Carles Puigdemont facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Carles Puigdemont MP
Official portrait, 2016
President of Together for Catalonia
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 October 2024
Preceded by	Laura Borràs
In office 9 August 2020 – 4 June 2022
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Laura Borràs
130th President of the Government of Catalonia
In office 12 January 2016 – 27 October 2017
Monarch	Felipe VI
Vice President	Oriol Junqueras
Preceded by	Artur Mas
Succeeded by	Direct rule (Quim Torra from 17 May 2018)
Member of the European Parliament for Spain
In office 2 July 2019 – 15 July 2024
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 June 2024
Constituency	Barcelona
In office 17 January 2018 – 30 July 2018
Constituency	Barcelona
In office 10 November 2006 – 27 October 2017
Constituency	Girona
Mayor of Girona
In office 1 July 2011 – 11 January 2016
Preceded by	Anna Pagans [ca; es]
Succeeded by	Albert Ballesta i Tura [ca]
Member of the Municipality Council of Girona
In office 11 June 2007 – 11 January 2016
Personal details
Born	Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (1962-12-29) 29 December 1962 (age 62) Amer, Catalonia, Spain
Political party	Junts (since 2020)
Other political affiliations	CNxR (2019–2020) PDeCAT (2016–2020) CDC (1980–2016)
Spouse	Marcela Topor ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	2
Residence	Waterloo, Belgium
Occupation	Politician journalist
Signature

Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (born 29 December 1962) is a Catalan politician and journalist from Spain. He has been the President of Together for Catalonia (Junts) since 2024. He also held this role from 2020 to 2022. From 2016 to 2017, he was the 130th President of the Government of Catalonia, which means he was the leader of the Catalan government.

During his time as president, his government organized a vote on independence for Catalonia. This led to a declaration of independence that was not successful, and he was removed from his position. After this, he served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2024.

Carles Puigdemont studied in Amer and Girona. In 1982, he became a journalist, writing for local newspapers and later becoming the editor-in-chief of El Punt. He also directed the Catalan News Agency from 1999 to 2002. His family supported Catalan independence, and he became involved in politics as a teenager. In 2006, he stopped journalism to focus on politics. He was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia for the Girona area. In 2011, he became the Mayor of Girona. On 10 January 2016, he was chosen as the 130th President of the Government of Catalonia.

Early Life and Family

Puigdemont (right) as a child with his elder brother

Carles Puigdemont was born on 29 December 1962 in Amer. This is a village in the province of Girona in north-eastern Catalonia, Spain. He is the second of eight sons born to Francesc Xavier Puigdemont i Oliveras, a baker, and Núria Casamajó i Ruiz.

His family had a strong connection to Catalan independence. His grandfather fought in the Spanish Civil War and later fled to France. The family bakery, Pastisseria Puigdemont, was started in 1928 and is still owned by the family. Both his great-grandfather and his uncle Josep Puigdemont were mayors of Amer and supported Catalan independence. His father, Xavier, also shared these views.

Carles went to school in Amer. When he was nine, he attended a Church-run boarding school in Girona. There, he was taught in Spanish. By age 16, he was already writing for the Diari de Girona newspaper, covering sports and other news.

As a teenager, Carles went to political meetings with his uncle Josep. He also helped start the Nationalist Youth of Catalonia. In 1980, he joined the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC), a political party that supported Catalan nationalism.

After school, Puigdemont began studying the Catalan philology at the University College of Girona. However, he left university to work as a journalist. In 1983, at 21, he was in a car accident that left him with a small scar on his face.

Journalism Career

In 1982, Carles Puigdemont started working as a journalist for El Punt. This was a Catalan language newspaper that supported independence. He worked his way up to become the paper's editor-in-chief, meaning he was in charge of all the news content. He also wrote a weekly column for Presència magazine. He is a member of the Catalan Journalists Association.

Starting in 1988, Puigdemont began collecting information about how Catalonia was seen in international newspapers. This research led to his 1994 book, Cata... què? Catalunya vista per la premsa internacional. This translates to "Cata...what? Catalonia as seen by the foreign press."

In the 1990s, Puigdemont took a year off to study how different countries in Europe handled language policies. This led him to work on using new technologies for news. He founded the Catalan News Agency (ACN), which was set up by the Generalitat de Catalunya in 1999. Puigdemont also started Catalonia Today, a magazine in English. He was the director of ACN until 2002. After that, he directed the Girona cultural center, the Casa de Cultura, until 2004.

