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FC Barcelona, nicknamed "Barça", is a football club based in Barcelona, Spain that competes in La Liga, the most senior football league in Spain. Since its founding in 1899, the club has had 39 different presidents. The club is owned by the club-members of FC Barcelona, and similarly to a limited liability company, they elect the president by a ballot. The president has the responsibility for the overall management of the club, including formally signing contracts with players and staff. In Spain, it is customary for the president to watch the games in which the first-team participates, together with the president from the opposing team.
On October 22, 1899, Swiss sportsman Joan Gamper placed an advertisement in the Los Deportes newspaper declaring his wish to form a football club in the city. A positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on November 29 which eleven men attended, including Walter Wild, later to become the first president of the club, and Bartomeu Terradas, who became the second president. As a result of this meeting FC Barcelona was formed.[1]
In 1908, Gamper became club president for the first time, taking over the presidency to save the club from extinction.[1] The club had not won anything since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905, and as a result was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Gamper was subsequently club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925 and spent 26 years with the club. One of his main achievements was to help Barça acquire its own stadium and thus a way of generating stable income.[1] An annual pre-season competition, the Joan Gamper Trophy, has been held in his honour since 1966.[2]
The team won six Campionat de Catalunya titles between 1930 and 1938,[3] but success at national level (with the exception of the 1937 disputed title) evaded them. From the formation of La Liga until 1978, Barcelona had 20 different presidents, meaning each presidential period lasted on average two-and-a-half years. In 1978 Josep Lluís Núñez became the first elected president of FC Barcelona, and ever since members of the club have elected the club president. The process of electing a president of FC Barcelona was closely tied to Spain's transition to democracy in 1974 and the end of Franco's dictatorship. Núñez's main objective was to develop Barça into a world-class club by giving it stability both on and off the pitch.[4] His presidency lasted for 22 years, making him the longest-serving president.
After the departure of Núñez in 2000, his vice-president through 22 years, Joan Gaspart took over the club. During his presidency of the club, the team won no trophies and, after two-and-a-half years Gaspart resigned his position on February 12, 2003 when the team lay in 15th place, two points above relegation.[5] Enric Reyna was elected as temporary president until the board resigned on May 5, 2003. Hereafter an interim commission presided until the general elections were held.[6] On June 15, 2003 Joan Laporta entered office and was the most successful president in terms of Champions league trophies. The club won the Champions League twice within three years and completed an "unprecedented sextuple" by winning the 2008–09 La Liga, 2008–09 Copa del Rey, 2009 Supercopa de España, 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, 2009 UEFA Super Cup and 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.[7]
On June 13, 2010 Sandro Rosell was elected president of FC Barcelona with more than 60% of the vote of Barça's club members, and he formally took over the presidency on July 1, 2010.[8]
Below is the official presidential history of FC Barcelona, from when Walter Wild took over at the club in 1899, until the present day.[9]
| Name | Nationality[n 1] | From | To | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Wild | English | November 29, 1899 | April 25, 1901 | |
