María Isabel Celaá Diéguez (born 23 May 1949) is a Spanish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. In June 2018, she was appointed Minister of Education and Vocational Training and

Spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

of the

Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...

. Since 2022, she serves as Ambassador to the Holy See.

Biography

Politics in the Basque Country

She started in politics in 1987 as head of the cabinet of the Regional minister of Education, Universities and Research José Ramón Recalde. After the brief interregnum of the coalition government PNV-EA-EE of 1991, she was vice-minister of Education, Universities and Research with Fernando Buesa as Basque counselor until the end of the legislature (1995). In the following legislature she abandoned the educational responsibilities, being director of the cabinet of the Counselor of Justice, Economy, Labor and Social Security, Ramón Jáuregui. Between 1998 and 2009 and 2012 and 2016, she has been a member of the

Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament (Basque language, Basque: ''Eusko Legebiltzarra'', Spanish language, Spanish: ''Parlamento Vasco'') is the legislative body of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected ...

for Province of Vizcaya. As a parliamentarian, she was responsible for the educational issues of her group. Between 2008 and 2009 she was the first vice president of the Basque Parliament. From 2009 to 2012 she held the position of Counselor of Education, Universities and Research in the government of Patxi López, She is particularly interested in the improvement of the Basque educational system and technology, and advocates scientific research. She was head of list of the PSE-EE to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by the circumscription of Vizcaya in the general elections of

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

but she was not elected. She is a member of the executive committee of the

Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left The Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (, , PSE-EE) is a social-democratic political party in the Basque Country that acts as the regional affiliate of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History Although local ...

(PSOE) party.

Minister of Education and Vocational Training

On 7 June 2018,

Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...

after being sworn new

Spanish Prime Minister The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers. In this sense, the prime minister establishes the Gove ...

, following the

motion of censure A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

that 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 ...

presented against the previous government of

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 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

( PP) and that was approved by 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 ...

on 1 June 2018, appointed her as Minister in new

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

sanctioned by

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

of June her appointment as holder of the portfolio of Minister of Education and Vocational Training and Spokesperson of the Government On 7 June she took office as Minister and Spokeswoman before the King at Palace of Zarzuela. Appointed as Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See, she presented her diplomatic credentials to Pontiff

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

on 18 March 2022.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celaa, Isabel 1949 births 20th-century Spanish politicians 20th-century Spanish women politicians 21st-century Spanish women politicians Education ministers of Spain Government ministers of Spain Living people Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from Bilbao Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left politicians Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians University of Deusto alumni University of Valladolid alumni Women government ministers of Spain Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Basque women in politics Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See Ambassadors of Spain to Malta