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Francisco Enrique Camps Ortiz (born 28 August 1962) is a Spanish politician belonging to the Partido Popular (PP). He served as President of the Valencian Government, the Valencian regional administration, in the period 2003–2011, and is still a member of the
Corts Valencianes The Corts Valencianes (), commonly known as ''Les Corts'' (), are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of the Borgias in Valencia; how ...
, the Valencian regional parliament.


Biography

A lawyer, Mr Camps is married with three children. He was first elected as a local councillor to Valencia city council, serving from 1991 to 1996, occupying the Presidency of the municipal transport body during that period. In 1996 he was elected to the Spanish Congress, representing Valencia province serving as Secretary of State for Territorial Administrations. However he resigned from the Congress 11 months later in February 1997, after being named as Minister for Culture and Education in the
Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Val ...
, retaining that post until January 1999. At the 2000 General Election, he returned to the Spanish Congress but again resigned in 2002 in order to run for President of the Valencian Government. In July 2003 he was elected president, being re-elected with absolute majorities in 2007 and 2011. During his administration he attracted the
European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a count ...
auto race and the
America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...
yacht race. He continued to serve as president until his resignation in 2011.


Gürtel case

In February 2009 Camps was implicated in a scandal known as the
Gürtel Case The Gürtel case is a political corruption scandal in Spain, which implicates officers of the People's Party (PP), Spain's major conservative party, some of whom have been forced to resign or have been suspended. Gürtel is one of the largest ...
(''Caso Gürtel'') relating to an alleged criminal network controlled by businessman
Francisco Correa Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
. ("Gürtel" is the German translation for the businessman's surname, Correa/belt). In March 2009, Camps was one of several PP figures accused by magistrate
Baltasar Garzón Baltasar Garzón Real (; born 26 October 1955) is a former Spanish judge. Garzón formerly served on Spain's central criminal court, the ''Audiencia Nacional'', and was the examining magistrate of the ''Juzgado Central de Instrucción No. 5'', ...
of taking bribes. Garzón alleged that Camps received €12,000 towards a tailor's bill from an associate of Correa. For two years Camps was to claim that he paid for the clothes himself. The case against Camps was transferred to a local court in Valencia which, in August 2009, ruled that Camps had not committed a crime. In May 2010 Camps' bribery case reopened as the High Court in Madrid ruled that there was enough evidence to bring a case against him. Camps was reelected as President of Valencia in May 2011, although the case threatened to undermine his political career. On 20 July 2011, Camps resigned as Valencian premier and leader of the Valencian Partido Popular in order to avoid standing trial while in office. He continued to maintain his innocence although he said that he may have received presents. On 25 January 2012 he was declared 'not guilty' by a popular jury. Six years later, on 25 January 2018 Ricardo Costa, Mr. Camps's old colleague, admitted that the People's Party in the
Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...
was financed with "dirty money". This acknowledgement was helpful for the inquiry into political financing using "Associations" in several provinces of the Valencian Country.


Formula One case

Moreover, Francisco Camps is under investigation for the
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
in Valencia.


References


External links


Biography at Spanish Congress site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camps, Francisco 1962 births Living people Valencia city councillors Presidents of the Valencian Government Members of the 6th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain) People's Party (Spain) politicians Members of the 6th Corts Valencianes Members of the 7th Corts Valencianes Members of the 8th Corts Valencianes Secretaries of State of Spain