Enric Monsonís Domingo (June 28, 1931 – October 7, 2011) was a Spanish liberal politician. Monsonís served as the head of the pre-

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

government of the Consell Pre-autonòmic del País Valencià (''Pre-autonomous Council of the Valencian Country'') from 1979 to 1982. He left office in 1982 when Valencia became an

autonomous community of Spain The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spai ...

, known as the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, and elected its first democratically chosen President of the Valencian Government,

Joan Lerma Joan Lerma Blasco (born 15 July 1951 in Valencia, Spain) is a Spanish politician for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), who served as the first democratically elected President of the Valencian Government since the restoration of demo ...

as part of the country's transition to democracy. Monsonis was born in Burriana,

Valencia, Spain Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, the son of an orange merchant. He obtained a law degree from the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

. He moved to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, in 1954 for the orange export industry, where he handled 2% of Spain's exports to the country. Monsonis joined the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD). He chaired the pre-autonomous government of Valencia from 1979 to 1982 until elections were held in 1982 as part of the transition to democracy. Monsonís was succeeded by

of the

PSOE 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 ...

, who was elected President of the Valencian Government in the 1982 election. Monsonís attempted a political comeback in 2004 as a member of the

Valencian Union Valencian Union (; ; UV) was a regionalist political party in the Valencian Community, Spain. The party had not been represented in the Valencian autonomous parliament since 1999. It scored 0.95% of the total votes in the 2007 elections, wel ...

. However, he was unsuccessful and largely retired from public life thereafter. Monsonis died in his hometown of Burriana,

Plana Baixa Plana Baixa (; ) is a '' comarca'' in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The main source of water for irrigation in the area is the Millars River. Municipalities The ''comarca'' is composed of 20 municipalities A mun ...

, on October 7, 2011, at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monsonis, Enrique 1931 births 2011 deaths People from Burriana Presidents of the Valencian Government Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain) politicians Valencian Union politicians University of Valencia alumni