Carmen Calvo Poyato (born 9 June 1957 in Cabra, Córdoba) is a politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party who served between 2004 and 2007 as Minister of Culture in the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
She studied at the University of Seville and the University of Córdoba, where she received a doctorate in constitutional law. Between 1995 and 2004 she served in the regional government of Andalucia under Manuel Chaves.
In the Spanish general election in March 2004, she was elected to the Spanish Congress of Deputies, representing Córdoba and was subsequently appointed Minister of Culture by the new President of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
As Minister of Culture, she was an outspoken opponent of copyright piracy, and in 2005 her department spent around one million euros on a campaign to educate the public about the importance of intellectual property.[1] However, she was criticised by music industry officials for her statement that intellectual property "is not an absolute right".[2]