Narcís Serra i Serra (born 30 May 1943) is a Spanish economist and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain from 1991 to 1995. Born in Barcelona in 1943, he was one of the leading figures of Catalan socialism during the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

, and he was one of the founders of the

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (, PSC–PSOE) is a social democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socia ...

, the Catalan branch 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).

Early life and career

Narcís Serra hailed from a Catholic family of Catalan origin. Prior to his political involvement, and before obtaining his PhD in economics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, he worked as a research fellow at the London School of Economics from 1970 to 1972. He later became a professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (where he taught Economic Theory). He is an Honorary Fellow at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Political career

Serra served as the first democratically elected

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

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 ...

after Franco's dictatorship (from 1979 to 1982). In the wake of the socialist victory in the

1982 Spanish general election A General elections in Spain, general election was held in Spain on Thursday, 28 October 1982, to elect the members of the 2nd . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 254 seats in the Senate of Spain, ...

, Serra was appointed

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

by Prime Minister

Felipe González Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a retired Spanish politician who was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996 and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. He is the longest-serving democratically- ...

, and he succeeded Alfonso Guerra as Deputy Prime Minister in 1991. During his tenure as Minister of Defense, he promoted the legislative changes that resulted in the democratization of the Spanish armed forces, their effective integration in the NATO structure, and the participation in international missions for the first time. He resigned as Deputy Prime Minister in 1995, but remained a Member of the

Spanish 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 ...

representing the Constituency of

until 2004. He first gained his seat in Parliament in the

1986 Spanish general election A General elections in Spain, general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 22 June 1986, to elect the members of the 3rd . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 254 seats in the Senate of Spain, Senate ...

Life after politics

In 2005, Serra was appointed president of Caixa Catalunya, a public savings bank. Following his resignation in 2011, he was tried for criminal mismanagement and abusive payments while he was chairman of the ailed savings bank. He was absolved of all charges in February 2019. Serra has been the chairman of the

Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

(IBEI) since its foundation in 2004. He currently teaches courses on Strategy, Military Reform and Peace Building as part of the Master studies offered by the institute.

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Telefónica Chile, Member of the Board of Directors

Non-profit organizations

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

(ECFR), Member * European Leadership Network (ELN), Senior Member

References

External links

* 1943 births Living people Politicians from Barcelona Socialists' Party of Catalonia politicians Mayors of Barcelona Members of the 3rd Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 4th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 5th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 6th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Deputy prime ministers of Spain Ministers of defence of Spain Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Public works ministers of Catalonia {{Catalonia-politician-stub