Iñaki Urdangarin facts for kids
Urdangarin in 2010
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| Birth name | Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaert | ||||||||||
| Nationality | Spanish | ||||||||||
| Born | 15 January 1968 Zumárraga, Basque, Spain |
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| Sport | Handball | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaert (born 15 January 1968) is a former Spanish handball player. He later became a businessman. He was also married to Infanta Cristina, who is the younger daughter of former King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain. This made him the brother-in-law of the current King Felipe VI.
Iñaki Urdangarin was involved in a legal case known as the Nóos case. He was found guilty of misusing public money that was meant for sports events through a foundation he ran. He was also found guilty of misusing his title as the husband of Infanta Cristina. In 2018, he was sentenced to prison. He was later put on supervised release.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Iñaki Urdangarin was born on January 15, 1968, in Zumárraga, a town in northern Spain. His father, Juan María Urdangarin Berriochoa, was an engineer and businessman. His mother, Claire Françoise Liebaert Courtain, was from Belgium.
He has six brothers and sisters. His grandparents came from the small village of Zumárraga. Iñaki Urdangarin also earned a special business degree (an MBA).
Sports Career
When he was 18, Iñaki Urdangarin became a professional handball player. He played for the FC Barcelona handball team until he stopped playing in 2000. While playing, he also studied at a business school in Barcelona. There, he earned a master's degree in business.
He was part of the Spanish handball team in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics. He was the team captain in 2000. His team won the bronze medal (third place) in both the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
Since 2001, Urdangarin has been a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee. This group helps organize Spain's Olympic efforts. In 2001, he received a special award called the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit for his achievements in sports. In 2001, he also retired from playing handball professionally. He then became a director at a sports marketing company.
Legal Issues
In 2011, Iñaki Urdangarin was accused of misusing public money. This happened through a non-profit group he was involved with, called the Nóos Institute. Investigators looked into the Nóos Institute. It was believed that he convinced different government groups in Spain to pay the Nóos Institute for work that was either not done or cost much more than it should have. This involved a large amount of public money.
In December 2011, it was confirmed that Urdangarin had sent large sums of public money to bank accounts in other countries. Because of this issue, the Royal Household of Spain announced that he would no longer take part in official activities with the royal family. The King of Spain at the time, Juan Carlos, said that "Justice is the same for everyone."
In 2012, Urdangarin appeared before a judge to answer questions about the accusations. He was investigated along with 14 other people. In 2013, the Spanish royal household removed his section from their official website.
In 2017, he was sentenced to prison. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Spain confirmed a sentence of five years and ten months in prison. He began his sentence in a prison in Ávila. By 2021, he was allowed to be on supervised release, meaning he only had to visit the prison once a week.
Personal Life
Iñaki Urdangarin met Infanta Cristina, who is a princess of Spain, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. They got married in Barcelona on October 4, 1997. They have four children: Juan (born 1999), Pablo (born 2000), Miguel (born 2002), and Irene (born 2005).
The family lived in Barcelona from 1997 to 2009. From 2009 to 2011, they lived in Washington, D.C., in the United States. In 2013, Iñaki Urdangarin stayed in Barcelona for his trial, while his wife and children moved to Geneva, Switzerland. In January 2022, Cristina and Urdangarin announced they were separating. They divorced in December 2023.
Titles and Honours
Titles
- 15 January 1968 – 4 October 1997: Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaert
- 4 October 1997 – 12 June 2015: The Most Excellent The Duke of Palma de Mallorca
- 12 June 2015 – present: The Most Excellent Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaert
After his marriage, Iñaki Urdangarin was often called the Duke of Palma de Mallorca, which was his wife's title. However, in 2015, Cristina lost this title. Iñaki Urdangarin still keeps the special style of The Most Excellent because he is a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit.
Honours
Spain : Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Sports Merit (2001).
Germany : Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2002).
Luxembourg : Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown (2001).
Images for kids
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Urdangarin in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Iñaki Urdangarin para niños
