Jaume Matas

Jaume Matas i Palou ( born October 5, 1954 in Palma de Mallorca ) is a former Spanish politician. The economist by training, was from 1996 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2007 President of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. In March 2012 he was sentenced to a prison term of six years for abuse of office and corruption.

Political career

Jaume Matas studied until 1978, Economics and Business at the University of Valencia. His political career began in 1989 as Director General of the budget of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Balearic Islands. In 1993 he was Economic and Finance Ministers of the Autonomous Community before in June 1996, the Office of the President of the Balearic government of Cristòfol Soler i Cladera how Matas member of the Partido Popular (PP ) took over. Although 43 percent of the largest party in elections to the regional parliament of the Balearic Islands in 1999, the PP had to leave from the PSIB - PSOE government affairs of a party coalition under Francesc Antich i Oliver. As of July 1999 the opposition leader, Matas was elected in October 1999 as President of the Partido Popular in the Balearic Islands.

In April 2000, the Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar Jaume Matas called as environment minister in the central government to Madrid, where he became the successor of Isabel Tocino Biscarolasaga. In November 2002, the oil tanker Prestige sank off the Galician coast, causing an environmental disaster on the northwest coast of Spain, the Ministry of Environment from the public a belated reaction was accused. In March 2003, Matas gave up his ministerial post in the Spanish government. As of June 2003, Jaume Matas again President of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, but had to turn Francesc Antich handed over the presidency, which managed to form a coalition government of several parties for the lost for the PP elections of 27 May 2007. In September 2007, Matas accepted a position in the Barceló Group ( Grupo Barceló ), which he left in January 2009.

During his tenure as President Balearic Matas abolished the eco and the estate tax. He promoted the construction of motorways in Mallorca and Ibiza and met so because of the environmental destruction associated with considerable resistance. In 2007 he received while again at the polls the most votes, but he failed to form a coalition government and necessary to be President of the Balearic Islands again.

Corruption scandal

In August 2008, a criminal case was opened due to waste of public funds, bribery and abuse of office against Jaume Matas. On 30 March 2010 issued an arrest warrant against him; pre-trial detention has been suspended upon payment of a deposit of three million euros, the highest bail amount that was ever imposed in Spain. The party PP Matas graduated from then. He will be around a dozen crimes accused, which could theoretically result in convictions to a prison term of up to 64 years, according to newspaper information. In the dirty machinations of Iñaki Urdangarin is to Matas, Duke of Palma and son in law of Spain's King Juan Carlos I, to be involved; He also is under indictment.

In the center of all the methods is the construction of the Palma Arena, a multi-purpose sports hall with a velodrome in Palma de Mallorca. There is a suspicion against Matas and other politicians that they had submitted fake invoices for billing and increased gewirtschaftet the difference to the true cost of their own pockets. In fact, the alleged construction costs grew by more than double original estimate of around 48 to ultimately around 120 million euros. The Mallorca Zeitung described the arena as "the greatest millions grave in Mallorca ".

In March 2012, Jaume Matas was initially sentenced to six years in prison; this trial of six accused, who was accompanied by an unusually large interest of the public, however, was only a prelude for about ten more cases against Matas and treated only one aspect. The politician was found guilty, engaged in his second term as President Balearic means of a rigged tender the journalist Antonio Alemany as a speechwriter and to have paid him money for no work done. In return Alemany widespread in its online newspaper and its news agency praises about the Matas - government. The payments were made through the detour of a PR agency in order to conceal the identity of the journalist. The damage caused is estimated at a total of 483,000 euros. Since Matas ' lawyer announced to appeal his client was at first at large.

In July 2013, the Supreme Court of Spain reduced his term of six years for Matas reduced to nine months. In October 2013, the fine imposed on him bail in the amount of 500,000 euros has been lifted. His passport remained confiscated because he is being a further 26 investigations. The against his political companion, the former president Maria Island Antònia Munar ( called princess of Majorca), imposed five and a half year sentence was, however, confirmed by the Court.