Political Career

Protest against the trial of Artur Mas, Joana Ortega and Irene Rigau on 6 February 2017

Carles Puigdemont stopped working as a journalist in 2006 to focus entirely on politics. The Convergence and Union (CiU) political group asked him to run for the Parliament of Catalonia. He was elected in the 2006 regional election for the Province of Girona. He was re-elected in the 2010, 2012, and 2015 regional elections. For the 2015 election, he ran with the Junts pel Sí (JxSí) group.

In 2007, Puigdemont was elected to the Municipality Council of Girona. In the 2011 local elections, his party ended the Socialists' 32-year leadership in Girona. Puigdemont then became the Mayor of Girona. He was re-elected as mayor in 2015. He also became the head of the Association of Municipalities for Independence in July 2015.

On 10 January 2016, Puigdemont was elected the 130th President of Catalonia. This happened after an agreement between pro-independence parties. He resigned as Mayor of Girona the next day because a person cannot be both a regional president and a municipal mayor at the same time. He was the first president of Catalonia to choose not to take an oath of loyalty to the Spanish constitution and the Spanish monarch.

Catalan Independence Vote

Puigdemont addresses a crowd following the Catalan declaration of independence on 27 October 2017

In June 2017, Puigdemont announced that a vote on Catalan independence would be held on 1 October 2017. The Catalan Parliament passed a law on 6 September 2017 to allow this vote. The law stated the vote would be binding and decided by a simple majority.

The next day, the Constitutional Court of Spain stopped the law, blocking the vote. The Spanish government tried to stop the vote by arresting some Catalan government officials. Despite this, the vote went ahead. However, many people who did not support independence did not vote, so only 43% of citizens participated. Of those who voted, 92% supported independence. About 900 people were hurt when Spanish police tried to stop people from voting.

On 27 October 2017, the Catalan Parliament declared independence. Immediately after, the Senate of Spain used a special part of the constitution (article 155). This removed Puigdemont and the Catalan government from power and put Catalonia under direct rule from Spain. The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, then ended the Catalan Parliament and called for new regional elections on 21 December 2017.

On 30 October 2017, serious legal challenges were brought against Puigdemont and other members of the Catalan government. Puigdemont and five other Catalan ministers then traveled to Belgium. Puigdemont said he went to "the capital of Europe" to speak freely and safely. He stated he would not return to Spain unless he was guaranteed a fair trial.

Living in Belgium

Protest march in Barcelona in support of Puigdemont on 15 April 2018

On 3 November 2017, a Spanish judge issued European Arrest Warrants for Puigdemont and four others. This meant they could be arrested in other European countries. On 5 November 2017, the five politicians turned themselves in to the Belgian police. After a hearing, a Belgian judge released them on bail. They were told not to leave Belgium without permission.

On 5 December 2017, the Supreme Court of Spain removed the European Arrest Warrants. However, the judge warned that national arrest warrants were still valid. This meant the group could be arrested if they returned to Spain.

Catalan Elections

Puigdemont attending a memorial for the bombing of Guernica in Berlin on 26 April 2018

While still living outside Spain, Puigdemont ran in the 2017 regional election. He was re-elected to Parliament as a candidate for Together for Catalonia. After the election, parties supporting Catalan independence kept a small majority in the Catalan Parliament. Puigdemont asked for new talks with the Spanish government. He said he was willing to meet the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, outside of Spain. Rajoy refused this offer.

On 1 March 2018, Puigdemont hoped to be chosen as President of Catalonia again. However, the Catalan Parliament delayed the vote after warnings from Spain's courts. Puigdemont then announced he was no longer seeking to be re-elected as leader of Catalonia. He later said he would create a "Council of the Republic," which is like a government-in-exile.

Arrest in Germany

On 25 March 2018, Puigdemont was arrested in Germany near the Danish border. He was returning to Brussels from Finland. This arrest was based on a European warrant that had been reissued. On 5 April 2018, a German court decided that Puigdemont would not be sent back to Spain for the most serious accusations against him. He was released on bail while the court considered other accusations. He had to report to the police weekly and could not leave Germany without permission.