| Bartomeu Terradas | Spanish | April 25, 1901 | September 5, 1902 | |
| Paul Haas | German | September 5, 1902 | September 17, 1903 | |
| Arthur Witty | English | September 17, 1903 | October 6, 1905 | |
| Josep Soler | Spanish | October 6, 1905 | October 16, 1906 | |
| Juli Marial | Spanish | October 16, 1906 | November 11, 1908 | |
| Vicenç Reig | Spanish | November 11, 1908 | December 2, 1908 | |
| Joan Gamper | Swiss | December 2, 1908 | October 14, 1909 | |
| Otto Gmeling | German | October 14, 1909 | November 17, 1910 | 1 Copa del Rey |
| Joan Gamper | Swiss | November 17, 1910 | June 30, 1913 | 2 Copa del Rey |
| Francesc de Moxó | Spanish | June 30, 1913 | July 30, 1914 | |
| Àlvar Presta | Spanish | July 30, 1914 | September 29, 1914 | |
| Joaquim Peris de Vargas | Spanish | September 29, 1914 | June 29, 1915 | |
| Rafael Llopart | Spanish | June 29, 1915 | June 25, 1916 | |
| Gaspar Rosés | Spanish | June 25, 1916 | June 17, 1917 | |
| Joan Gamper | Swiss | June 17, 1917 | June 10, 1919 | |
| Ricard Graells | Spanish | June 10, 1919 | June 27, 1920 | 1 Copa del Rey |
| Gaspar Rosés | Spanish | June 27, 1920 | July 17, 1921 | |
| Joan Gamper | Swiss | July 17, 1921 | July 29, 1923 | 1 Copa del Rey |
| Eric Cardona | Spanish | July 29, 1923 | June 1, 1924 | |
| Joan Gamper | Swiss | June 1, 1924 | December 17, 1925 | 1 Copa del Rey |
| Arcadi Balaguer | Spanish | December 17, 1925 | March 23, 1929 | 2 Copa del Rey |
| Tomàs Rosés | Spanish | March 23, 1929 | June 30, 1930 | 1 La Liga |
| Gaspar Rosés | Spanish | June 30, 1930 | October 22, 1931 | |
| Antoni Oliver | Spanish | October 22, 1931 | December 20, 1931 | |
| Joan Coma | Spanish | December 20, 1931 | July 16, 1934 | |
| Esteve Sala | Spanish | July 16, 1934 | July 27, 1935 | |
| Josep Sunyol | Spanish | July 27, 1935 | August 6, 1936 | |
| Managing Commission[10] | N/A | August 6, 1936 | May 6, 1939 | |
| Joan Soler | Spanish | May 6, 1939 | March 13, 1940 | |
| Enrique Piñeyro | Spanish | March 13, 1940 | July 10, 1942 | 1 Copa del Rey |
| Josep Vidal-Ribas | Spanish | July 10, 1942 | August 13, 1942 | |
| Enrique Piñeyro | Spanish | August 13, 1942 | August 20, 1943 | |
| Josep Antoni de Albert | Spanish | August 20, 1943 | September 20, 1943 | |
| Josep Vendrell | Spanish | September 20, 1943 | September 20, 1946 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa Eva Duarte |
| Agustí Montal Galobart | Spanish | September 20, 1946 | July 16, 1952 | 3 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa Eva Duarte |
| Enric Martí Carreto | Spanish | July 16, 1952 | September 22, 1953 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Copa Eva Duarte |
| Francesc Miró-Sans | Spanish | September 22, 1953 | February 28, 1961 | 2 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 Fairs Cup |
| Enric Llaudet | Spanish | February 28, 1961 | January 17, 1968 | 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Fairs Cup |
| Narcís de Carreras | Spanish | January 17, 1968 | December 18, 1969 | 1 Copa del Rey |
| Agustí Montal Costa | Spanish | December 18, 1969 | December 18, 1977 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey |
| Raimon Carrasco | Spanish | December 18, 1977 | July 1, 1978 | 1 Copa del Rey |
| Josep Lluís Núñez | Spanish | July 1, 1978 | July 23, 2000 | 7 La Liga, 6 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa de la Liga, 5 Spanish Supercup, 1 European Cup, 4 Cup Winners' Cup, 2 UEFA Super Cup |
| Joan Gaspart | Spanish | July 23, 2000 | February 12, 2003 | |
| Enric Reyna | Spanish | February 12, 2003 | May 6, 2003 | |
| Managing Commission[11] | N/A | May 6, 2003 | June 15, 2003 | |
| Joan Laporta[n 2] | Spanish | June 15, 2003 | June 30, 2010 | 4 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 Spanish Supercup, 2 Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup |
| Sandro Rosell | Spanish | July 1, 2010 | — | 2 Spanish Supercup, 1 La Liga, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup |
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