Spanish politician (born 1964)
In this
Spanish name , the first or paternal
surname is
Igea and the second or maternal family name is
Arisqueta .
Francisco Igea Arisqueta (born 17 April 1964) is a Spanish politician of the
Citizens party between 2016 and 2023. A doctor by profession, he led the party in the
2019 Castilian-Leonese regional election , and became vice president of the
Junta of Castile and León after forming a government with the
People's Party leader
Alfonso Fernández Mañueco . In the
2022 election , his party lost all their seats except his own. He was previously a member of the
Congress of Deputies (2015–2019) and came runner-up in his party's
2020 leadership election . He was expelled from Citizens in 2023 for criticising their decision not to contest the
2023 Spanish general election , and retained his seat as an
independent .
Biography
Born in
Valladolid , Igea graduated in Medicine from the
University of Valladolid . A specialist in the digestive system, he worked at a hospital in
Palencia as head of department until 2013, when he volunteered for redundancy due to cuts.
[1]
Igea contested the primaries to lead
Union, Progress and Democracy in the
2015 Castilian-Leonese regional election , losing to Rafael Delgado. He then left the party, for
Citizens .
[1] He was elected to the
Congress of Deputies in the
Valladolid constituency in
December 2015 .
[2]
The following June , he was the only member of his party in
Castile and León to win re-election.
[3] In January 2017, he entered his party's central committee, responsible for health.
[1]
In February 2019, Igea announced that he would challenge
Silvia Clemente in the party primaries to lead in
May's regional elections .
[4] In March, on a recount, he defeated the former
People's Party regional leader.
[5] His party became the third largest in the
Cortes of Castile and León behind the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the PP.
[6] In July, his party formed a government with the PP, and he became regional vice president.
[7]
In December 2019, a judge closed a case against Igea initiated by a party member who had accused him of threats in March.
[8]
Igea announced his candidacy in February 2020 for
Citizens' leadership election , standing against
Inés Arrimadas .
[9] She won by 76.9% to 22.3%.
[10]
At the end of 2021, Mañueco called
an early election with the aim of governing alone, as his counterpart
Isabel Díaz Ayuso had achieved in the
Community of Madrid .
[11] Igea was named Citizens' lead candidate by the party's national leadership without the need of a primary, citing new rules in the party for when there is an unexpectedly short electoral campaign.
[12] The election ended up with Citizens losing all their seats except Igea's while
Vox made gains; he offered to align with the PP to top Vox governing.
[13]
In September 2023, Igea and
Edmundo Bal were expelled from Citizens for criticising the party's decision not to contest the
2023 Spanish general election . Igea did not appeal the decision and did not resign his seat.
[14]
References
^
a
b
c Gamarra, Lorena (10 March 2019).
"Quién es Francisco Igea, el rival de Silvia Clemente que impugnó su elección" [Who is Francisco Igea, Silvia Clemente's rival who challenges her election]. El Independiente (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2021 .
^
"La 'vuelta al cole' de los 32 diputados" [The 'first day back at school' for the 32 deputies].
El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). 11 January 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2021 .
^
"Igea, único diputado de C's en CyL, promete "sudar" tanto para un nuevo gobierno como para que cambien las cosas" [Igea, only C's deputy in C&L, promises to "sweat" greatly for a new government so that things can change]. La Información (in Spanish). 27 June 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^ Sanz, Luis Ángel (26 February 2019).
"Albert Rivera rompe Ciudadanos en Castilla y León al imponer a una dirigente del PP" [Albert Rivera fractures Citizens in Castile and León by bringing in a PP leader]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^
"Igea le gana las primarias de Ciudadanos a Clemente tras la revisión de los votos" [Igea defeats Clemente in the Citizens primaries after a recount].
ABC (in Spanish). 11 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^
"Resultados Elecciones Autonómicas en Castilla y León" [Autonomous Election Results in Castile and León]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^
"Fernández Mañueco e Igea se rodean de seis hombres y tres mujeres en su gobierno conjunto para Castilla y León" [Fernández Mañueco and Igea are flanked by six men and three women in their coalition government for Castile and León] (in Spanish). CyLTV. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^
"Absuelto Igea (Cs) de un delito de amenazas contra un militante de su partido" [Igea (Cs) acquitted of threats against a member of his party].
La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 December 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^ Esteban, Paloma (25 February 2020).
"Igea presenta su candidatura contra Arrimadas y pide un debate este jueves" [Igea presents his candidacy against Arrimadas and requests a debate this Thursday].
El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^ Sanz, Luis Ángel (8 March 2020).
"Inés Arrimadas barre a Francisco Igea con el 77% de los votos en las primarias de Ciudadanos" [Inés Arrimadas sweeps away Francisco Igea with 77% of the votes in the Citizens leadership election]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^
"Pablo Casado muestra su apoyo a Mañueco para liderar una victoria "en solitario" " [Pablo Casado shows his support to Mañueco to lead a victory "by ourselves"]. La Opinión de Zamora (in Spanish). Europa Press. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022 .
^ Carvajal, Álvaro (27 December 2021).
"Ciudadanos nombra a Francisco Igea candidato en Castilla y León sin primarias y apelando a la "unidad" " [Citizens name Francisco Igea candidate in Castile and León without primaries and calling for "unity"]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2022 .
^
"Igea lamenta la "catástrofe" de Cs y se ofrece al PP para evitar la entrada de Vox en el Gobierno de CyL" [Igea laments Cs' "catastrophe" and offers himself to the PP to avoid Vox entering the Government of Castile and León] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022 .
^
"Ciudadanos expulsa a Edmundo Bal y a Francisco Igea" [Citizens expel Edmundo Bal and Francisco Igea].
Público (in Spanish). 28 September 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2024 .