Alfonso Rueda
President of the Regional Government of Galicia
Assumed office
14 May 2022
Vice PresidentFrancisco Conde
Diego Calvo
Preceded byAlberto Núñez Feijóo
First Vice President of Galicia
In office
3 December 2012 – 14 May 2022
PresidentAlberto Núñez Feijóo
Preceded byAnxo Quintana
Succeeded byFrancisco Conde López
Member of the Parliament of Galicia
Assumed office
1 April 2009
ConstituencyPontevedra
Personal details
Born (1968-07-08) 8 July 1968 (age 55)
Pontevedra, Spain
Political partyPeople's Party of Galicia
SpouseMarta Coloret
Children2

Alfonso Rueda Valenzuela (born 8 July 1968)[1] is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician. Elected to the Parliament of Galicia in 2009, he succeeded Alberto Núñez Feijóo as president of the People's Party of Galicia (PPdeG) and President of the Regional Government of Galicia in 2022. In the 2024 election, he led the party to another absolute majority.

Biography

Born in Pontevedra, Rueda is the son of Antonio Rueda Crespo, a People's Alliance councillor in the city. He graduated in law from the University of Santiago de Compostela, and joined the New Generations of the People's Party in 1993.[2]

From 2000 to 2005, Rueda was Director General of Local Administration in the government of Manuel Fraga, and also served as minister of Public Administration and Justice. He was appointed secretary general of the People's Party of Galicia (PPdeG) by its president Alberto Núñez Feijóo in 2006. In 2009, having been elected to the Parliament of Galicia by the Pontevedra constituency, he became an advisor to President of Galicia Feijóo, becoming vice president three years later.[3][4] He took 97.14% of the votes in March 2016 to succeed Rafael Louzán as president of the PPdeG in the Province of Pontevedra.[5]

In 2022, Feijóo announced his departure to be the PP's national leader. Rueda was the sole candidate to replace him as leader of the PPdeG in April,[6] and he was elected by the Parliament to replace him as regional president in May.[4] He formed a government, with the only difference from its predecessor being Diego Calvo as second vice president.[7] He won the following Galician elections with 40 seats, losing two, and another absolute majority.[8]

Political views

In 2009, while secretary general of the PPdeG, Rueda attended a march by Galicia Bilingüe [gl], an organisation that believes that the Galician language is imposed upon the Spanish-speaking residents of the region.[9] In 2022, after being installed as president, he was criticised for this attendance by leader of the opposition Ana Pontón; he defended himself by saying that the event was to uphold the bilingual status of the region.[10]

Personal life

Rueda is the father of two daughters. He takes part in long-distance running and cycling, and is a fan of RC Celta de Vigo.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Rueda, sexto presidente autonómico y primero que accede al cargo en Galicia tras dimitir su antecesor" [Rueda, sixth autonomous president and the first to take the office on the resignation of his predecessor] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Alfonso Rueda: un secretario municipal con amplia experiencia en la administración" [Alfonso Rueda: a municipal secretary with wide experience in administration] (in Spanish). Cadena COPE. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Perfil.- Rueda asume el encargo de 'recomponer' la provincia de Pontevedra" [Profile.- Rueda assumes the order to 'recompose' the Province of Pontevedra] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Alfonso Rueda toma el relevo de Feijóo tras ser investido presidente de Galicia solo con los votos del PP" [Alfonso Rueda replaces Feijóo after being invested as President of Galicia with only the PP's votes]. RTVE. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  5. ^ Fernández, Manolo (14 March 2016). "Rueda releva a Louzán como presidente del PP de Pontevedra" [Rueda replaces Louzán as president of the Pontevedra PP] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Alfonso Rueda, nombrado único candidato para liderar el PP de Galicia tras la dimisión de Feijóo" [Alfonso Rueda, named as only candidate to lead the PP of Galicia after Feijóo's resignation] (in Spanish). RTVE. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Estos son los dos vicepresidentes y los nueve conselleiros que acompañarán a Alfonso Rueda" [These are the two vice presidents and nine ministers who will accompany Alfonso Rueda]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  8. ^ Muro, Míriam (18 February 2024). "Rueda consigue una holgada mayoría absoluta que da ímpetu y optimismo a todo el PP" [Rueda achieves a leisurely absolute majority that gives impetus and optimism to the entire PP] (in Spanish). Libertad Digital. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. ^ "La marcha de Galicia Bilingüe en Santiago acaba con 8 detenidos" [Galicia Galicia Bilingüe march in Santiago ends with 8 arrests]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). 8 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Rueda reivindica o "bilingüismo cordial" e Pontón lémbralle a súa asistencia a unha protesta contra o galego" [Rueda calls for "cordial bilingualism" and Pontón reminds him of his attendance at a protest against Galician]. Nós Diario (in Galician). 25 May 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
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