Gema Igual Ortiz (born 10 September 1973)[1] is a Spanish politician of the People's Party (PP). She was elected to the city council of Santander in Cantabria in 2003 and became mayor in 2016. She was elected to the Parliament of Cantabria in 2023.
Biography
editIgual was born in Santander in Cantabria.[1] She was raised in nearby Isla, in the municipality of Arnuero.[2] Her older brother José Manuel is also a People's Party politician, mayor of Arnuero since 1999 and member of the Parliament of Cantabria from 2003 to 2019.[3] She studied teaching at the University of Cantabria but did not finish her course.[4][5]
After leaving university, Igual relocated to Madrid, where she worked for eight years at a travel agency and then returned to Cantabria to lead its Association of Young Businesspeople. In 2003, she was elected to the city council on a list led by mayor Gonzalo Piñeiro, and was put in charge of tourism and festivities by his administration.[6]
In November 2016, mayor Íñigo de la Serna left office to be Minister of Growth in the national government, and Igual was sworn in as the first woman to be mayor of Santander.[7] In the 2019 Spanish local elections, her party fell to 10 out of 27 seats and governed as a minority with the two councillors from Citizens.[8] Four years later, her party achieved an absolute majority with 14 seats.[9]
Igual was elected to the Parliament of Cantabria in the 2023 Cantabrian regional election, running second on the PP list.[10] In September 2023, she became vice president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP).[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Real, Alicia (18 May 2023). "Gema Igual, la primera mujer en llegar a la alcaldía de Santander" [Gema Igual, the first woman to become mayor of Santander] (in Spanish). Onda Cero. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Gema Igual, la alcaldesa 'slow': "Quiero que Santander entre en la ruta de la alta cultura"" [Gema Igual, the 'slow' mayor: "I want Santander to enter the route of high culture"]. El Español (in Spanish). 1 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Ahumada, José (24 June 2023). "Hermanos y alcaldes" [Siblings and mayors]. El Diario Montañés (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Vivar, Rubén (29 March 2017). "Gema Igual se resiste a dimitir y atribuye su título de Magisterio a un "error"" [Gema Igual resists calls to resign and attributes her teaching title to an "error"]. elDiario.es. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Gema Igual protagoniza la próxima edición de Foro SER Cantabria" [Gema Igual will lead the next edition of SER Cantabria Forum] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Santiago, Violeta; Chato, Pilar (15 June 2019). "Gema Igual apela al consenso para construir el futuro de Santander" [Gema Igual calls for consensus to contruct the future of Santander]. El Diario Montañés. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ López, Álvaro (17 November 2016). "Gema Igual toma posesión como alcaldesa ofreciendo más diálogo con la oposición" [Gema Igual takes office as mayor offering more dialogue with the opposition] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "El PP revalida la alcaldía de Santander con el apoyo de Ciudadanos" [PP retain Santander mayor's office with support from Citizens]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 15 June 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "La popular Gema Igual, reelegida alcaldesa de Santander con mayoría absoluta" [PP's Gema Igual, re-elected mayor of Santander with absolute majority]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). 17 June 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "El Parlamento de Cantabria tendrá en esta legislatura 17 caras nuevas" [Parliament of Cantabria will have 17 new faces in this legislature] (in Spanish). Ifomo. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Bustamente, M. (22 September 2023). "Gema Igual: "Es el momento de volver a la FEMP de todos"" [Gema Igual: "It's time to make FEMP everyone's again"] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 31 May 2024.