
In 2017, he administered theRené Cassinaward toSexual Minorities Ugandafor their achievements in LGBT and human rights activism.
Amid the2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis,Urkullu tried to mediate between the Spanish and Catalan governments to avoid thedeclaration of independenceand the application ofArticle 155,but these attempts failed. He declared as a witness in theTrial of Catalonia independence leaderson 28 February 2019.[20][21]
He resided inAjuria Enea,the official residence of the president of the Basque Government, until the end of his term.
Notes
edit- ^According to the official website of the Basque Parliament, Urkullu was first elected to the Parliament in 1994.[12]However, due to him previously serving as a representative of the Parliament in the social council of theUniversity of the Basque Countryfrom 1986 to 1987, some media outlets have misreported as him being first elected in 1984 or 1986.[3][13]
References
edit- ^"Íñigo Urkullu ha sido reelegido presidente del PNV".RTVE.es(in Spanish). 15 January 2012.Retrieved20 May2019.
- ^"Íñigo Urkullu:" En ausencia de violencia hay que dejar paso a la política "".El Imparcial(in Spanish). 26 June 2012.Retrieved20 May2019.
- ^abcdZarracina, Pablo M. (13 December 2012)."Carácter y lejanía".El Correo(in Spanish).Retrieved28 August2024.
- ^abcdeOrdaz, Pablo (12 July 2020)."Iñigo Urkullu, nacido para lehendakari".El País(in Spanish). San Sebastián.Retrieved28 August2024.
- ^Muños, Ainhoa (20 February 2024)."Fallece a los 88 años Flori Renteria, la madre del lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu".El Diario Vasco(in Spanish). San Sebastián.Retrieved28 August2024.
- ^"Fallece la madre del lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu".Deia(in Spanish). 20 February 2024.Retrieved28 August2024.
- ^Cantera, Silvia (29 March 2017)."«Aquí están mis raíces»".El Correo(in Spanish).Retrieved3 September2024.
- ^Ormazabal, Mikel (25 November 2023)."Imanol Pradales, de alumno de Urkullu en la 'ikastola' a sucederle como candidato".El País(in Spanish). San Sebastián.Retrieved15 September2024.
- ^Argiñano, José Luis (15 December 2012)."Urkullu, nacido para ser 'lehendakari'… por casualidad".elDiario.es(in Spanish).Retrieved15 September2024.
- ^abc"El burukide pacifista".El Correo(in Spanish). 3 December 2007.Retrieved17 September2024.
- ^Cancela, Ekaitz (28 November 2023)."Iñigo Urkullu y el declive de la hegemonía del PNV".El Salto(in Spanish).Retrieved18 September2024.
- ^"Urkullu Renteria, Iñigo"(in Spanish). Basque Parliament.Retrieved18 September2024.
- ^ab"Urkullu, un moderado pero 'ortodoxo' del PNV marcado por la consulta de Ibarretxe".El Mundo(in Spanish). 2 December 2007.Retrieved18 September2024.
- ^Rioja Andueza, Iker (24 November 2023)."El PNV pone fin al ciclo de Urkullu con su liderazgo amenazado en Euskadi".elDiario.es(in Spanish). Vitoria.Retrieved18 September2024.
- ^Gastaca, Juan M. (15 January 2012)."El yerno perfecto con mano dura".El País(in Spanish). Bilbao.Retrieved18 September2024.
- ^Gastaca, Juan M. (16 January 2012)."La 'generación JoBuBi' al poder".El País(in Spanish). Bilbao.Retrieved19 September2024.
- ^abSegovia, Mikel (3 July 2021)."Un 'jobuvi', el auditor de confianza del PNV en el Tribunal Vasco de Cuentas".El Independentiente(in Spanish).Retrieved19 September2024.
- ^"Notable renovación en las restantes ejecutivas".El País(in Spanish). Bilbao. 20 May 2000.Retrieved24 September2024.
- ^Cambio 16.Información y Revistas, S.A. 1 January 2008.Retrieved25 July2011.
- ^Pozas, Alberto (27 February 2019)."De Mariano Rajoy a Iñigo Urkullu: qué tiene que contar cada testigo".Cadena SER(in Spanish). Madrid.Retrieved20 May2019.
- ^"Juicio al 'procés': Urkullu reconoce su papel mediador entre Rajoy y Puigdemont".El Plural(in Spanish). 28 February 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 28 February 2019.Retrieved20 May2019.
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