María Rita Barberá Nolla (16 July 1948 – 23 November 2016) was a Spanish politician who was the mayor of

Valencia 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 ...

from 1991 until 2015.

Biography and political career

Born in Valencia to a prominent industrial and political family, she was a member of the National Council of the People's Party of Spain and was a Representative in the Valencian regional Parliament (

Corts Valencianes The Corts Valencianes (), commonly known as ''Les Corts'' (), are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of the Borgias in Valencia, Spain ...

). She turned down an offer to become a national deputy at the 2008 Spanish General Election, but her party made her a senator after she lost the 2015 municipal elections. As such, she became answerable only to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, and the ordinary judge in charge of the ''Taula'' corruption case could therefore not indict her like the rest of her team.

2016 judicial case and death

On 21 April 2016, this investigating judge therefore requested her indictment for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

to the Supreme Court. On 13 September 2016 the Supreme Court opened a formal investigation, usually the step before an indictment, and the People's Party asked her to resign her senate seat. She chose instead to formally leave the party and to become an independent senator, remaining answerable only to the Supreme Court and keeping her senator salary. Until her death, she continued to socialize and vote with the party that she had formally left. Barberá died in Madrid on 23 November 2016 of a heart attack as a result of hepatic

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

. She was in the process of being investigated for money laundering at the time, and had testified to the Supreme Court only two days prior to her death.

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