Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez (born 21 January 1957) is a Spanish former judge and politician of the People's Party, who has been serving as

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

since 2019. In Parliament, he has since been serving on the

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities of the Committee AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for: #The operation and development of the Common Agricul ...

. Zoido was the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

between November 2016 and June 2018, when a vote of no-confidence against

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 vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...

ousted the government. He has previously been Mayor of

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 ...

from 2011 to 2015, Member of the

Parliament of Andalusia The Parliament of Andalusia ( es, Parlamento de Andalucía) 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. ...

from 2008 to 2014 and Chairman of the

People's Party of Andalusia The People's Party of Andalusia ( es, Partido Popular de Andalucía, PP), informally also known as the Andalusian People's Party ( es, link=no, Partido Popular Andaluz, PPA) is the regional wing of the Spanish People's Party operating in Andalusi ...

from 2012 to 2014.

Early years and education

Juan Ignacio Zoido was born in Montellano, Seville, and grew up in

Fregenal de la Sierra Fregenal de la Sierra (originally Frexnal or Frexenal) is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. Geography Fregenal de la Sierra is located in the Sierra Suroeste comarca (county), among the small hills and ravi ...

, where his father owned a bakery. He started his law studies in the University of Almeria and graduated in 1979 in the

University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, it has a present student body of over 69.200, and is one of the top-ranked universi ...

. After completing his studies, Zoido did his military service in Cerro Muriano, serving as a bodyguard for several generals.

Career in civil service

Zoido passed the Judiciary competitive examinations in 1983 and was first posted as First Instance and Inquiry Judge of the Arrecife District in

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

. A year later he was promoted and posted as First Instance and Inquiry Judge in the

Utrera Utrera () is a municipality in south-west Spain. It is in the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. As of 2018 it has a population of 52,617. The town is of great historical interest. It was occupied by Muslims in the 8 ...

district. In 1987 he is promoted to magistrate and posted to

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the third-most populous ci ...

(

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

) as titular Judge of the 3rd Court of First Instance and Inquiry of that district. He returned to Andalucía in 1987 being posted a titular judge of the 7th Court of First Instance (family affairs) of Seville, in 1989 he changed his court to the 7th Criminal Court of the same district. In 1992 he is named Dean Juadge of Seville position where he remained until 1996. In 1996 Zoido is appointed Director General of Relations with the Judiciary by the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Margarita Mariscal de Gante Margarita Mariscal de Gante (born 10 January 1954) is a Spanish judge and politician, who served as the minister of justice from 1996 to 2000. Early life Gante was born in Madrid on 10 January 1954. She is the daughter of Jaime Mariscal de Ghent ...

. In 2000 he is appointed Government's Delegate to Castilla-La Mancha until 2002, where he is named Government's Delegate in Andalusia. Two years later he is elected General Secretary of the People's Party of Andalusia, position he held until 2006.

Political career

In the 2007 local elections Zoido ran as PP's candidate for Mayor of Seville, in that election the PP achieved the same number of councillors as the Socialist Party, that managed to win the mayorship thanks to a coalition agreement with United Left. In the

2008 Andalusian regional election The 2008 Andalusian regional election was held on Sunday, 9 March 2008, to elect the 8th Parliament of the autonomous community of Andalusia. All 109 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with the 2008 S ...

Zoido was elected to the

, where he chaired the Committee on Cultural Affairs. In the 2011 local elections Zoido ran again for Mayor, the PP secured a majority of the city council and Zoido was elected Mayor. Between 2011 and 2012, he was the President of the

Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) is a Spanish association of local entities that groups town councils, provincial councils, insular councils and insular cabildos. Approximately 7,331 entities are represented. The fo ...

. The 2012 Andalusian Parliamentary Elections, where the People's Party achieved a plurality of seats for the first time in the history of the autonomous community but failed to secure the presidency, meant a major crisis in the regional branch of the Party. In July that year Zoido, whose condition as mayor of Andalusia's capital and biggest city gave him a big name, was chosen regional chairman of the party at the XIII Regional Congress. Zoido sought reelection in the 2015 elections, but the PP failed to achieve a majority of the council, and an agreement of the Socialist Party, Participa Sevilla (a list supported by Podemos) and United Left, ousted Zoido. Zoido led the PP's List for the 2015 and 2016 General elections being elected to Congress on both occasions. In November 2016 he was appointed Minister of the Interior. He played a key role in the 2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis and during his tenure the

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people. Definitions of terrori ...

in Barcelona and Cambrils occurred.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoido, Juan Ignacio 1957 births Living people Government ministers of Spain Interior ministers of Spain Mayors of Seville Politicians from Andalusia Members of the 11th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 12th Congress of Deputies (Spain) 20th-century Spanish judges People's Party (Spain) politicians Seville city councillors 21st-century Spanish judges MEPs for Spain 2019–2024