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María Jesús Montero Cuadrado (; born 4 February 1966) is a Spanish hospital administrator and politician of the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...
(PSOE) who has been serving as
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
under
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...
since 2018. In December 2023, she was promoted to First Deputy Prime Minister.


Education and early career

The daughter of teachers, Montero has a Degree in Medicine and Surgery from the
University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, in 2022 it has a student body of 57,214,U-Ranking Universidades español ...
and master's degree in management from the EADA Business School in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. At institutions like the Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Montero subsequently worked as a hospital administrator, holding various positions of responsibility throughout her career, mainly linked to the specialization of health management.


Political career

Montero chaired the Committee on Marginalization of the Andalusia Youth Council between 1986 and 1988, and later, general secretary of the same until 1990. Montero served as a Socialist deputy in the
Parliament of Andalusia The Parliament of Andalusia () is the legislature of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia instituted by the Andalusian Charter of Autonomy of 1981. It is elected by the residents of Andalusia every four years. Functions *To elect the ...
, representing the electoral constituency of Seville.


Regional Minister of Health in Andalusia, 2004–2013

Between September 2002 and April 2004 Montero held the position of Deputy Minister of Health of the Junta de Andalucía, after which she was appointed head of the Regional Ministry of Health, a responsibility she held until May 2012, the date from which she assumed the Health portfolio and Social Welfare. During Montero's tenure at the head of the Ministry of Health, new health rights were regulated, such as the second medical opinion, access to
preimplantation genetic diagnosis Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD or PIGD) is the genetic profiling of embryos prior to implantation (as a form of embryo profiling), and sometimes even of oocytes prior to fertilization. PGD is considered in a similar fashion to prenatal ...
, genetic counseling or
dignified death Dignified death, death with dignity, dying with dignity or dignity in dying is an ethical concept aimed at avoiding suffering and maintaining control and autonomy in the end-of-life process. In general, it is usually treated as an extension of t ...
. Also under her leadership, Andalusia defied a 2012 ban on free healthcare for undocumented immigrants, imposed by the central government as part of spending cuts to avoid an international bailout amid the
European debt crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The e ...
. In partnership with other institutions and the business sector, biomedical research has also been promoted, through a network of centers such as the Andalusian Center for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine (CABIMER), the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBIS), Center for genomics and oncology research (GENYO) or the Research Center for Innovative Medicines (MEDINA).


Regional Minister of Finance in Andalusia, 2013–2018

From 9 September 2013 to 6 June 2018, Montero served as Minister of Finance and Public Administration of the
Junta de Andalucía The Regional Government of Andalusia () 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 31.7 billion euros. It emp ...
. At the head of this department, developed and approved five budgets without an absolute majority in Parliament, one with Izquierda Unida and four with
Citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...
. Andalusia is currently one of the few communities that complies with the rules of budgetary stability and financial sustainability (goal of deficit, debt and expenditure rule), in addition to becoming the common system community that previously pays its suppliers. Likewise, during these years important regulatory advances have been promoted in the Finance area, such as the decree of payment terms guarantees, with which the Junta de Andalucía self-imposed to reduce the maximum payment time in sectors to only 20 days. priority areas such as health, education and social services.


Minister of Finance, 2018–present

Montero was chosen by
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...
, following the
motion 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 fi ...
that the
PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...
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 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...
( PP) and that was approved by the
Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...
on 1 June 2018, to be Finance Minister in new Spanish cabinet.
Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...
sanctioned by
royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
of June her appointment as the first female holder of the portfolio of Minister of Treasury of Spain. On 7 June she took office as Minister before the King at
Palace of Zarzuela The Zarzuela Palace ( ) 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 Palace is on the outskirts of ...
. By January 2019, Montero presented her minority government's first budget proposal of 472.7 billion euro ($543 billion), promising to reduce its deficit to 1.3 percent of gross domestic product but also increase social spending by over 6 percent; the proposal failed to get parliamentary approval and instead prompted a snap election. In early 2020, after the November general election of 2019, Montero was confirmed by the Prime Minister to continue in the Finance portfolio. In addition, she was appointed government spokeswoman. Following recommendations from the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
(IMF) aimed at reviving the economy amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Spain The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Island ...
, Montero led efforts in 2020 to suspend the constitutional commitment to any deficit targets for two years and allow the government to spend and borrow at will. In 2021, Montero steered the government’s negotiations that resulted in the Chamber of Deputies approving a total central government budget of 196 billion euros – the biggest budget in the country's history –, after Prime Minister Sánchez had won the support of the Catalan pro-independence
Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...
. That year, she also reported that Spain's budget deficit had narrowed to 6.76% of gross domestic product from over 10% in 2020.


Political positions

In a letter sent to their counterparts in the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
Pierre Moscovici Pierre Moscovici (, ; born 16 September 1957) is a French politician who served as the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs from 2014 to 2019. He previously served as Minister of Finance from 2012 to ...
and
Miguel Arias Cañete Miguel Arias Cañete (born 24 February 1950) is a Spanish politician who served as European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action in the Juncker Commission from 2014 to 2019. A member of the Spanish People's Party, Arias served as Minist ...
– in May 2019, Montero and Environment Minister
Teresa Ribera Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (; born 19 May 1969) is a Spanish jurist, civil servant, academic, and politician who is the First Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition and Commissioner for Comp ...
called on the European Union to assess a potential
carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden Social cost of carbon, social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis ...
on power imports to protect the bloc’s interests and help it to pursue its environmental targets amid growing public concern over climate change.Belen Carreño (May 27, 2019)
Spain proposes EU carbon tax on energy imports
''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
''.


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References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montero, Maria Jesus 1966 births 21st-century Spanish women politicians Finance ministers of Andalusia Living people Members of the 8th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 9th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 10th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from Seville Economy and finance ministers of Spain Spanish public health doctors Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians University of Seville alumni Women government ministers of Spain Female finance ministers Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Women public health doctors Deputy prime ministers of Spain