José Manuel Vela Bargues (1962 – 16 July 2022) was a Spanish economist and politician from 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 with ...

. Vela served as the Valencian from 22 June 2011 until his resignation on 30 November 2012. Vela was a member of the People's Party (PP).

Biography

Vela was born in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in 1962. He attended the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

, where he graduated in 1986 with a degree in economic and business science. He later received a doctorate in economics from the University of Valencia. Vela was a professor of financial economics and accounting at the

Polytechnic University of Valencia The Technical University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat Politècnica de València, UPV; , es, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia) is a Spanish university located in Valencia, with a focus on science, technology, and arts. It was founded ...

and was the

vice-rector A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a un ...

Jaume I University Jaume I University ( es, Universidad Jaime I, ca-valencia, Universitat Jaume I, UJI; ) is a university in the city of Castelló de la Plana, Valencian Community, Spain. It was founded in 1991, and it has approximately 14,000 students. The camp ...

. Vela was a member of the Spanish Association of Accounting and Business Administration since 1991, and authored over 100 works on economics. Vela served in various positions in the Government of Valencia prior to his appointment as minister. Vela served as director of the Valencian Institute of Statistics, Undersecretary of Budget Policy and Treasury, and Autonomous Secretary of Economy and Budgets. On 22 June 2011,

Francisco Camps 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 st ...

, the president of the Valencian Community, appointed Vela as . Vela was retained in the government of Camps's successor,

Alberto Fabra Alberto Fabra Part (Castellón de la Plana, born 6 April 1964) is a Spanish politician who belongs to the People's Party (Spain), People's Party. He was the fifth President of the Valencian Government since devolution was granted in 1982. Pers ...

. In his position as Minister of Finance, Vela was tasked with leading Valencia through the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

. As part of his response to the recession, Vela would oversee the reduction of wages for public employees and the restructuring of the public sector. On 21 November 2012, Vela was alleged to have leaked confidential documents regarding the , in which , a People's Party (PP) 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; howev ...

and a prominent minister, was accused and ultimately found guilty of bribery and embezzlement. During the course of the investigation, Vela allegedly leaked confidential information regarding the case to Blasco. Vela resigned as Minister of Finance on 30 November 2012 amidst media scrutiny; Vela was succeeded as Minister of Finance by . Later that day, the announced that charges would be filed against Vela, but these charges were ultimately dismissed. Vela died on 16 July 2022 at the age of 60. Politicians from across the political spectrum commemorated Vela's death, with both PP leader

Carlos Mazón Carlos Mazón Guixot (born 8 April 1974) is a Spanish People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP) politician. He was elected president of the Provincial deputation (Spain), Provincial Deputation of the Province of Alicante in 2019 and has led the P ...

and the opposing

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party 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 ...

both offering condolences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vela Bargues, José Manuel 1962 births 2022 deaths Place of death missing People from Valencia University of Valencia alumni Academic staff of the University of Valencia Academic staff of the Technical University of Valencia Academic staff of Jaume I University Spanish economists 21st-century Spanish politicians People's Party (Spain) politicians Economy ministers of the Valencian Community