Juan José Ibarretxe

Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu ( born March 15, 1957 in Llodio, Alava Province ) is a Spanish politician.

He is a member of the Basque Nationalist Party ( EAJ / PNV ) and was from 2 January 1999 to 4 May 2009, the Prime Minister (Basque lehendakari ) of the Basque Country Autonomous Region.

Ibarretxe has a degree in economics from the University of the Basque Country. He is married to Begoña Arregui and has two children.

Political career to 2005

Ibarretxe was from 1983 to 1987 mayor of his hometown Llodio. Since 1984 he is a member of the Basque regional parliament. From 1994 to 1999 he served under his predecessor José Antonio Ardanza Vizelehendakari and Minister for Finance and Public Administration of the Basque Country.

2003 saw Ibarretxe with a plan for the gradual expansion of autonomy up to the independence of the Basque Country for violent internal political debate in Spain. The argument put forward by him new Statute of Autonomy, the so-called Ibarretxe plan, however, was clearly rejected in January 2005 by the Spanish Parliament. In the regional elections on April 17, 2005 Ibarretxes party coalition lost its majority. Nevertheless Ibarretxe was commissioned as leader of the main party to form a government.

The third term

On 23 June 2005 Ibarretxe was elected by a simple majority for the third time as Prime Minister. He received 34 votes in the second ballot, his rival candidate Patxi López of the Spanish Socialists ( PSOE) only 33 votes. The day before, the same result was achieved in the vote, but was there an absolute majority of 38 votes necessary.

Ibarretxe could be chosen, which gave him two of their nine votes, so Ibarretxe not lost against López only with the help of the controversial communist PCTV / EHAK. Ibarretxe united the votes of the PNV, the Eusko Alkartasuna ( together 29 votes ) and the Ezker Batua ( 3 votes ) on you. López received 18 votes from his PSE and 15 votes from the conservative Partido Popular (PP ). The PCTV suspected, the Basque terrorist organization ETA or their banned political organization Batasuna almost standing, supported Ibarretxe because it occurs as opposed to López for the independence of the Basque Country.

In the elections on 1 May 2009, the PNV retained although by a narrow margin against the PSOE won the majority of votes. Because of an alliance with the Partido Popular (PP ), however, the Socialist Patxi López was elected Lehendakari ( President of the Basque Parliament ) on 5 May 2009, bringing the three -decade reign of the nationalists was terminated.

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