Román Rodríguez Rodríguez (born 1 March 1956, in

San Nicolás de Tolentino Nicholas of Tolentino ( la, S. Nicolaus de Tolentino, (c. 1246September 10, 1305), known as the ''Patron of Holy Souls'', was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during ...

) is a

Canarian Canary Islanders, or Canarians ( es, canarios), are a Romance people and ethnic group. They reside on the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of northwest Africa, and descend from a mixture of European settlers and abo ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who was the president of the Canary Islands between 1999 and 2003. He was licensed in medicine at the

University of La Laguna The University of La Laguna (ULL; Spanish: ''Universidad de La Laguna'') is a public research university situated in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife, Spain. It is the oldest university in the Canary Islands. The universi ...

. He worked as a medical assistant for one year and as a university professor. During the 1980s, he took part in antimilitarist and social movements. In 1991, he joined Iniciativa Canaria (ICAN), an organization which in 1993 merged with the

Canarian Coalition The Canarian Coalition ( es, Coalición Canaria, CC) is a regionalist, Canarian nationalist political party in Spain operating in the Canary Islands. The party's aim is for greater autonomy for the islands but not independence. It has been label ...

(CC). He was director general of the Sanitary Assistance between 1993 and 1995. In 1995, he was elected as general director of the Canarian Health Service. In the 2004 general election, he represented the

. In 2004, as the internal tensions within the Canarian Coalition became more evident, Román Rodríguez Rodríguez headed a faction critical of the coalition, forming a new political group called Nueva Canarias. Nevertheless, in the

Spanish Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

, he continues to sit as a member of the parliamentary group of the Canarian Coalition. Since 18 July 2019 is the Vicepresident of Canary Islands as newly elected President Ángel Víctor Torres appointed him for a progressist coalition government.

References

* People from Gran Canaria Living people 1956 births Presidents of the Canary Islands Canarian Coalition politicians Members of the 5th Parliament of the Canary Islands Members of the 6th Parliament of the Canary Islands Members of the 9th Parliament of the Canary Islands Members of the 10th Parliament of the Canary Islands {{CanaryIslands-stub