Joan Saura i Laporta

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Joan Saura i Laporta
1st Minister of Institutional Relations and Participation of the Generalitat de Catalunya (since 16 December 2003) President of ICV (since November 2000)

Born	Monday, April 24, 1950 Barcelona (Barcelonès)
Political party	ICV

Joan Saura i Laporta was born in Barcelona in 1950. He studied at the Escola d'Enginyeria Tècnica (Technical Engineering School), where he specialized in Industrial Chemistry. In the beginning, he was devoted to the trade union and the neighbourhood: he enrolled into the CCOO in 1973, while he was working for the electrics company FECSA, and cofounded the La Florida Neighbourhood Association, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 1974.

1 Municipal policy
2 Parliament of Catalonia
3 Congress of the Deputies
4 President of ICV
5 A Generalitat candidate

[edit] Municipal policy

He became town councillor in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat by the PSUC party at the first democratical elections (1979), where he participated in the formation of the government, and he kept as town councilor until 1991.

He also chaired (from 1983 to 1987) the Public Transports commission in Barcelona.

[edit] Parliament of Catalonia

He was elected for the III and IV Legislature (1988 to 1995) as deputy for Barcelona in the Catalan Parliament by the ICV party. He was the spokesperson of his party's group and became its president in 1993.

In this Parliament he has roled in several positions, including membership in the Economy, Finances and Budget commission, in the Industry commission, Territorial Politics and several others.

[edit] Congress of the Deputies

He was elected in March 3 of 1996 as deputy of the Congress for Barcelona, and reelected in March 12 of 2000, where he has been involved in several Parliamentary Commissions (such as Environment and Defense).

As deputy, Joan Saura has defended several initiatives, such as a rise for the minimum salary, fight against labor sinisterness, homosexual marriage and the Tobin tax. Additionally, he has been strongly opposed to other ones: the Plan Hidrológico Nacional (PHN), the law of reform of the labor market, the law of quality in teaching, the parties' law, the tax reform, the Prestige affair and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

[edit] President of ICV

Joan Saura joined the original process of Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (ICV), and he became its vice-president (1993) as well as the head of political relations with Spain.

In the 6th Assembly of the party, (November 2000), he was elected as President of ICV. In June of 2002 the party gained an electoral agreement with Esquerra Unida i Alternativa, and Els Verds-Esquerra Ecologista.

[edit] A Generalitat candidate

On May 25, 2002 he was elected as the candidate to the presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya by the ICV-EUiA coalition. For that reason, he set up in 2002 a Participative Process and the "What do you think?" campaign, to define the axis of the party's program based on civil participation.

In the elections of 2003, his party got 9 seats in the Catalan Parliament and he, after few months of negotiation, became Minister of Institutional Relations and Participation.

Preceded by (none)	Minister of Institutional Relations and Participation 2003–	Succeeded by still in office
Preceded by Rafael Ribó i Massó	President of ICV 2000–	Succeeded by still in office