Carme Chacón
Carme Chacón | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 14 April 2008 – 22 December 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero |
| Preceded by | José Antonio Alonso |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Morenés |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carme Chacón Piqueras 13 March 1971 Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain |
| Political party | PSOE (PSC) |
| Spouse | Miguel Barroso |
| Children | Miquel |
| Alma mater | University of Barcelona |
| Occupation | Lawyer Professor |
Carme Chacón Piqueras (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkarmə tʃəˈkom piˈkeɾəs]; born 13 March 1971) is a Spanish politician who was Minister of Defence from 2008 to 2011 in the cabinet led by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
Early life and career
Chacón was born in Esplugues de Llobregat in the Catalan county of Baix Llobregat. She holds a bachelor in Law from the University of Barcelona, and she conducted her postgraduate study at Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto), the University of Kingston and Laval University in Quebec City. She worked as a lecturer of Constitutional Law at the University of Girona. She is married and gave birth to her first child, a son named Miquel on 19 May 2008.[1]
Political career
Chacón is a member of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia and Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. She has been a PSOE member of parliament for Barcelona since the 2000 election, the vice-president of the Spanish Congress of Deputies (Lower House) in José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's legislature and she was later named minister of Housing after María Antonia Trujillo before becoming Minister of Defence in April 2008.
Chacón was the first female Minister of Defence in Spain, which, together with the fact that she was seven months pregnant at the time, was considered a significant development by the press.[2][3] Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba temporarily took over the defense portfolio when Chacón gave birth.[4] Shortly after she chose to live in the ministry, which has its own kindergarten, so as not to waste time traveling between her home and her workplace.[5]
In 2010, Chacón chaired the meetings of the EU defence minister while Spain held the European Union's six-month rotating presidency. During this time, she led the negotiations with EADS about €3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) extra funding for the Airbus A400M Atlas military transport.[6]
After José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced he was not going to run in the 2012 elections, she was widely assumed to run for her party primaries to happen during autumn 2011. However, after the failure of the PSOE in 2011 local elections, she announced that she withdraw from the race.[7]
With the landslide defeat of the PSOE Zapatero Government in the November 2011 snap elections, Chacón ceded the Defence Minister's post to Pedro Morenés in December 2011.
She filed to be PSOE's General Secretary. On 4 February 2012 she lost to Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba 487 to 465 votes [8] in the 38th congress of the party. When Rubalcaba announced his resignation after his party’s dismal showing in the 2014 European elections, Chacón was widely seen as one of the frontrunners for his replacement.[9]
Political positions
In Catalan politics, Chacón is actively opposed to the independence of the region.
Other activities
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member
References
- ^ "AJE". Al Jazeera English. 1993-05-20. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Abend, Lisa (2008-04-15). "Spain's Pregnant Defense Minister". TIME. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Sarah Morris (2012-02-16). "Women's work | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Victoria Burnett (May 21, 2008), Spain’s Defense Minister Becomes a Mother New York Times.
- ^ Helene Zuber (April 15, 2010), Charming Carme: Spain's Defense Minister Makes Her Mark in a Macho World Der Spiegel.
- ^ Gerrit Wiesmann (February 25, 2010), Deal in principle struck on A400M Financial Times.
- ^ "Chacón: "Me retiro porque se ha puesto en riesgo al PSOE y al Gobierno" | Política | EL PAÍS". Politica.elpais.com. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ "POLÍTICA . Comunitat : Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba gana a Carme Chacón por 22 votos de diferencia : El periódico de aquí". Elperiodicodeaqui.com. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Tobias Buck (May 26, 2014), Spain’s opposition Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba quits Financial Times.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Spanish women in politics
- Catalan politicians
- Members of the seventh Congress of Deputies (Spain)
- Members of the eighth Congress of Deputies (Spain)
- Members of the ninth Congress of Deputies (Spain)
- Female defence ministers
- Government ministers of Spain
- Université Laval alumni
- People from Esplugues de Llobregat
- Spanish Ministers of Defence