José María Martín Carpena (

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, 1950 - Málaga, 2000) was a politician in the Partido Popular who was killed by

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

on July 15, 2000.

Biography

He graduated with a degree in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

, specializing in taxation and tax consultancy, and he also worked at the National Institute of Social Security in the Spanish Ministry of Social Affairs. His political career began when he was appointed

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

by the Partido Popular on April 21, 1997, succeeding

Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla (born 1 May 1970) is an Andalusian politician and president of the Andalusian branch of the People's Party. Since 18 January 2019, he has been the President of the Government of Andalusia. He represented the Cantabr ...

who went on to serve as

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

to the

Regional Government of Andalusia The Regional Government of Andalusia ( es, Junta de Andalucía) is the government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Regional Government and the Government Council. The 2011 budget was 31. ...

. In the 1999 municipal elections, Carpena ranked number 15 in the list led by

Celia Villalobos Celia Villalobos Talero (born 18 April 1949) is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician. Born in Benalmádena, Province of Málaga, she was the mayor of Málaga from 1995 to 2000. She left office when she joined José María Aznar's cabi ...

. His position as

Councilman A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for the Partido Popular was reconfirmed as they obtained an absolute majority with 19 councillors.

Murder

He was killed at 9:40 p.m. on Saturday July 15, 2000 outside his home while travelling by official car to go to a local speech called the Proclamation of the Biznaga. Carpena was accompanied by his wife and his 17-year-old daughter, who were present during the murder. While the family was getting into the official car, the

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Igor Solana Matarran, who had been waiting for more than one hour for their departure, shot at him six times. Four bullets hit the politician and one struck him in the neck, fatally wounding him. Once the murder was committed, the killer escaped in another vehicle where another ETA member, Harriet Iragi Gurrutxaga, was waiting for him. Martín Carpena never received

threat A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for co ...

s, which is why he did not have

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

s with him. The next day his body was laid in state in Malaga's City Hall, and the citizens carried out a protest against violence and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. After lying in state, a funeral was held in the

Cathedral of Malaga A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, which was attended by numerous politicians, including

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spain. A member of the Fre ...

, Manuel Chaves, Ana Botella,

Jaime Mayor Oreja Jaime Mayor Oreja (born 12 July 1951) is a former Spanish conservative politician of the People's Party. He served as member of the Basque Parliament, of the Spanish Parliament, and of the European Parliament, as well as being Spanish Minist ...

Jesús Posada Jesús Posada Moreno (born 4 April 1945) is the former President of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish Cortes Generales. He has worked as a civil engineer and economist. From 1979 to 1981 he served as civil governor of the ...

, Javier Arenas and

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Francisco de la Torre.

Arrest of the murderers

Igor Solana and Harriet Iragi were arrested in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

three months later after murdering Colonel Antonio Muñoz Cariñanos. In 2001, they were sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Recognition

The day after his murder, he was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of the city. In September of the same year, it was decided to change the name of the Malaga City Sports Arena to the Martin Carpena Sports Arena, which it remains today. His hometown held a tribute in his honour 10 years after his death in 2010. There is also a bust in his memory in the Park of Huelin.

References

Bibliography

* MERINO, A., CHAPA, A., ''Raíces de Libertad''. pp. 199–209. FPEV (2011). (''in spanish'') * This article makes use of material translated from the corresponding

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

in the Spanish-language Wikipedia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin Carpena, Jose Maria People's Party (Spain) politicians People killed by ETA (separatist group) Assassinated Spanish politicians Deaths by firearm in Spain 1950 births 2000 deaths