Joan Lerma

In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisLermaand the second or maternal family name isBlasco.

The Right Honourable Joan Lerma
President of the Valencian Government
In office 12 August 1982 – 3 July 1995
Monarch	Juan Carlos I
Preceded by	Enrique Monsonís
Succeeded by	Eduardo Zaplana
Personal details
Born	(1951-07-15)15 July 1951 Valencia,Spain
Political party	PSOE
Alma mater	University of Valencia
Signature

Joan Lerma Blasco(born 15 July 1951 inValencia, Spain) is a Spanish politician for theSpanish Socialist Workers' Party(PSOE), who served as the first democratically electedPresident of the Valencian Governmentsince the restoration of democracy in the 1970s.

Early life

Lerma gained a degree in Economic and Business Science from the University of Valencia in 1976. He was a youngTrotskyistand in 1973, practisedentryismby joining the Young Socialists (Spanish:Juventudes Socialistes). In 1974 he joined theUnión General de Trabajadores(UGT), a major trade union historically affiliated with the PSOE, becoming a PSOE member in 1975.at which point the party was still illegal under theFrancoist State.

He served as employment minister in the administration of theValencian Communityfrom April 1978 until June 1979. In July 1978, when theSocialist Party of the Valencian Country(PSPV) decided to merge with the PSOE, Lerma was elected Secretary for political relations between the two groupings and a year later became Secretary General of the combined PSPV-PSOE, the regional branch of the PSOE in the Valencian Community. He headed the regional PSPV-PSOE list at the1979 General Electionand was elected to theSpanish Congress of DeputiesrepresentingValencia Provinceand was re-elected in the subsequent elections in1982.

President of the Valencian Community

On 26 November 1982, Lerma was appointed President of the Valencian Community after the resignation ofEnrique Monsonís.This was the last occasion to date that a President was appointed as future President and would be chosen by theCorts Valencianes,the Valencian regional parliament.

In 1983, the PSOE won thefirst elections for the Corts Valencianessince the death of Franco with an absolute majorityand the parliament in turn selected Lerma as the first elected President of the Valencian Community since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s.

First administration

Lerma announced that the priorities of his first administration would be administrative reform, political and economic recovery and health and education.One controversial issue was the proposed layoffs at the 'Altos Hornos del Mediterraneo' steelworkswhich led to strikes by local Trade Unions.

Later career

The PSOE won the subsequent elections in the Valencian Community in 1987 and 1991 and Lerma was re-elected President of the Valencian Community on both occasions. However the party lost the 1995 election to thePartido Popular.Lerma blamed his defeat on the policies of the Central Government, singling out delays affecting the construction of motorways through the Valencian territory and lack of support from the Central Government in disputes with the neighbouring community ofCastile-La Manchaover the Central Government's National Hydrologic Plan as reasons for his defeat. Following his defeat, Lerma resigned from the Valencian Parliament. Although he had stated that he would only accept a Central Government post in "an emergency situation through a sense of duty",he was appointed Minister for Public Administration by the Prime MinisterFelipe Gonzalez.

Senator

Lerma returned to the Spanish Congress in 1996 when he was elected to theSpanish Senate,office he is holding as of August 2019. He served as PSOE spokesman in the Senate from 2004 to 2008.