Rafael Catalá

Rafael Catalá Polo (born 21 June 1961) is a Spanish politician and member of the People's Party. He has been Minister of Justice and First Notary of the Kingdom since September 2014, and was additionally interim Minister of Public Works between 19 July 2016 and 4 November 2016.[1] Before this, he served as the 4th Secretary of State for Justice between 2002 and 2004 and as the 8th Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Housing from 2011 to 2014.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Catalá and the second or maternal family name is Polo.

The Most Excellent Rafael Catalá MP
Minister of Justice First Notary of the Kingdom
In office 29 September 2014 – 1 June 2018
Prime Minister	Mariano Rajoy
Preceded by	Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
Succeeded by	Dolores Delgado
Minister of Public Works Interim
In office 19 July 2016 – 4 November 2016
Preceded by	Ana Pastor Julián
Succeeded by	Íñigo de la Serna
Member of the Congress of Deputies
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 January 2016
Constituency	Cuenca
Personal details
Born	Rafael Catalá Polo (1961-06-21) 21 June 1961 Madrid, Spain
Political party	PP

On 16 May 2017, the Congress of Deputies passed a motion of censure against Catalá as minister of justice. This was as a result of the maneuvers that have taken place within the fiscal ministry aimed at obstructing certain judicial cases against corruption and of the minister's own actions relating to these cases. He is the first minister of democracy rejected by the full Congress.

Together with the Minister, José Manuel Maza, the Attorney General and Manuel Moix, the Anti-corruption Prosecutor, were rejected.

Biography

Graduated in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid, in 1985 he entered the Higher Body of Civil State Administrators by competitive examination.

During his administrative career, he held the post of Deputy Director General of Organisation and Human Resources Policy in the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs (1988-1992). In 1992, he joined AENA, where he was Director of Human Resources Planning and Development, Director of Labour Relations and Director of Administration and Air Navigation Services. He also served until 2011 as general secretary of Codere, a company in the gaming sector.[2]

Political Career

After the People's Party's electoral victory in 1996, the Council of Ministers appointed him Director General of the Civil Service in the Ministry of Public Administration, then headed by Mariano Rajoy.

Catalá in October 2001

In January 1999, he was appointed Director General of Personnel and Services at the Ministry of Education and Culture, and between May 2000 and July 2002 he was Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Finance. Between 2002 and 2004 he was Secretary of State for Justice in the Department headed by José María Michavila.

After the 2004 general elections, he was in charge of the management of the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid. In addition, since 2005 he has been director of the master's degree in Public Administration at Esade and a member of the UNED Social Council.[3]

On December 23, 2011, the Council of Ministers appointed him Secretary of State for Planning and Infrastructure of the Ministry of Public Works, [4]at the proposal of its head, Ana Pastor Julián.

Following Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón's resignation, on 23 September 2014 he was appointed as successor to the Minister of Justice.[5] His appointment was published on 29 September 2014,[6]the day he took office.[7]

On 19 July 2016, he took over the ordinary business of the Ministry of Public Works, whose incumbent until now, Ana Pastor Julián, ceased to hold office after his election as president of the Congress of Deputies.

On 3 November 2016, his continuity as Minister of Justice was confirmed during the second government of Mariano Rajoy, and he was renewed as Minister on 4 November 2016.

On 16 May 2017, he was rejected as Minister of Justice by the Congress of Deputies as a result of the manoeuvres that have taken place within the Public Prosecutor's Office aimed at obstructing certain judicial cases against corruption and the minister's own actions relating to these cases.[8] This makes him the first Minister of Democracy to be rejected by the full Congress. Along with the minister himself, the attorney general José Manuel Maza and the chief anti-corruption prosecutor Manuel Moix were also censured.

On 1 June 2018 he became acting Minister of Justice, pending the appointment of a new Minister, following the motion of censure passed the same day against Mariano Rajoy, with Pedro Sánchez as the new President of the Spanish Government.

References

1. "Rafael Catalá Polo". Ministerio de Justicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2016.
2. "Rafael Catalá, nuevo secretario de Estado de Planificación e Infraestructuras - ABC.es - Noticias Agencias". web.archive.org. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
3. Press, Europa (23 December 2011). "(Ampl.) Rafael Catalá Polo, secretario de Estado de Planificación e Infraestructuras de Fomento". www.europapress.es. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
4. "Rafael Catalá: Tenemos 25 millones de viviendas en España y solo 1.800.000 son en alquiler". OndaCero (in Spanish). 14 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
5. "Rafael Catalá, nuevo ministro de Justicia en sustitución de Gallardón". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 23 September 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
6. "Real Decreto 829/2014, de 28 de septiembre, por el que se nombra Ministro de Justicia a don Rafael Catalá Polo" (PDF).
7. "Inicio - Actividades y Agenda - Juramento o promesa ante Su Majestad el Rey del nuevo ministro de Justicia, Rafael Catalá Polo". www.casareal.es. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
8. "Sesión plenaria núm. 51 celebrada el martes 16 de mayo de 2017" (PDF) (in Spanish).

External links