Albert Rivera
| Albert Rivera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
|
Assumed office 7 January 2016 | |
| President of Citizens | |
|
Assumed office 9 July 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Member of the Catalan Parliament | |
|
In office 1 November 2006 – 4 August 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Albert Rivera Díaz 15 November 1979 Barcelona, Spain |
| Political party | Citizens (2005–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Mariona Saperas |
| Children | Daniela |
| Alma mater | Ramon Llull University |
Albert Rivera Díaz (legal name: Alberto Carlos Rivera Díaz, born 15 November 1979) is a Spanish lawyer and politician, who has been the leader of Citizens since July 2006. He is a member of the Congress of Deputies and a former member of the Parliament of Catalonia.
Early life and education
Rivera was born in Barcelona. He won the Catalan swimming championships at the age of 16[1] and played for the Granollers water polo team.[2]
He went on to study law at ESADE, part of the Ramon Llull University, completing the degree in 1997. He completed a master's degree in constitutional law from the same institution in 2002.[3] He also studied for one year at the University of Helsinki in Finland, as part of an Erasmus scholarship. He has also taken a course at the George Washington University in political marketing.[2]
After starting his degree in law, he began to be interested in politics by taking part in a debating competition.
Professional career
Once he completed his university studies, Rivera began working as a legal counsel at the La Caixa savings bank in 2002.[3] He stopped working for La Caixa in 2006 when he became the president of Citizens.[2]
Political career
Rivera was elected as the president of Citizens during their founding conference in July 2006. He was re-elected as president again in 2007 and 2011.
Rivera was first elected to the Parliament of Catalonia in the 2006 parliamentary election, and remained a member until he stepped down before the 2015 parliamentary election. Launching the Citizen's campaign for the Parliament of Catalonia in 2006, Rivera published a number of leaflets where he posed naked alongside the caption: "We don't care where you were born. We don't care which language you speak. We don't care what kind of clothes you wear. We care about you."[4] Rivera, and the wider Citizens party, are opposed to Catalan independence.[5]
References
- ↑ http://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2006/10/elecciones-cataluna/candidatos/rivera.html Perfil de Albert Rivera en elmundo.es
- 1 2 3 Valdivia, Antonio Ruiz (22 February 2015). "23 cosas que no sabías de Albert Rivera". El Huffington Post (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- 1 2 "Currículum Vitae de Albert Rivera". Modelo Curriculum (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ↑ Clark, Amy (7 October 2006). "Candidate Bares Naked Truth, Literally". CBS News. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ↑ "Clean hands". The Economist. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
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