Anna Balletbó i Puig (born 15 December 1943) is a Spanish academic, journalist and politician. She was a member 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 ...

Early life and education

Balletbò was born in Barcelona on 15 December 1943. Her aunt was the grandmother of football manager

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...

. Balletbò attended a boarding school in England where she studied the English language. She attended a journalism institute in Spain. She is a graduate of the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

where she received a degree in educational sciences. She also obtained a degree in modern history and communication sciences from the

Autonomous University of Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona (; Spanish: ; ; UAB) is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. , the university consists of 57 departments in the experimental, lif ...

Career and activities

Following her graduation Balletbò worked as a pre-school teacher for seven years. Then she started her journalistic career being a regular contributor of the newspaper ''El Correo Catalán''. Then she began to work for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. In 1979 Balletbò was elected as a deputy from Barcelona for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Her tenure at 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 ...

ended in 2000. Balletbò worked as a faculty member at the Autonomous University of Barcelona from 1975 and became a professor at the Faculty of Information Sciences. She was part of the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

. She is also cofounder of the Olof Palme International Foundation which was established in Barcelona in 1989. Balletbò has been the head of the organization. Balletbò has published various books and articles.

Awards

Balletbò received the Swedish decoration

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

in 1985 and the Catalan decoration

Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English language, English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Gold Medal of the G ...

in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balletbo Puig, Anna 20th-century Spanish journalists 20th-century Spanish women politicians 1943 births Living people Members of the 1st Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from Barcelona Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians University of Barcelona alumni Autonomous University of Barcelona alumni Academic staff of the Autonomous University of Barcelona 20th-century Spanish women writers 21st-century Spanish women writers Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 2nd Congress of Deputies (Spain) 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) Order of the Polar Star