In this
Catalan name, the first or paternal
surname is Tardà and the second or maternal family name is Coma; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Joan Tardà i Coma (born 26 September 1953) is a
Catalan teacher and politician from
Spain. He is a former member of the
Congress of Deputies of
Spain.
Early life and family
Tardà was born on 26 September 1953 in
Cornellà de Llobregat,
Catalonia.[1][2] He is the son a bricklayer and a cinema ticket seller from Cornellà de Llobregat.[3][4] From the age of twelve Tardà worked at the same cinema as his mother.[4] He has a
Master of Arts degree.[1][3]
Tardà was a member of
Red Flag until 1974.[3][4] He was a member of the
Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) from 1974 to 1976 when he joined the newly formed
Left Nationalists (NE).[2] Following the dissolution of NE Tardà joined the
Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and was president of its Cornellà branch from 1996 to 1999.[2] He was also a member of Assemblea de Batlles and the Committee of Solidarity with the Catalan Patriots (Comitès de Solidaritat amb els Patriotes Catalans).[2]
Career
Tardà and other teachers taught
Catalan after school as the
FascistFrancoist dictatorship had banned the teaching of Catalan in schools.[4] He has taught Catalan language and
literature at the IES Institut Esteve Terradas secondary school since 1980.[1][4]
In March 2019 Tardà announced that he would not seek re-election at the
next general election and would quit national politics.[19] At the 2019 general election Tardà was placed 32nd on the
Republican Left of Catalonia–Sovereigntists electoral alliance's
list of candidates in the Province of Barcelona but the alliance only managed to win eight seats in the province and as a result he failed to get re-elected to the Congress of Deputies.[20][21]
Personal life
Tardà's partner Empar Fernández is a history teacher.[4] They have two children.[1][4]