Diego Valderas Sosa (born 25 January 1953) is a Spanish politician of the United Left (IU). He was the first democratically elected mayor of his hometown of

Bollullos Par del Condado Bollullos Par del Condado is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva (province), Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census, it has a population of 13,335 inhabitants (266.7 inhabitants/km2 population density) and covers a 50&nb ...

in the Province of Huelva (1979–1994) and a member of the Parliament of Andalusia (1986–2000; 2008–2015). He was the general coordinator of the United Left/The Greens–Assembly for Andalusia (IULV–CA) from 2000 to 2013, the President of the Parliament of Andalusia (1994–1996) and the Vice President of the

Regional Government of Andalusia The Regional Government of Andalusia ( es, Junta de Andalucía) is the government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Regional Government and the Government Council. The 2011 budget was 31. ...

(2012–2015).

Biography

Born in

, Province of Huelva Valderas worked as a

butane Butane () or ''n''-butane is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane is a gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Butane is a highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gas that quickly vaporizes at room temperature. The name but ...

deliveryman in his hometown. He was the town's first democratically elected mayor in the 1979 local elections; representing the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), he served three terms with absolute majorities until 1994. He was also the party spokesman in the provincial deputation and was first elected to the Parliament of Andalusia in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. From 1994 to 1996, he was

President of the Parliament President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

( speaker) as his group and the People's Party (PP) aligned in the so-called ''Pinza'' to thwart the government of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) regional president Manuel Chaves. In 1994, he made news internationally for suspending a parliamentary session on the budget due to fits of laughter. Partly due to its obstruction of the regional budget, the IULV-CA vote share declined in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, following which Valderas lost his seat but became the group's new general coordinator. He ran for regional president in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, but was unable to even recover his seat in the Huelva constituency. He returned to parliament after the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are no ...

. In the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, the PSOE of president

José Antonio Griñán José Antonio Griñán Martínez (born 7 June 1946) is a Spanish politician. He was the chairman of the centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), and from 23 April 2009 until 7 September 2013 he held the position of President of the R ...

declined while the IULV-CA rose from six seats to twelve. The two parties formed a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

, with Griñán as president and Valderas as vice president and Minister of Local Administration and Institutional Relations. He became the first member of his party to hold the office. He retained his positions in the new government when

Susana Díaz Susana Díaz Pacheco (; born 18 October 1974, Seville, Spain) is a Spanish politician from Andalusia and a leading figure in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) as the former leader of the Andalusian PSOE-A. She served as the President ...

took the Socialist leadership in 2013, while Antonio Maíllo succeeded him as party leader. In January 2015, after the PSOE and IULV-CA announced that they would no longer work together following March's elections, Valderas said that he would not stand in the election though he was not retiring. At 62, he decided to spend more time with his family and let the younger generation advance in politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valderas, Diego 1953 births Living people People from the Province of Huelva Communist Party of Spain politicians United Left (Spain) politicians Mayors of places in Andalusia Members of the 2nd Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 3rd Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 4th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 5th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 8th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 9th Parliament of Andalusia Presidents of legislatures of the autonomous communities of Spain Government ministers of Andalusia