Montserrat Tura i Camafreita

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Minister of Home Affairs of the Generalitat de Catalunya
Montserrat Tura i Camafreita
Minister of Justice of the Generalitat de Catalunya
Incumbent
Assumed office 2006
Preceded by	Josep Maria Vallès i Casadevall
In office 2003 – 2006
Preceded by	Núria de Gispert i Català
Succeeded by	Joan Saura i Laporta

Born	November, 1954 Mollet del Vallès (Vallès Oriental)
Political party	PSC
Residence	Mollet del Vallès

Montserrat Tura (b. in Mollet del Vallès in 1954) is a Spanish politician and Member of the Parliament of Catalonia. Since December 16, 2003, she has served as Minister of Home Affairs. She is currently married with two daughters.

[edit] Life overview

She was born into a country family strongly defined by its political activity in support of liberty, democracy and Catalanism and she was linked to anti-Franco organisations from a very early age. Since she is the daughter and the grand-daughter of democratically elected mayors of Mollet, her childhood was marked by the sadness imprinted on her family by events relating to the repression of Republicans by Francoists and Nazis. Clandestinely active since she was sixteen and in the first years of the transition after Franco’s death, she took part in university movements and in a number of environmentalist groups.

After graduating with degrees in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona, she combined medical practice with her specialisation in health care management and economics. In 1981, she started practicing at Palamós Hospital, and was appointed General Director the following year. During her time as Medical Director and General Director, she also oversaw the planning and construction of a new hospital.

Except for the time she worked in Palamós, Tura has always lived in Mollet.

[edit] Political background

In 1979, she joined the PSC-PSOE and has been a member of the national leadership since 1990. She was Mayoress of Mollet from 30 June 1987 to 21 December 2003, a time when the city underwent an extraordinary transformation from both the urban and sociocultural point of view. It was an Olympic site in the 1992 Barcelona Games and commemorated its Millennium in 1993. Some flagship projects during her office are the Museu Municipal Joan Abelló, the Parc dels Colors, by architect Enric Miralles, and the new Town Hall.

During this time, she also held the following posts:

County Councillor for Vallès Oriental (1988-1991)
President of the Consortium for the Defence of the Besòs River Basin (1993-1995)
Member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia (FMC)
President of the Group of Socialist and Progressive Local Representatives of Catalonia (1993-1995)
President of the various independent municipal agencies
President of the Private Foundation for Environmental Studies of Mollet del Vallès, in charge of managing the UPC for the environment, a college attached to the UAB.

She has the following responsibilities in her party:

President of the Local Group of Mollet
Member of the National Executive Committee of the PSC
National Secretary for the Environment

She was elected Member of the Catalan Parliament in the 1995 regional elections and re-elected in 1999 and 2003. As an MP, she has been on the Regional Policy, Economy, Finances and Budgets committees, and she was Vice President of the Organisation and Administration of the Regional Assembly and Local Government committee. In the sixth term of office, she was spokesperson for the Socialists - Citizens for Change parliamentary group and part of its management committee. In January 2004, she resigned her seat.

Preceded by Josep Maria Vallès i Casadevall	Minister of Justice 2006–	Succeeded by none
Preceded by Núria de Gispert i Català (as Minister of Justice and Home Affairs)	Minister of Home Affairs 2003–2006	Succeeded by Joan Saura i Laporta (as Minister of Home Affairs and Institutional Relations and Participation)