José Ignacio Echevarría Echániz (born 1946) is a Spanish politician active in the scope of Madrilenian politics. A former city councillor, member of the Assembly of Madrid and senator, he served as Minister of Transportation of the

Government of the Community of Madrid The Government of the Community of Madrid (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Gobierno de la Comunidad de Madrid'') is the collegiate body charged with the executive and administration (government), administrative functions of the autonomous community o ...

(2008–2011) and chaired the regional legislature from 2011 to 2015.

Early life

Born on 8 February 1946 in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

, Morocco, then an

international zone An international zone is any area not fully subject to the border control policies of the state in which it is located. There are several types of international zones ranging from special economic zones and sterile zones at ports of entry ex ...

. He graduated in Law and Business Administration at the

ICADE ICADE is the brand name by which two schools of the Comillas Pontifical University, located in Madrid (Spain), are known. It stands for '' Instituto Católico de Administración y Dirección de Empresas'' (''Catholic Institute of Business Adminis ...

, in Madrid. Before entering politics he also worked as lawyer and legal advisor.

Municipal politics

Echeverría, who had joined

People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to: * People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit * People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923 * People's Alliance ( ...

(AP) on 24 September 1981, ran as candidate in the list of the AP–PDP–UL coalition for the 1983 Madrid municipal election but he was not elected then. Nonetheless, he became a member of the

Madrid City Council The City Council of Madrid () is the top-tier administrative and governing body of Madrid, the capital and biggest city of Spain. The city council is composed by three bodies: the mayor, who leads the city council and the executive branch of it; ...

later in the term, on 27 February 1987, covering a vacant seat. He renovated the seat in the May 1987 election, in which he had run 9th in the AP list. After the 1989 successful

vote of no-confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

on Juan Barranco and the subsequent investiture of

Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún (Ávila, Spain, Ávila, 27 March 1932 – Paris, 13 October 1991) was a Spanish politician and businessman as well as being a doctor in economics and law who was best known as being the mayor of Madrid from 1989 to 1 ...

as the new Mayor he became a member of the municipal government board, charged with the competences of Economy and Finance. Re-elected in 1991, he had powers in Urbanism during the first municipal government of

José María Álvarez del Manzano José María Álvarez del Manzano y López del Hierro (born 17 October 1937) is a Spanish politician for the People's Party. Although born in Seville he has lived in Madrid since he was 3 years old. He studied at the Jesuit Colegio Nuestra Se� ...

. During his last term at the city council, between 1995 and 1999 he had competences in Traffic and Citizen Security, also becoming the first deputy Mayor in 1996, replacing

Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma (; born 3 January 1952) is a Spanish politician. As member of the People's Party (PP), she served as President of the Senate between 1999 and 2002 (becoming the first female politician to have held the post), a ...

. Following problems in the municipal areas of government within his powers, such as the forging of signatures of municipal policemen, or a municipal by-law punishing people running in the street and people waiting for the bus outside of the shelter, the PP decided to remove him from government responsibilities and designate him a candidate to the 1999 regional election, with no intended executive responsibilities.

Regional politics

Running 18th in the PP list for the 1999 elections to the Assembly of Madrid, Echeverría became a member of the 5th term of the regional legislature. He would subsequently renovate his seat in the May 2003, October 2003,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

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elections. Between 2005 and 2008, he also served as Senator, designated by the Assembly of Madrid. "''Mr. Walker''", as Echeverría is known in political circles, returned to executive responsibilities in 2008, following his appointment by

as member of the Council of Government of the Community of Madrid, at the helm of the Ministry of Transportation, replacing Manuel Lamela in a cabinet reshuffle. He was sworn into office on 26 June 2008. On 10 March 2011, during his mandate as Minister of Transportation, he wrongly stated in a parliamentary response to Socialist MP Modesto Nolla that the Metrobús (the popular 10-trip ticket for bus and rapid transit) "does not exist". Amid heavy criticism, Echeverría recognised it to be the worst "mistake" in his political career and handed in his resignation some days later, but the regional president Esperanza Aguirre did not accept it. Following the formation of a new cabinet after the 2011 regional election Echeverría was removed from his post of Minister, replaced by Antonio Beteta. During the 9th term of the Assembly of Madrid (2011–2015) Echeverría chaired the presidency of the legislature. He was re-elected for his last term in the May 2015 regional election. In December 2015 he had a car accident while driving in

Collado Villalba Collado Villalba () is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, in central Spain. It is located 40.3 kilometres north-west of the city of Madrid, at an altitude of 917 meters above sea level. It has a population of 64,263 (2022), with a popula ...

. He was measured an

alcohol content Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

of 0.65 mg/L of exhaled breath (well over the allowed rate of 0.25 mg/L). He resigned to his seat in the Assembly of Madrid on 17 December. On 8 March 2017 he was called to declare by the judge Eloy Velasco as accused party for his alleged involvement in the Púnica corruption scheme.

References