José Ignacio Wert facts for kids

Quick facts for kids José Ignacio Wert Ortega
José Ignacio Wert in 2012
Minister of Education, Culture and Sport
In office 22 December 2011 – 25 June 2015
President	Mariano Rajoy
Preceded by	Ángel Gabilondo (Education) Ángeles González-Sinde (Culture)
Succeeded by	Íñigo Méndez de Vigo
Personal details
Born	(1950-02-18) 18 February 1950 (age 75) Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Political party	Independent (Formerly Partido Popular)

José Ignacio Wert Ortega was born on 18 February 1950, in Madrid, Spain. He is a Spanish politician who served as the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports. He was appointed to this role on 22 December 2011 by the Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy. He left his position on 25 June 2015 and was replaced by Íñigo Méndez de Vigo.

Early Life and Career

José Ignacio Wert went to school at the Colegio Santa María del Pilar in Madrid. He studied Law at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he achieved excellent grades and won a special award. He also earned a master's degree in Political Sociology.

In 1979, he started working for the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation. He first worked in technology and later helped study what people watched on TV. He also taught about communication at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Wert was involved in politics from an early age. He was a member of different political parties, including the Democratic Left and the Union of Democratic Center. He held several important jobs in public organizations. For example, he led a team that studied content and audience research.

In 1979, he became an assistant director at the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS). This is a Spanish agency that conducts surveys and research for the government. In 1980, he was chosen to be part of the Advisory Council for the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation.

Between 1974 and 1978, he also taught Political Sociology at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Political Roles and Private Sector Work

During a time of change in his political party, Wert joined the Democratic Popular Party. In 1983, he was chosen to run for city council in Madrid. He won and served as a councilor for the Madrid City Council.

He stayed in the city council until 1986. That year, he was elected as a deputy (a type of representative) for A Coruña in the Spanish Parliament.

In 1986, he decided to leave his political seat. He then worked in the private sector. He mainly worked for companies that conduct surveys and study what people watch or listen to.

Later, in 2003, he started working for BBVA, a large bank. He was an assistant to the bank's president, Francisco González. He was in charge of the bank's corporate relations. From 2003 to 2005, he also led the European Foundation for Quality Management on behalf of BBVA. After leaving BBVA, he became the president of a company called Inspire Consultores.

Minister of Education, Culture and Sport

On 22 December 2011, José Ignacio Wert was appointed as the Spanish Minister of Education, Culture and Sport. This was a very important role where he was in charge of schools, arts, and sports across Spain.

Education Reforms

In January 2012, Minister Wert announced his plans to change the general secondary education system. His idea was to reduce the number of years for compulsory secondary education. It would go from four years to two years. At the same time, the Baccalaureate (a type of high school diploma) would increase from two to four years. This meant removing the fourth year of secondary education.

Many groups, like trade unions, did not agree with this plan. They worried it might lead to more private schools. Teachers also complained that the changes would be very expensive and might not work well. This reform was similar to an older law called the LOCE. That law was passed by a previous government but was never put into action.

The Spanish Biographical Dictionary

One of Minister Wert's decisions was to continue funding the Biographical Spanish Dictionary. This dictionary was published by the Spanish Royal Academy of History. It received 193,000 euros in funding.

However, the dictionary caused some controversy. Some entries, like the one about General Francisco Franco, did not call him a dictator. They also did not mention the period of repression under his rule. In July 2011, the Spanish Parliament asked for the funding to be stopped if these issues were not fixed.

The Spanish Royal Academy of History formed a group to look into possible errors. But in May 2012, they decided not to correct any biographies or write new ones. They only planned to make small changes in an extra section. The online version would not be changed at all.

Replacing Education for Citizenship

On 31 January 2012, José Ignacio Wert announced another change. The subject called Education for Citizenship would be replaced. This subject had been criticized by the Catholic Church and the People's Party.

The new subject would be called Civil and Constitutional education. The minister said it would be "free of controversial issues" and would not try to push any specific ideas. Catholic parents' associations supported this change.

Reports suggested that the new subject would not cover topics like homophobia or social inequalities. Instead, it would focus on issues like "exclusionary nationalism." It would also highlight how private businesses help create wealth and promote respect for "intellectual property."

Education Cuts and Strike

On 17 May 2012, the Spanish Parliament approved a government plan to cut public spending on education and health. These cuts were estimated to be over 10,000 million euros. The goal was to meet the deficit target set by the European Union.

Because of these cuts, a large strike took place on 22 May 2012. All parts of the education sector, from nursery schools to universities, supported it. This was the first time such a united strike happened in Spanish education history. Teachers' unions and student groups organized it. They were protesting the Ministry of Education's new measures, which they believed would harm public education.

Some of the main measures included:

• Increasing the number of students in each classroom (from 25 to 30 in primary school, 30 to 36 in secondary school, and 35 to 42 in Baccalaureate).
• Increasing the number of hours teachers had to work.
• Not covering sick leave that lasted less than 15 days.
• Raising university fees.
• Introducing fees as high as 350 euros for advanced vocational training programs.

The day after the strike, university rectors (leaders) boycotted a meeting with Minister Wert. They were protesting that the rise in university fees and other cost-cutting measures were not on the meeting's agenda.

Wert resigned from his position on 25 June 2015. He then became the Spanish ambassador to the OECD.

See also

In Spanish: José Ignacio Wert para niños