Íñigo Urkullu Renteria (born 18 September 1961) is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

politician, and the Lehendakari (President) of the

Basque Government The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...

since 2012. As the President of the

, he headed the First,

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

and Third Urkullu Governments of the

Basque Autonomous Community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Biography

Urkullu graduated in teaching, specialized in Basque language, from the

University of Deusto The University of Deusto ( es, Universidad de Deusto; eu, Deustuko Unibertsitatea) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The Un ...

. He was a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

teacher at Asti-Leku Ikastola school.

Political career

He was the

Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...

(PNV)

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

from 2008 to 2013 when he was succeeded by

Andoni Ortuzar Andoni Ortuzar Arruabarrena (born 13 July 1962) is a Spanish people, Spanish Basque politics, Basque politician and journalism, journalist, and the President (corporate title), president of the Basque Nationalist Party. Early life Andoni Or ...

, since the party's rules do not allow a Lehendakari to be the party's chairman at the same time. He was the

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

leader of the party from 2004 to 2008 and has been a member since 1996. He was the director of the Department for Youth and Social Services of the Biscay Foral Government (Diputación Foral de Bizkaia) from 1987 to 1994 and served in the

Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament ( Basque: ''Eusko Legebiltzarra'', Spanish: ''Parlamento Vasco'') is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible. The Parliament ...

from 1984 to 1987 and from 1994 to 2005 (during the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th sittings of the parliament). Amid the 2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis, Urkullu tried to mediate between the Spanish and Catalan governments to avoid the

declaration of independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

and the application of Article 155, but these attempts failed. He declared as a witness in the

Trial of Catalonia independence leaders The trial of Catalonia independence leaders, legally named and popularly known as the , was an oral trial that began on 12 February 2019 in the Supreme Court of Spain. The case was tried by seven judges and was chaired by judge Manuel Marchen ...

on 28 February 2019. He resides in

Ajuria Enea The Palace of Ajuria Enea is a building in Vitoria-Gasteiz, northern Spain. It is the official residence of the Lehendakari (the President of the Basque Autonomous Community). The building, chosen to be official residence on the basis of its arc ...

, the official residence of the president of the Basque Government.

References

1961 births Living people Presidents of the Basque Government People from Alonsotegi Members of the 11th Basque Parliament Basque Nationalist Party politicians Leaders of political parties in Spain University of Deusto alumni Members of the 12th Basque Parliament Members of the 10th Basque Parliament Members of the 7th Basque Parliament Members of the 8th Basque Parliament Members of the 6th Basque Parliament Members of the 5th Basque Parliament {{BasqueCountry-politician-stub