Alfred Bosch i Pascual (born 17 April 1961) is a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

academic, journalist, author, politician and a former Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

. He was previously a member of the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and a member of

Barcelona City Council The City Council of Barcelona ( Catalan: ''Ajuntament de Barcelona''; Spanish: ''Ayuntamiento de Barcelona'') is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the municipality of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. In terms of political structure ...

Early life and family

Bosch was born on 17 April 1961 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. He is the second of five siblings and grew up in the Esquerra de l'Eixample district of Barcelona. He later lived in Sant Antoni before settling in

Ciutat Vella Ciutat Vella (, meaning in English "Old City") is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ''Ciutat Vella'' is nestl ...

in the 1980s. He was educated at a British school near Barcelona where he was taught in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Bosch joined the

Autonomous University of Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; , es, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; UAB), is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. ...

(UAB) in 1979, graduating in 1984 with a degree in philosophy and letters.

Career

In 1984, after graduating from university, Bosch joined the Barcelona team bidding to host the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

and from 1987, after the city was chosen, he worked for Comitè Organitzador de les Olimpíades de Barcelona (COOB'92), the organising committee. Afterwards he moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

to research his doctoral

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

and in 1994 he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

after producing a thesis titled ''Nelson Mandela, l'Últim Home-Déu'' (Nelson Mandela, the last Man-God). Bosch joined the UAB in 1995 as a professor of African history. He has taught at several other universities including

Pompeu Fabra University Pompeu Fabra University ( ca, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, UPF, ; es, link=no, Universidad Pompeu Fabra) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. The university was created by the Autonomous Government of Catalo ...

Autonomous University of Madrid The Autonomous University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; UAM), commonly known as simply la Autónoma, is a Spanish public university located in Madrid, Spain. The university was founded in 1968 alongside the Autonomous Univers ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 19 ...

Hood College , motto_lang = la , mottoeng = With Heart and Mind and Hand , established = , type = Private college , religious_affiliation = United Church of Christ , endowment = $104.5 million (2020) , president = Andrea E. Chapd ...

and

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. Between 1984 and 1996 Bosch also travelled the world, working as a free lance journalist reporting on conflicts such as such as

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa,

Palestinian intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation F ...

, Sri Lankan Civil War and

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

. His work was published in '' Avui'', ''

Diario de Barcelona The ''Diario de Barcelona'' (catalán: ''Diari de Barcelona'') (The Barcelona Journal) was a newspaper founded in 1792 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With a few interruptions it was published in paper form until 1994, and in digital form until ...

'', ''

El Periódico de Catalunya ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' (, ), also simply known as ''El Periódico'', is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The paper publishes separate daily editions in Spanish and in Catalan. The two editions combined sel ...

'', ''

El Temps ''El Temps'' (; 'The Times') is a weekly newsmagazine, published in Valencia by ''Edicions del País Valencià'' since 1984. It is distributed throughout the whole Països Catalans. It is edited by Eliseu Climent. The publication has offices in ...

'',

Catalunya Ràdio ''Catalunya Ràdio'' () is Catalonia's public radio network. With headquarters in Barcelona, it is part of the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA), owned by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Catalunya Ràdio broadcasts exclusive ...

and others. Bosch has written several novels and essays. His 1997 essay ''La Via Africana'' won the Joan Fuster Prize for Essay. The novel ''L'Atles Furtiu'' won the Sant Jordi prize in 1997 whilst ''Les Set Aromes del Món'' won the Ramon Llull Novel Award in 2004. He has also won the Néstor Luján and Prudenci Bertrana prizes.

Politics

In 2010 Bosch became spokesperson for Barcelona Decideix, the organisation behind the 2011 independence referendum in Barcelona. Bosch was one of the founding members of the secretariat of the

Assemblea Nacional Catalana The Assemblea Nacional Catalana ("Catalan National Assembly"; ANC by its Catalan acronym) is an organization that seeks the political independence of Catalonia from Spain. It also promotes the independence of other Catalan-speaking regions, whic ...

(ANC) in 2011 and he has served on the board of

Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political is ...

. Bosch contested the 2011 general election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya–Catalunya Sí, ERC–CatSí) is a Catalan pro-independence electoral alliance. The alliance is formed by Republican Left of Catalonia, Catalonia Yes and in ...

(ERC–CatSí)

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

candidate in the

Province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

. He was spokesman for the ERC group in the congress. In 2013, he was suspended from the Congress for addressing it in English as part of a protest against an anti-corruption bill. Bosch contested the 2015 local elections as a

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social-democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also i ...

- Left Movement-Barcelona Open City-Advance- Catalonia Yes-Acord Municipal (ERC-MES-BcnCO-AVANCEM-CatSí-AM) electoral alliance candidate in Barcelona and was elected. In November 2018 he replaced

Ernest Maragall Ernest Maragall i Mira (born 5 January 1943, in Barcelona) is a Spanish economist, politician, member of the Parliament of Catalonia and former Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia. He was previously ...

as Catalonia's Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency. He resigned on 9 March 2020 after his chief of staff was accused of harassment of department workers.

Personal life

Bosch is divorced and has two children. He speaks

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, English, French and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. He is an amateur opera singer and has taken part in various zarzuela and musicals.

Published works

* ''Fulls Impermeables'' (1984) * ''Cronicàlia'' (1986) * ''Nelson Mandela, l'Últim Home-Déu'' (1995, Curial; ) * ''Herois d'Azània'' (1996) * ''La Via Africana'' (1997, E. Climent; ) * ''L'Atles Furtiu'' (1998) * ''Alia la Sublim'' (2000) * ''El Imperio Que Nunca Existió'' (2001) * ''L'Avi'' (2001) * ''1714'' (2002) * ''Europa Sense Embuts'' (2002) * ''Les Set Aromes del Món'' (2004) * ''Heretaràs la Rambla'' (2005) * ''Catalans'' (2006) * ''Inquisitio'' (2006) * ''I Ara Què?'' (2011)

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosch, Alfred 1961 births Academics of the University of London Autonomous University of Barcelona alumni Academic staff of the Autonomous University of Barcelona Academic staff of the Autonomous University of Madrid Barcelona municipal councillors (2015–2019) Academics from Catalonia Journalists from Catalonia Writers from Catalonia Foreign ministers of Catalonia Hood College faculty Independent politicians in Catalonia Living people Members of the 10th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from Barcelona Academic staff of Pompeu Fabra University Torra Government University of Barcelona alumni University of Chicago faculty Academic staff of the University of Ibadan Academic staff of the University of the Witwatersrand