Marcelino Iglesias Ricou
Marcelino Iglesias Ricou was born on 16th April 1951 in Bonansa, Spain. He is a Spanish politician, member of Spanish Socialist Workers Party in Aragon (PSOE-Aragon). He was President of the regional Government of Aragon between 1999 and 2011, and Secretary of PSOE from 2010 until 2012.
Political Career
Marcelino Iglesias Ricou started his career as Mayor of Bonansa in 1983. He was later president of the Provincial Council of Huesca from 1987 to 1995; this institution became one of the main drivers of rural tourism in Spain, making the Alto Aragón a pioneering area in the country. He was also Secretary of PSOE-Aragón in Huesca until he moved to the Provincial Congress of 2001. Furthermore, he has been the Regional Secretary of PSOE-Aragón since 2000 and was a deputy in the regional Parliament of Aragon from 1991 until 2011.
In 1999, after a pact with the Aragonese Party (PAR), he became President of the Government of Aragon and was reelected in 2003.
In the elections of 2007 the PSOE was reelected in the Aragón regional elections, obtaining 30 seats. Later, in 2008 he announced that he wouldn’t stand as a candidate in the 2011 elections. Iglesias was elected by the regional parliament of Huesca and he has also been Secretary General of the Party of Socialists of Aragon since 2000.
In 2010, the Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced after a thorough reform of his government, his proposal to appoint Iglesias as Secretary of the PSOE, replacing Leire Pajin. In 2012, he was awarded the Medal of Aragon.
After leaving the presidency of Aragon, Marcelino Iglesias Ricou was appointed senator by the regional parliament of Aragon. In December 2011 he was appointed Group PSOE spokesman in the Senate of Spain, a position that he held until September 2014.
