David Ortega Gutiérrez (born 1966) is a Spanish academic and former politician. He served on the City Council of Madrid from 2011 to 2015, as leader of the Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) group.

Biography

Ortega was born in Madrid and raised in its Estrella neighbourhood. He graduated in law from the Autonomous University of Madrid and completed a doctorate in political sciences at the same institution, with studies at the University of Oxford, Georgetown University and McMaster University along the way. He has a further master's degree in philosophy from the

Francisco de Vitoria University Francisco de Vitoria University ( es, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria) is a private university located in Pozuelo de Alarcón, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is a Roman Catholic institution run by the Legion of Christ. It is named after ...

and was a substitute judge in Torrejón de Ardoz from 2000 to 2001. He became a professor of constitutional law at the King Juan Carlos University. Ortega attended the first congress of Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) in November 2009. A year later, he was chosen as their nominee for mayor of Madrid in the

2011 Madrid City Council election The 2011 Madrid City Council election, also the 2011 Madrid municipal election, was held on Sunday, 22 May 2011, to elect the 9th City Council of the municipality of Madrid. All 57 seats in the City Council were up for election. The election was h ...

. His party came fourth with 7.85% of the vote, earning five seats on the council. During his term in office, Ortega and his party returned the official cars and chauffeurs granted to them, as per their campaign promises. He also opposed Madrid's candidacy for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, citing a survey showing 76% opposition across the capital. Ortega retained his candidacy for the

2015 Madrid City Council election The 2015 Madrid City Council election, also the 2015 Madrid municipal election, was held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect the 10th City Council of Madrid, City Council of the Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Madrid. All 57 seats in the City ...

, taking over 80% of votes cast, though just over a quarter of registered UPyD members voted. The party lost all its seats and he left its national executive. He left the party fully at the end of 2015, saying that it had failed in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

by its own errors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, David 1966 births Living people Autonomous University of Madrid alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Georgetown University alumni McMaster University alumni Francisco de Vitoria University alumni Union, Progress and Democracy politicians Madrid city councillors (2011–2015)