Iñaki Urdangarin, Duke of Palma de Mallorca

Iñaki Urdangarin (2008)

Status: national January 1, 2007

Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaert ( born January 15, 1968 in Zumárraga, Guipúzcoa ) is a former Spanish handball player. He's after his marriage with the Infanta Cristina of Spain Duke of Palma. In Spain, the Salutation is His Excellency.

• 5.1 FC Barcelona
• 5.2 Spanish national handball team

Childhood and education

Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaert is the sixth child of Juan Maria Urdangarin Berriochoa (1932-2012) and the Belgian Claire Liebaert Courtain (* 1935). He grew up in Barcelona and attended the Caspe - School Sagrado Corazon de Jesus. He lived between his 16th and 18th year in Vitoria- Gasteiz, where he attended the Santa Maria del Pilar school. Already in the school, he played in the school team handball. At age 18, he joined the professional handball.

During his handball career, he studied Business Administration and Management at the University of Barcelona. He attained a master's degree in business training and audit as a management consultant, a degree in Business Administration and Management with integrated Masters in Business Administration at ESADE in Barcelona.

Handball career

Urdangarin was 1986-2000 professional handball player at FC Barcelona. He participated three times in the Olympic Summer Games with the Spanish national handball team. At the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000, he won with his team bronze medals. The Handball European Championship 2000 in Croatia, he also won the bronze medal. In 2000 he retired from active competition.

In November 2001, he was the Grand Cross of the Order of Real del Mérito Deportivo, a Royal Medal for Merit in Sport awarded.

Marriage and children

At the Olympic Games in 1996, he learned about the water polo goalkeeper Jesús Miguel Rollán the Infanta Cristina de Borbón, daughter of King Juan Carlos I, know. They married on 4 October 1997 in the Cathedral of Barcelona. Urdangarin was awarded on the occasion of the marriage of the title of Duke of Palma. The couple has four children who are in positions eight to eleven of the Spanish Succession:

• Juan Valentín de Todos los Santos (* 29 September 1999 in Barcelona)
• Pablo Nicolás (born 6 December 2000, Barcelona)
• Miguel ( born April 30, 2002 in Barcelona)
• Irene ( born June 5, 2005 in Barcelona )

Tasks and professional since 2000

Since his marriage he has shown interest in social and cultural issues, especially if they were associated with sport. He is a director of several social foundations in Spain, but also internationally. These include the Balia Foundation for Children, the Equipara Foundation, the Eisenhower Foundation, Sports, Culture and Integration Foundation and the Barcelona FC Foundation.

By 2009, he was adviser to the motor Ibérica for Bertelsmann.

Corruption scandal

Urdangarin served from 2004 to 2006 for supposedly charitable " foundation Noos " as its Chairman. When in 2006 appeared the first suspicion of corruption against Urdangarin, the king exercised pressure, and Urdangarin resigned as chair of the foundation down and moved to the Spanish telecommunication group Telefónica ( in Germany known by the brand O2). Three years later, attracted Urdangarin and the Infanta Cristina with their four children to the United States. Urdangarin has since worked as a consultant for Telefónica in Washington, DC

After investigation by the Special Prosecutor for corruption offenses is suspected that Urdangarin has embezzled as chairman of the " Foundation Noos " with his business partner Diego Torres in the amount of four million euro funding from the regional government in the Balearic Islands and Valencia. The orders of the Government of the Balearic Islands have received Urdangarin without a public tender. The " foundation" is said to have issued fictitious invoices for fictitious services for the organization of conferences on sport and tourism. Part of the proceeds to have landed on a company network to private accounts by Urdangarin and Torres. The court did not specify the charges, the investigating judge Jose Castro Aragon invited Urdangarin as defendants for February 6, 2012 hearing before; this represented an unprecedented process in Spain, as never before, a member of the royal family has been indicted.

Besides Urdangarin another eight people were indicted, including Diego Torres and his wife and former members of the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands as the former president Jaume Matas island. They belong to the conservative Popular Party (PP ), who ruled in Spain now. The Infanta Cristina was not among the defendants, even though they belonged to the board of the Foundation and her personal secretary, Carlos García Revenga, treasurer and she was supposed to have on their accounts Urdangarin funneled money also, by virtue of some companies. You will also be accused of tax fraud.

For a long time the king silent about the corruption allegations, on 12 December 2011, he has ruled out his son and daughter Cristina from the official activities of the royal family. In addition, he announced that he would break a taboo and put people and the government in future financial accountability. For the first time were then revealed on the royal website, such as Juan Carlos and all other family members have used the supplied approved by the state, freely usable appanage. At the same time, he stressed Urdangarin have never related funds from the royal budget.

On January 25, 2013 were provided by the Spanish King Juan Carlos to emphasize Urdangarin from the royal website. A few days later ordered an investigating judge in Palma de Mallorca, that Urdangarin and Torres have to pay a deposit in the amount of 8.1 million euros. The money is to cover the civil liability in the event of a conviction. Since Urdangarín did not accede to, the confiscation of his goods was initiated.

On 8 February, the City Council of Palma is one of the main streets of Palma de Mallorca, on the basis of the allegations in the old name La Rambla Rambla dels Ducs de renamed Palma de Mallorca ( Avenue of the Dukes of Palma ) (The Avenue) - Urdangarín was awarded after his marriage with the king's daughter of the title of Duke of Palma. Previously an email Urdangaríns had been published to an employee of the royal palace, which was very brüskierend; is signed Urdangarín with a salacious parody of his ducal title.

In February 2013 e -mails were leaked to the press by Diego Torres, suggesting that the royal family had been much worried earlier about the dubious transactions by Urdangarin as previously claimed. According to a New York Times report in 2004 pressure on Urdangarin has already been exercised in the summer, to leave his post as one of the heads of the " Instituto Noos ". From them it appears that Corinna Sayn- ​​Wittgenstein - with the companies was connected and Urdangarín in finding another lucrative side jobs in foundations and sports associations to help you - friend of the king, who in 2011 accompanied Juan Carlos at the heavily criticized elephant hunting in Africa had.

Beginning of November 2013 it was announced that the Spanish judiciary has seized in the course of the corruption investigation 16 properties from Urdangarin a total value of 6.1 million euros.

Career as a handball player

FC Barcelona

• International Title:

• 6x European champions (1990/ 91 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998 /99 1999/2000).
• 2x European Cup Winners' Cup ( 1993/94, 1994/95 ).
• 4x European Super Cup ( 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/2000).

• Domestic honors:

Spanish national handball team

Urdangarin completed 170 international matches and participated in nine major events:

• Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 ( 5th place)
• Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 ( bronze medal )
• Summer Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 ( bronze medal )
• World Youth Championship in 1989 in Spain (Silver Medal)
• Handball World Championship 1993 in Sweden ( 5th place)
• Handball World Championship in Japan in 1997 ( 7th)
• Handball World Cup 1999 in Egypt ( 4th place)
• European Handball Championship 1994 in Portugal ( 5th place)
• European Handball Championship 2000 in Croatia ( bronze medal )