María Isabel Celaá Diéguez (born 23 May 1949) is a Spanish

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. In June 2018, she was appointed Minister of Education and Vocational Training and

Spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

of the

Government of Spain 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 , da ...

. Since 2022, she serves as Ambassador to the Holy See.

Biography

Politics in the Basque Country

She started in politics in 1987 as head of the cabinet of the Regional minister of Education, Universities and Research José Ramón Recalde. After the brief interregnum of the coalition government PNV-EA-EE of 1991, she was vice-minister of Education, Universities and Research with

Fernando Buesa Fernando Buesa Blanco (29 May 1946 – 22 February 2000) was a Spaniards, Spanish politician in the Basque Christian Democracy and in the Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE-EE) branch of the Social Democracy, social ...

as Basque counselor until the end of the legislature (1995). In the following legislature she abandoned the educational responsibilities, being director of the cabinet of the Counselor of Justice, Economy, Labor and Social Security,

Ramón Jáuregui Ramón Jáuregui Atondo (born 1948) is a Spanish politician. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served as Minister of the Presidency (2010–2011) during the Second Zapatero Government. He also was member of the European ...

. Between 1998 and 2009 and 2012 and 2016, she has been a member of the

Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament (Basque: ''Eusko Legebiltzarra'', Spanish: ''Parlamento Vasco'') is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible. The Parliament mee ...

for Province of Vizcaya. As a parliamentarian, she was responsible for the educational issues of her group. Between 2008 and 2009 she was the first vice president of the Basque Parliament. From 2009 to 2012 she held the position of Counselor of Education, Universities and Research in the government of

Patxi López Francisco Javier "Patxi" López Álvarez (; born 4 October 1959) is a Spanish politician serving as Member of the Congress of Deputies and chair of the Constitutional Committee. Previously, he has served as President of the Autonomous Communi ...

, She is particularly interested in the improvement of the Basque educational system and technology, and advocates scientific research. She was head of list of the PSE-EE to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by the circumscription of Vizcaya in the general elections of

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

but she was not elected. She is a member of the executive committee of the

Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left The Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left ( eu, Euskadiko Alderdi Sozialista – Euskadiko Ezkerra, es, Partido Socialista de Euskadi – Euskadiko Ezkerra, PSE-EE) is a Social democracy, social-democratic List of political ...

(PSOE) party.

Minister of Education and Vocational Training

On 7 June 2018,

Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has been Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since June 2017, having pr ...

after being sworn new

Spanish Prime Minister The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regula ...

, following the

motion of censure A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

that the

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...

presented against the previous government of

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...

( PP) and that was approved by the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Ma ...

on 1 June 2018, appointed her as Minister in new

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 , da ...

Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...

sanctioned by

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

of June her appointment as holder of the portfolio of Minister of Education and Vocational Training and Spokesperson of the Government On 7 June she took office as Minister and Spokeswoman before the King at

Palace of Zarzuela The Zarzuela Palace ( es, Palacio de la Zarzuela ) is the residence and working offices of the reigning monarch of Spain (King Felipe VI), although the official residence of the Spanish royal family is the Royal Palace of Madrid. The Zarzuela Pal ...

. Appointed as Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See, she presented her

diplomatic credentials A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to ano ...

to Pontiff

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

on 18 March 2022.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Celaa, Isabel 1949 births 20th-century Spanish politicians 20th-century Spanish women politicians 21st-century Spanish women politicians Education ministers Government ministers of Spain Living people Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from Bilbao Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left politicians Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians University of Deusto alumni University of Valladolid alumni Women government ministers of Spain Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Basque women in politics Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See