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José Montilla
	José Montilla
	;
; 128th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 28 November 2006
Vice President	Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira
Preceded by	Pasqual Maragall
Mayor of Cornellà de Llobregat
	In office; 1985 – 17 April 2004
Preceded by	Frederic Prieto
Succeeded by	Antonio Balmón i Arévalo
13th Minister of Industry
	In office; 17 April 2004 – 8 September 2006
President	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Preceded by	Juan Costa Climent
Succeeded by	Joan Clos
Born	January 15, 1955 (age 54); Iznájar, Córdoba
Political party	Socialists' Party of Catalonia
Spouse(s)	Anna Hernández
Children	Three sons and two daughters
Occupation	Politician
Signature

This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Montilla and the second is Aguilera.

José Montilla Aguilera (born 15 January 1955 in Iznájar, Córdoba, Spain) is the current president of the Generalitat de Catalunya. He has been the First Secretary of the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya since 18 June 2000, and a member of the Federal Executive Committee and the Federal Committee of the PSOE since 23 July 2000. He served as Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade in the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero from 18 April 2004 until 9 September 2006. He is married and has five children.

[edit] Childhood and youth (1955-1978)

At the age of sixteen, he moved from his native Andalusia to Catalonia and settled in Sant Joan Despí.

His higher education began with vocational training, but later he studied Law for one year and Economics for two years at the University of Barcelona. He himself has said that he gave up his university career as he was working and studying at the same time.

[edit] Local politics (1978-2004)

Having joined the Socialists' Party of Catalonia in 1978, two years later he became a member of the party's National Council.

At the age of 25, he was appointed Deputy mayor for Local Taxation in Sant Joan Despí, where he was also the spokesman of the Socialist group on the council. Subsequently, between 1985 and April 2004, he was mayor of Cornellà de Llobregat. In the 1999 elections and again in 2003 he was re-elected with an absolute majority.

In 1988, after the creation of the Consells Comarcals (District Councils), he was elected president of the District Council of Baix Llobregat, a post he occupied until late 1997. He became a member of the Diputació de Barcelona (Provincial Council) in 1983 as Provincial Deputy for Public Works. In 1987, he was appointed second vice-president of the Diputació and in 1991 he became delegate president for Agriculture and the Environment, a post to which he was appointed again in 1995.

In 1999, he was appointed First Vice-president, and he was President of the Diputació from 1 July 2003.

In 1994, he was elected Secretary for Organization of his party, and he has been First Secretary of the party since 18 June 2000.

[edit] Minister (2004-2006)

After the 2003 election to the Parliament of Catalonia and the constitution of the "Tripartite Government" of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds and his appointment as a central government minister in 2004, he became the PSC strong-man in the central government in Madrid, sitting in the national parliament as deputy for Barcelona district from 2004 to 2006.

His appointment in April 2004 as minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism meant he resigned all his posts in the local administration. He combined his work as minister with the post of First Secretary of the PSC and member of the Federal Executive of the PSOE.

[edit] Return to Catalan politics

After Pasqual Maragall announced that he would not stand again as candidate for president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the National Committee of the PSC elected him^[1] as candidate for the presidency of Catalonia in the elections of 1 November 2006. In these elections no party obtained an absolute majority, and the PSC won only the second-largest number of seats after CiU; however, the PSC again reached an agreement with Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and Iniciativa per Catalunya to form a coalition government, with Montilla at its head. He officially took office as president on Tuesday, 28 November 2006, and he is the first President of the Generalitat in modern times to have been born outside Catalonia.

[edit] External links

Campaign website

[edit] References

^ Noticia de la elección en Swiss Radio Internacional el 15 de julio de 2006

Political offices
Preceded by Pasqual Maragall	President of the Generalitat de Catalunya 2006 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Juan Costa Climent	Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism 2004 – 2006	Succeeded by Joan Clos
Preceded by Frederic Prieto	Mayor of Cornellà de Llobregat 1985 - 2004	Succeeded by Antonio Balmón i Arévalo
Preceded by Manel Royes i Vila	President of the Diputació de Barcelona 2003 - 2004	Succeeded by Celestino Corbacho
Party political offices
Preceded by Narcís Serra	First Secretary of PSC 2000 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Pasqual Maragall	President of PSC (acting) 2007 – 2008	Succeeded by Isidre Molas