Laura Borràs

Laura Borràs i Castanyer (born 5 October 1970) is a Catalan philologist, academic and politician.

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Borràs and the second or maternal family name is Castanyer; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
The Honourable

Laura Borràs

MP
Borràs in June 2018
Member of the Congress of Deputies
Assumed office
17 May 2019
ConstituencyBarcelona
Minister of Culture of Catalonia
In office
2 June 2018 – 25 March 2019
PresidentQuim Torra
Preceded byLluís Puig[lower-alpha 1]
Succeeded byMariàngela Vilallonga
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia
In office
17 January 2018 – 20 May 2019
Succeeded byGlòria Freixa
ConstituencyBarcelona
Personal details
Born
Laura Borràs i Castanyer

(1970-10-05) 5 October 1970
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
CitizenshipSpanish
Political partyTogether for Catalonia
Spouse(s)Xavier Botet
Children1
ResidenceBarcelona
Alma materUniversity of Barcelona
OccupationPhilologist, academic
  1. Direct rule from 27 October 2017 to 2 June 2018

Born in 1970 in Barcelona, Borràs studied Catalan philology at the University of Barcelona (UB) before becoming an academic. She taught at UB and the Open University of Catalonia. Between 2013 and 2018 she was director of the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes.

Borràs was a member of Parliament of Catalonia from January 2018 to May 2019 for the pro-independence Together for Catalonia electoral alliance. Between June 2018 and March 2019 she was the Minister of Culture of Catalonia. She has been a member of the Congress of Deputies since May 2019.

Early life

Borràs was born on 5 October 1970 in Barcelona, Catalonia.[1][2] She received a degree in Catalan philology (1993) and a doctorate in Romance philology (1997) from the University of Barcelona (UB).[3][4] She received a European doctorate in 1997 and a special Ph.D. in 1998.[3][4]

Career

Borràs joined UB in 1995 as an associate lecturer in the Department of Romance.[2][5] She was a lecturer in the university's Department of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature from 1998 to 2013.[6] She was the university's academic director of the master's degree in literature in the digital era.[6][7] Borràs was also professor of humanities and philology studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) from 1999 and 2007 and professor of languages and cultures from 2007 to 2009.[6] She was a visiting professor at Kingston University from 2010 to 2012.[7]

Borràs is a member of the Electronic Literature Organization's International Literary Advisory Board, a member and lecturer of the European Studies Doctorate Program in Literary Interzones, Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate (University of Bergamo) and the Erasmus Intensive Program (University of Paris 8).[8] She has been a jury member for the Sant Jordi Prize, the Ramon Llull Prize and the Catalan Letters Prize.[8]

Borràs was in charge of the 2012 centenary celebrations of Joan Sales i Vallès, Pere Calders and Avel·lí Artís-Gener (Tísner) organised by the Generalitat de Catalunya and City of Barcelona.[8][9][10] She helped design the website celebrating the 2013 centenary of Salvador Espriu.[8] She was also in charge of the celebration of Caterina Albert (Víctor Català) (2016) and Montserrat Abelló i Soler (2018).[7] Borràs was director of the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes, an agency that promotes the work of Catalan authors, from January 2013 to January 2018.[11][12][13]

Borràs and other members of the Catalan government on 2 June 2018

Borràs contested the 2017 regional election as an independent Together for Catalonia (JuntsxCat) electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia.[14][15] At the election Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament.[16][17] On 19 May 2018 newly elected President Quim Torra nominated a new government in which Lluís Puig, who was living in exile, was to be Minister of Culture.[18][19][20] However, the Spanish government condemned the inclusion of jailed/exiled politicians in the government as provocative and refused to approve Torra's appointments or to revoke direct rule.[21][22][23] Faced with this opposition Torra announced a new government on 29 May 2018 without the jailed/exiled politicians.[24][25] Borràs was to be Minister of Culture in the new government.[26][27][28] She was sworn in on 2 June 2018 at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya.[29][30][31]

In March 2019 it was announced that Borràs would be stepping down as Minister of Culture in order to contest the general election.[32][33] She contested the 2019 general election as a JxCat candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.[34][35] She is a member of the National Call for the Republic (Crida Nacional per la República)'s political council.[36]

In November 2020 she ran in the primaries of Junts per Catalunya to run for the Presidency of the Generalitat in the future elections to the Parliament of Catalonia on February 14, 2021, in which she was elected.[37]

