Elsa Artadi i Vila (born 19 August 1976) is a

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 ...

economist, academic and politician from

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 no ...

. Artadi is a member of the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 m ...

and was previously Minister of the Presidency and Government Spokesperson of

. Born in 1976 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 c ...

, Artadi studied economics at

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 Ca ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

before becoming an academic. She taught economics at

Bocconi University Bocconi University ( it, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, ) is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and comput ...

and was

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at several other universities. Later she held various senior positions at the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

. Artadi was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia at the 2017 regional 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 * Independe ...

candidate for the pro-

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

Together for Catalonia

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 ...

. She was Minister of the Presidency and Government Spokesman between June 2018 and March 2019.

Early life

Artadi was born on 19 August 1976 in

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") , ...

. Her mother Esther Artadi manages a small estate agent. Her parents separated when she was young and Elsa and her brother Patrick have chosen to use their mother's surname, Artadi, first rather than their father's surname, Vila. Artadi studied at an independent school in Barcelona. After school Artadi joined the

(UPF) in 1994, graduating in 1998 with a degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

. She received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from UPF in 2000. She joined

in 2000 on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

from Fundació "la Caixa", receiving a master's degree (2002) and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

(2006) in economics from the university.

Career

Artadi taught economics at the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

between 2006 and 2010. During this period she was also a

Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

(2007), UPF (2009–10) and

Barcelona Graduate School of Economics The Barcelona School of Economics (BSE) is an institution for research and graduate education in economics, finance, data science, and the social sciences located in Barcelona, Spain. The school's academic offer includes Master's degrees as well ...

(2009–11). She was also a member of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

's scientific committee in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

(2008), a consultant to the World Bank in Washington, D.C. (2009) and a member of the

European Economic Association The European Economic Association (EEA) is a professional academic body which links European economists. It was founded in the mid-1980s. Its first annual congress was in 1986 in Vienna and its first president was Jacques Drèze. The current pres ...

's scientific committee (2009–10). Artadi joined the

, Catalonia's regional government, in 2011 as an economic advisor to

Andreu Mas-Colell Andreu Mas-Colell (; born 29 June 1944) is an economist, an expert in microeconomics and a prominent mathematical economist. He is the founder of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and a professor in the department of economics at Pompeu ...

, the Minister of Economy and Finance. In 2013 she became managing director of the generalitat's Entitat Autònoma de Jocs i Apostes, serving until 2015. She was also Director General of Tax and Game during this time. She was promoted to Finance Secretary in 2015 and in early 2016 she became Director-General of Inter-departmental Coordination. Artadi became a member of the

Catalan nationalist Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...

Catalan European Democratic Party The Catalan European Democratic Party ( ca, Partit Demòcrata Europeu Català, PDeCAT, sometimes stylized as PDECat), initially branded as the Catalan Democratic Party ( ca, Partit Demòcrata Català, PDC), is a liberal political party in Spain ...

(PDeCAT) in the summer of 2016. She became a member of the PDeCAT's executive, taking responsibility for studies and programs, but later left the party due to differences. Govern de Catalunya foto oficial 2018

Artadi contested the 2017 regional election as an

Together for Catalonia (JuntsxCat)

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 .

and was elected to the

. At the election Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament. Artadi was spokesperson for the JuntsxCat parliamentary group. On 19 May 2018 newly elected

President 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 ...

Quim Torra nominated a new government in which Artadi was to be Minister of Enterprise and Knowledge and Government Spokesperson. However, the

Spanish government gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , d ...

condemned the inclusion of jailed/exiled politicians in the government as provocative and refused to approve Torra's appointments or to revoke direct rule. Faced with this opposition Torra announced a new government on 29 May 2018 without the jailed/exiled politicians. Artadi was to be Minister of the Presidency and Government Spokesperson in the new government. She was sworn in on 2 June 2018 at the

Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya The Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya is a historic palace in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It houses the offices of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that still functio ...

. She resigned in March 2019 to contest the 2019 local elections as the JuntsxCat's number two candidate in

. In July 2020 Artadi joined the newly formed Together for Catalonia political party.

Personal life

Artadi was married to architect Alberto Arraut. She is a

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

enthusiast and enjoys running and water colour painting.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Artadi, Elsa 1976 births Barcelona municipal councillors (2019–2023) Academic staff of Bocconi University Academics from Catalonia Economists from Catalonia Fudan University faculty Government ministers of Catalonia Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Independent politicians in Catalonia Living people Members of the 12th Parliament of Catalonia National Call for the Republic politicians People from Barcelona Pompeu Fabra University alumni Academic staff of Pompeu Fabra University Spanish women economists Together for Catalonia (2017) politicians Together for Catalonia (2020) politicians Torra Government Women members of the Parliament of Catalonia