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Carles PuigdemontCatalan politician and former journalist
Country:
 Spain |
Content:
- Birth and Family
- Early Life and Education
- Journalistic Career
- Political Career
- Personal Life
- Hobbies and Interests
Birth and Family
Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó was born on December 29th, 1962, in Amer, Girona, Spain. He is the second of eight children born to Xavier Puigdemont and Núria Casamajó, who were bakers. His family has no history of political involvement, but his great-grandfather and uncle, Josep Puigdemont, served as mayors of Amer.
Early Life and Education
Puigdemont received his primary and secondary education in his hometown, attending a boarding school run by the Church of Santa Maria del Collell. During his youth, he assisted with the family business and played bass guitar in a pop-rock band called Zenit. At the age of 16, he began writing for the newspaper Diari de Girona, initially covering football matches.
Puigdemont studied at the University of Girona, majoring in Catalan philology. However, he abandoned his studies to pursue a career in journalism.
Journalistic Career
In 1981, Puigdemont joined the newspaper El Punt, where he rose to the position of editor-in-chief. He also worked for the magazine Presència. In 1988, Puigdemont began researching Catalonia's international press coverage, which culminated in the publication of the book "Cata... què? Catalunya vista per la premsa internacional" in 1994.
Puigdemont was a member of the Catalan News Agency Association. During the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he participated in an organization that supported Catalan nationalists arrested in the so-called "Garzón Operation."
Political Career
In the 1990s, Puigdemont traveled throughout Europe and worked on the implementation of new information technologies, leading to the creation of the Catalan News Agency (ACN) in 1999. He headed the agency until 2002, when Carles Paramo, the then President of the Girona Provincial Council, offered him the position of director of the Girona Cultural Center.
Puigdemont also founded the English-language magazine Catalonia Today. He left journalism in 2006 to focus on politics, again at Paramo's suggestion to run for the Catalan Parliament.
In 2007, Puigdemont ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Girona and served as an opposition councillor. However, in the 2011 election, he became mayor, ending 32 years of Socialist rule in the city. In July 2015, he succeeded Josep Maria Vila d'Abadal as president of the Association of Municipalities for Independence and was re-elected to the Catalan Parliament as a candidate from the Junts pel Sí coalition (September 27th, 2015).
On January 10th, 2016, Puigdemont was elected President of Catalonia by the Catalan Parliament, after a last-minute compromise between the Junts pel Sí and Candidatura d'Unitat Popular blocks. He ceased to be Mayor of Girona on January 11th, 2016, as holding both offices simultaneously was not permitted by law.
Succeeding Artur Mas, Puigdemont became the first President of Catalonia to decline to take the oath of loyalty to King Felipe VI and the Spanish Constitution.
Personal Life
Puigdemont has been married to Romanian journalist Marcela Topor since 2000. They have two daughters, Magali and Maria. His daughters participated in the campaign for the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Puigdemont speaks Catalan, French, Spanish, and Romanian.
Hobbies and Interests
As a child, Puigdemont dreamt of becoming an astronaut. His interests include music and reading. His favorite dessert is the traditional Girona pastry known as xuixo. Among his favorite artists is Paul Gauguin. His favorite musical album is the soundtrack to the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar."
An enthusiast for new technologies and social media, Puigdemont was one of the first Twitter users in Catalonia. He has over 14,000 tweets and more than 400,000 followers on the platform.
