Inés Arrimadas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Inés Arrimadas
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Inés Arrimadas in May 2017
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| Leader of the Citizens Party | |
| In office 14 March 2020 – 15 January 2023 |
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| Deputy | Marina Bravo Sobrino |
| Preceded by | Albert Rivera |
| Succeeded by | Patricia Guasp (as Spokesperson) |
| Spokesperson of the Citizens Group in the Congress of Deputies | |
| In office 21 May 2019 – 17 August 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Juan Carlos Girauta |
| Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Catalonia | |
| In office 2 October 2015 – 20 May 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Oriol Junqueras |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Carrizosa |
| Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
| In office 21 May 2019 – 17 August 2023 |
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| Constituency | Barcelona |
| Member of the Parliament of Catalonia | |
| In office 25 November 2012 – 20 May 2019 |
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| Constituency | Barcelona |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 July 1981 Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain |
| Political party | Citizens (until 2023) |
| Spouse |
Xavier Cima
(m. 2016; div. 2023) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Pablo de Olavide University |
Inés Arrimadas García (born 3 July 1981) is a Spanish lawyer and former politician. She was a Member of the Congress of Deputies, which is like a national parliament. She also served as the main spokesperson for the Citizens political party in the Congress.
Before this, she led the party's branch in Catalonia, a region in Spain. In March 2020, she was chosen to be the overall leader of the Citizens party. Inés Arrimadas grew up in Jerez de la Frontera. Before starting her political career, she worked as a consultant. She joined the Citizens party in 2011. She first became a spokesperson for the party's youth group. She was elected as a member of the Parliament of Catalonia in 2012. From 2015 to 2019, she was the Leader of the Opposition in the Catalan Parliament.
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Early Life and Education
Inés Arrimadas is the youngest of five children. Her parents, Rufino Arrimadas García and Inés García López, were both from Salmoral in the Province of Salamanca. In 2008, she moved to Barcelona.
School and Language Skills
Arrimadas went to a Catholic school called Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Jerez de la Frontera. She became interested in Catalonia because she was a big fan of FC Barcelona, a famous football team. This led her to learn Catalan from a classmate when she was in 7th and 8th grade. She even learned the club's anthem!
When she moved to Barcelona, her job helped her take formal Catalan classes. She became fluent in Spanish, Catalan, English, and French.
University Studies and Early Jobs
At 18, Arrimadas began studying law at Pablo de Olavide University. She also did a special study program in international business. This was part of the Erasmus programme and took place at IPAG Business School in Nice.
After university, Arrimadas worked for about a year and a half in the petrochemical industry. For six years, she worked as a consultant in Barcelona for a company called D'Aleph. She had moved to Barcelona in 2008.
Political Career
Role in the Catalan Parliament
In 2010, a coworker invited Arrimadas to a public event for the Citizens party. She went and started attending more of their meetings. The party leader, Albert Rivera, noticed her talent for speaking. In 2011, he asked her to join the Youth Commission of the Parliament of Catalonia. He also invited her to be part of the party's main leadership team.
Arrimadas was elected as a member of the Parliament of Catalonia in the 2012 Catalan regional election. In 2015, she became the spokesperson for the Citizens party in Catalonia. Later that year, she was chosen to lead the party for the Catalan elections on September 27.
In these elections, the Citizens party gained a lot of support. They got 17.9% of the votes and increased their seats from 9 to 25. This made them the largest party that was against Catalonia becoming independent. Arrimadas then became the Leader of the Opposition in the Catalan Parliament. In September 2017, Arrimadas reported a person who threatened her for her political views. The person was later given a suspended jail sentence.
During the 2017 election campaign, a false rumor spread online. It claimed that Arrimadas' father was a secret agent for the Francoist regime. This was not true; it was her father's cousin who had a position in that government. In 2018, Arrimadas clarified that a former Catalonia president, Lluís Companys, was executed by a Francoist, fascist government, not by the Spanish state itself.
Moving to the Congress of Deputies
In 2019, the Prime Minister of Spain called for a new election. Arrimadas decided to run for a seat in the national parliament, called the Cortes Generales. She was elected as a Member of the Congress of Deputies in the April 2019 election. In the November 2019 election, she kept her seat in the Chamber of Deputies.
On March 8, 2020, Inés Arrimadas was elected as the new leader of the Citizens party. She received 76.9% of the votes.
Personal Life
On 30 July 2016, Inés Arrimadas married Xavier Cima. He was also a former politician from Catalonia. They got married at an estate in Jerez de la Frontera. After their marriage, Cima left politics.
Their first son, Álex, was born in May 2020. In September 2021, Arrimadas announced she was expecting her second child. Their second son, Marc, was born in March 2022. Arrimadas and Cima divorced in 2023. She is currently in a relationship with Guillermo Díaz Gómez, who was also a former Citizens party member.
See also
In Spanish: Inés Arrimadas para niños