After his release, Puigdemont asked the Spanish government to release other Catalan separatists and start a discussion with them. On 12 July 2018, the German court confirmed he could not be sent back for the most serious charges. However, he could still be sent back for accusations of misusing public money. Puigdemont's legal team said they would challenge any decision to send him back. Later, on 19 July 2018, Spain removed the European arrest warrants against Puigdemont and other Catalan officials living outside Spain. This meant he was free to travel again, and he returned to Belgium.

European Elections

Puigdemont was the top candidate for the Lliures per Europa [es] list in the 2019 European Parliament election in Spain. He was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. However, he did not attend the required ceremony in Madrid to become an MEP. Because of this, the European Parliament initially did not recognize him as an MEP. Puigdemont and another politician, Toni Comín, challenged this decision.

On 20 December 2019, Puigdemont was officially recognized as an MEP. This happened after a ruling from the European Court of Justice. Puigdemont and Comín attended their first European Parliament session on 13 January 2020. They joined as non-attached members, meaning they didn't belong to a specific political group. Puigdemont's first speech in the Parliament was about the right of people to decide their own future.

Later in January 2020, Puigdemont and Comín withdrew their request to join a specific political group in the European Parliament. Also in January 2020, a Spanish Supreme Court judge asked the European Parliament to remove Puigdemont's and Comín's special protection as MEPs.

On 30 April 2021, Morocco offered Puigdemont asylum, which means protection from being sent back to Spain.

Arrest in Italy

On 23 September 2021, Puigdemont was arrested at the Alghero–Fertilia Airport in Italy. He had just arrived on a flight from Brussels. The Italian police made the arrest because of a Spanish Supreme Court European Arrest Warrant from 2019. The day after his arrest, he was released without any special conditions, as requested by the Italian prosecutor. He had planned to meet with local officials and attend a cultural event in Sardinia.

His arrest brought Puigdemont back into the spotlight in Catalan politics. One day after his release, he announced he would attend a court hearing in Sassari, Italy, on 4 October.

Return to Spain

On 8 August 2024, Carles Puigdemont returned to Spain after seven years of living in Belgium to avoid arrest. He gave a strong speech at the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona. In his speech, he said that Catalonia has the right to decide its own future. He then quickly disappeared into the crowd. "Holding a referendum is not and will never be a crime," Puigdemont stated.

This event led to a large police search. A police officer was arrested because his car was reportedly used in Puigdemont's escape. This raised questions about whether some police were involved. Puigdemont's return happened at the same time as Salvador Illa became the new Catalan president. This marked a change in the region's political focus from independence to social issues. Puigdemont's sudden appearance and disappearance made the political situation even more complicated. Many opposition leaders criticized the event, saying it harmed Spain's image.

Ideology and Positions

Carles Puigdemont was one of the people who started the youth group of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC). This party was on the right-of-center. Since then, Puigdemont has been closely linked to the strongest supporters of Catalan independence within the party. When he was mayor of Girona, his policies focused on liberal economic ideas.

In 2017, Puigdemont described the European Union (EU) as a "club of old and fading countries" that was "controlled by a small few." He also suggested that Catalonia should be allowed to vote on leaving the EU if its people wanted to. Even though he supports the EU and the euro, he believes "we should work to change it." He has said he doesn't like an EU that doesn't protect human rights and the right for people to be represented. He has denied being "europhobic" (disliking Europe). Instead, he calls himself and his party "euro-demanding," meaning they want more from Europe.

In May 2024, Puigdemont pointed out that Spain recognized Palestine but not Kosovo, even though the European Union has diplomatic ties with Kosovo. He also said that Spain helps Turkey "to suppress the Kurds." Puigdemont stated that "Above all, Spain is the country that suppressed the democratic referendum of Catalonia" on 1 October 2017.

Personal Life

President Puigdemont walking through Barcelona with his daughters on Saint George's Day

Carles Puigdemont married Romanian journalist Marcela Topor in 2000. They have two daughters, Magali and Maria, and live in Girona. He can speak Catalan, English, French, Romanian, and Spanish. Puigdemont supports the football teams Girona FC and FC Barcelona. He also enjoys playing rock guitar and the electric piano. As a teenager, around 1980, Puigdemont played bass in a short-lived Catalan rock band.

On 2 February 2018, the Belgian town of Waterloo confirmed that he had rented a house there. He planned to make it his official home.

Electoral History

President Puigdemont, Prime Minister Rajoy and King Felipe VI attending the Barcelona rally in response to terror attacks in August 2017

See also

In Spanish: Carles Puigdemont para niños