Anxo Manuel Quintana González, commonly known as Anxo Quintana, is the former leader of the

Galician Nationalist Bloc The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( gl, Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG ) is a political alliance of left-wing Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front". Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Man ...

(''Bloque Nacionalista Galego'', BNG), the main

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

party in Galicia. From 2005 to 2009 he was a partner in the

Galician Government The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...

, holding the positions o
Vice-President
and Minister for Social Affairs. Quintana was born in

Allariz Allariz is a town and municipality (in ) in the province of Ourense, Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain. It occupies the center of the western half of the province, connecting with the towns (''concellos'') of Taboadela, Paderne, Sandiás ...

Ourense Province Ourense (in Spanish, ''Orense'') is a Spanish province, in the southeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra to the west, Lugo to the north, León and Zamora, (which both belong to C ...

, on February 25, 1959. After graduating in

Nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

at the

University of Vigo The University of Vigo ( gl, Universidade de Vigo) is a public university located in the city of Vigo in the Province of Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain. There are three campuses: * Campus of Vigo in Lagoas-Marcosende, between the municipalities of V ...

he worked at the ''Cristal Piñor Hospital'' in Ourense. He has been distinguished with an honorary award from the Society of General Medicine for his work in primary healthcare in rural communities.

Political career

As a politician, he started working with the rural nationalist

trade unionism A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

in his youth. He has been a member of the Galician Nationalist Bloc since its foundation in 1982. Quintana rose to national prominence in 1989, when he was appointed as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, and remained so until 2000, winning local elections with a clear overall majority. During his terms, the small

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Allariz was awarded the European Prize of Urbanism and it was chosen by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

as one of the leading communities on sustainable development. From 1995 to 2000 Quintana was also chair of the Galician Federation of Provinces and Municipalitiesbr>
In 1999, he was appointed by the

Parliament of Galicia The Parliament of Galicia () is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. It is formed by 75 deputies (). Deputies are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolut ...

as senator in the Spanish Senate as the sole representative of the BNG. He eventually had to leave his municipal office in 2000 due to clashes with his new role as senator. In 2003 he replaced charismatic Xosé Manuel Beiras in the leadership of BNG. Following the 2005 Galician elections and subsequent political pacts with the

Socialists' Party of Galicia The Socialists' Party of Galicia ( gl, Partido dos Socialistas de Galicia, PSdeG–PSOE) is a centre-left political party in Galicia, Spain. It is the Galician affiliate of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' ...

(PSdG), Quintana became Vice-President of Galicia, serving until 2009. He also held responsibilities as ''Conselleiro'' (Minister) for Social Affairs. Quintana expressed that some of his main goals during his term were: * Promotion of Galician language and culture * Extending social services to all citizens, with a special attention to women as a disadvantaged group * Achieving the official recognition from the Spanish government of Galicia as a

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective Identity (social science), identity of a group of people unde ...

* Reform of the Statute of Autonomy * Re-negotiating tax revenues from the Spanish central government in order to endorse Galicia with more financial resources

Controversy

During his time in the Galician Government, Quintana came under criticism from within the ranks of BNG as he was being accused of trying to centralize all powers, thus reducing the influence of the assemblies and the average party member. This criticism and claims for "transparency and internal democracy" resulted in the formation of two parallel organizations within the party: the ''Encontro Irmandinho'

(led by former BNG president Xosé Manuel Beiras), and the ''Movemento Pola Base'

At present Quintana has withdrawn from the political front line although remains a member of the party and occasionally features in the daily press.

References

* Barreiro, H. et al. (2002): "A Galicia política e o nacionalismo do BNG", in ''Tempos Novos'', no. 59, p. 24-33 * Beramendi, J.G. (2003): "Fin de ciclo no BNG? : Beiras desafía a hexemonía da UPG", in ''Tempos novos'', p. 48-50

External links

"Quin TV"
multimedia portal of Anxo Quintana
Official site of the BNG

Vicepresidencia da Xunta de Galiza
official site of the Office of the Vice-President of Galicia {{DEFAULTSORT:Quintana, Anxo 1959 births Living people People from Allariz – Maceda Galician Nationalist Bloc politicians Mayors of places in Galicia University of Vigo alumni Members of the 7th Parliament of Galicia Members of the 8th Parliament of Galicia

Political career

Controversy

See also

References

External links