Gaspar Llamazares facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gaspar Llamazares
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| General Coordinator of United Left | |
| In office December 2000 – October 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Julio Anguita |
| Succeeded by | Cayo Lara |
| Councillor in Oviedo | |
| Assumed office 17 June 2023 |
|
| Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
| In office 20 November 2011 – 10 June 2015 |
|
| Constituency | Asturias |
| In office 14 March 2004 – 20 November 2011 |
|
| Constituency | Madrid |
| Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
| In office 12 March 2000 – 14 March 2004 |
|
| Constituency | Asturias |
| Member of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias | |
| In office 16 June 2015 – 21 January 2019 |
|
| Constituency | Central |
| In office 28 May 1991 – 5 April 2000 |
|
| Constituency | Central |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Gaspar Llamazares Trigo
28 November 1957 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain |
| Political party | Actúa (since 2017) United Left (1986–2019, 2023–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Izquierda Abierta (2012–2018) Communist Party of Spain (1981–2011) |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence | Asturias - Madrid |
| Website | http://www.gasparllamazares.com |
Gaspar Llamazares Trigo (born November 28, 1957) is a Spanish politician. He was the main leader of a political group called United Left (IU) from 2001 to 2008. This role is known as the General Coordinator.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Gaspar Llamazares was born in Logroño, a city in La Rioja, Spain. He grew up in Salinas, a town in Asturias, with his five brothers and sisters.
He studied medicine at two universities in Spain: the Autonomous University of Madrid and the University of Oviedo. While studying, he started a medical magazine called "Bocetos" (which means "sketches"). This magazine focused on how social issues affect health, which was a new idea at the time. After finishing his studies in Spain, he went to Cuba to get a special degree in Public Health from the University of Havana.
In 1985, he returned to Spain and began teaching. He taught at the University of Santiago de Compostela and later at a family medicine teaching unit in Cazoña, Cantabria.
Starting His Political Journey
Gaspar Llamazares joined the Communist Party in 1981. This was his first step into the world of politics.
In 1988, he became the Secretary General and General Coordinator for the United Left group in Asturias. This meant he was a key leader for the party in that region. By 1991, he was elected as a deputy to the regional parliament of Asturias. In this role, he spoke for the United Left group and worked with other political parties. He served in the Asturian Parliament until 2000.
Leading a National Political Party
In 2000, Gaspar Llamazares was elected as a deputy to the Spanish Congress, representing Asturias. This is a very important national parliament in Spain.
After the 2000 elections, the United Left party did not get as many seats as before. Because of this, Llamazares decided to run for the top leadership position, called General Coordinator, for the entire United Left party. He was elected to this role in December 2000. As General Coordinator, he became the main leader of the party in the Spanish Parliament.
He was re-elected as General Coordinator in 2003. In this role, he was also chosen as the party's candidate for Prime Minister in the upcoming elections.
Challenges and Changes in Leadership
In the 2004 general election, Llamazares was elected as a deputy for Madrid. However, the United Left party won fewer seats than ever before. This led to many members wondering about the party's direction.
Despite the challenges, Llamazares was re-elected as General Coordinator in a special meeting of the party. In 2007, before local elections, he became the first national political leader to campaign using a virtual world called Second Life.
Later in 2007, Llamazares announced that he would not seek re-election as General Coordinator after the next general election. He also decided to run again as the party's candidate for Prime Minister, winning the primary elections for this role.
After the 2008 general election, where the United Left again had difficult results, Llamazares confirmed he would not try to be re-elected as the party's leader. He officially stepped down in October 2008.
An Unexpected Mix-Up
In 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States published some digitally-aged pictures of wanted individuals. These pictures were supposed to show what the people might look like years later.
However, a Spanish newspaper discovered something surprising. One of the images had been created using a picture of Gaspar Llamazares, taken from Google Images. His hair and beard were used to make the aged image. The FBI later admitted to this mistake and removed the picture. They also started an investigation to find out how this happened.
See also
In Spanish: Gaspar Llamazares para niños
- Politics of Spain
- United Left (Spain)
