Carles Puigdemont facts for kids

Carles Puigdemont
Quick facts for kids The Very Honourable ; Carles Puigdemont
	Puigdemont in 2016
130th President of Catalonia
	In office; 12 January 2016 – 28 October 2017
Monarch	Felipe VI
Vice President	Oriol Junqueras
Preceded by	Artur Mas
Succeeded by	Quim Torra
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia; for the Province of Barcelona
	Incumbent
	Assumed office; December 2017
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia; for the Province of Girona
	In office; 10 November 2006 – 27 October 2017
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 ; 29 December 1962 (age 58); Amer, Catalonia, Spain
Political party	Catalan European Democratic Party
Other political; affiliations	Junts per Catalunya
Spouse(s)	Marcela Topor (m. 2000)
Children	2
Residence	Girona / Waterloo
Occupation	Journalist
Signature

Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (born 29 December 1962) was the President of Catalonia. His party, Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya, CDC) won the elections in 2016.

Removal

His status as President is a matter of dispute following Catalonia's declaration of independence from Spain on 27 October 2017. From the perspective of the Government of Catalonia, he remains Catalan President. From the perspective of the Government of Spain, he was removed from office by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on 28 October 2017. Puigdemont did not recognize his removal from office, stating that he will "work to build a free country".

On 30 October 2017, Puigdemont fled to Belgium in a move to avoid action from the Spanish judiciary. A month later, he was re-elected to the Parliament.

Arrest

On 2 November, Spanish courts issued an European Arrest Warrant against Puigdemont and four other cabinet members to Belgian authorities. Two days later, they turned themselves in to the Belgian police. Hours later, he was released.

On 25 March 2018, while returning to Brussels from a trip to Finland, Puigdemont was stopped near the Danish border with Germany and arrested pursuant to the European warrant that had been reissued against him two days previously. On 5 April 2018, the Oberlandesgericht in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein ruled that Puigdemont would not be extradited on the charges of rebellion, and released him on bail.

Images for kids

Puigdemont (right) as a child with his elder brother
Protest against the trial of Artur Mas, Joana Ortega and Irene Rigau on 6 February 2017
Puigdemont addresses a crowd following the Catalan declaration of independence on 27 October 2017
Protest march in Barcelona in support of Puigdemont on 15 April 2018
Puigdemont and Comín attending the EP session on 13 January 2020
President Puigdemont walking through Barcelona with his daughters on Saint George's Day