Corruption

Borràs, JxCat's spokesperson in the Spanish lower chamber, is accused of fraudulently selecting a supplier for services worth €260,000, as well as prevarication, administrative fraud, embezzlement of public funds, and falsifying documents. The charges, which Borràs has firmly denied, date back to the period between 2013 and 2018 when she was at the head of the Institute of Catalan Letters, a public body in charge of promoting Catalan literature. According to investigators, there are signs that Borràs could have fraudulently allocated public contracts to a friend and avoided a public tender by splitting the service into various ones that did not surpass the minimum threshold over which tenders are obligatory.[38][39]

Personal life

Borràs is married to doctor Xavier Botet and has a daughter, Marta.[13][40]

Published works

Borràs has written several books and articles on contemporary literature, theatre, cinema and literature, including:[7]

  • Per què Llegir els Clàssics Avui, (2011, Ara Llibres; ISBN 9788492907977)
  • Dos Amants com Nosaltres (2012, Ara Llibres; ISBN 9788415224495)
  • Under Construction: Literatures Digitals i Aproximacions Teòriques (2012, Edicions UIB; ISBN 9788483842430) (ed.)
  • Clàssics Moderns (2013, Ara Llibres; ISBN 9788415224228)
  • La Literatura en un Tuit (2017, Símbol Editors)

Electoral history
Electoral history of Laura Borràs
Election Constituency Party Alliance No. Result
2017 regional[14]Province of BarcelonaIndependentTogether for Catalonia5Elected
2019 general[34][35]Province of BarcelonaNational Call for the RepublicTogether for Catalonia2Elected

References
  1. "Índex d'Autors: Borràs Castanyer, Laura" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Institució de les Lletres Catalanes. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  2. "Members: XIII Legislatura ( 2019-Actualidad) - Borràs Castanyer, Laura" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  3. "Laura Borràs Castanyer". Barcelona, Spain: Open University of Catalonia. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  4. "Laura Borràs, nova directora de la Institució de les Lletres Catalanes". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. Catalan News Agency. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  5. "La professora de la UB Laura Borràs és nomenada consellera de Cultura" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: University of Barcelona. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  6. "Perfil.- Laura Borràs, de professora de literatura a consellera de Cultura". Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. Europa Press. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  7. "PERFIL: Laura Borràs, de la Institució de les Lletres Catalanes al capdavant de la conselleria de Cultura". La Vanguardia (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Catalan News Agency. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  8. "Cultura reforça la Institució de les Lletres Catalanes per impulsar la projecció dels escriptors contemporanis i del patrimoni literari" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  9. "2012, Any Sales Calders Tísner". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Catalan News Agency. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  10. "L'Any Sales, Calders i Tísner, un centenari amb canemàs virtual". VilaWeb (in Catalan). 2 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  11. "Laura Borràs serà la nova directora de la Institució de les Lletres Catalanes". Ara (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  12. Ríos, Pere (30 May 2018). "Laura Borràs, una consellera contra el bilingüisme". El País (in Catalan). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  13. "Laura Borràs, una teórica de la literatura que se compromete a "servir al país y a la cultura"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  14. "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2017: Composició del Parlament" (in Catalan). Generalitat de Catalunya. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  15. "Los 135 diputados del Parlament de Catalunya tras el 21-D". La Vanguardia (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. Jackson, Russell (22 December 2017). "Catalan independence supporters win majority in election". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, U.K. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  17. Parra, Aritz; Giles, Ciaran (21 December 2017). "Catalan secessionist parties win slim majority in regional parliament". Toronto Star. Toronto, Canada. Associated Press. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  18. "Torra nominates new government including jailed and exiled officials". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  19. "Torra nombra en su Govern a Aragonès, Artadi, Turull, Rull, Comín, Puig y Maragall". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  20. Puente, Arturo (19 May 2018). "Torra nombra a los encarcelados Turull y Rull consellers de su nuevo Govern". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  21. Stothard, Michael (20 May 2018). "Rajoy wins opposition support to keep direct rule over Catalonia". Financial Times. London, U.K. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  22. "Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy urges Catalonia to form 'viable' government". The New Indian Express. Chennai, India. Press Trust of India. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  23. Day, Paul (20 May 2018). "Spain to maintain control of Catalonia - El Pais". Reuters. London, U.K. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  24. "Torra proposes new nominations to overcome Spain's block on forming government". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  25. "Torra unblocks new Catalan government, replacing ministers in exile and prison with new names". El Nacional. Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  26. "El nou executiu tindrà 13 departaments" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  27. "Torra sustituye a los cuatro consellers vetados para desbloquear el Govern". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  28. "Torra nomena nou govern per superar el bloqueig". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  29. "Catalan government takes office in emotional event, lifting direct rule". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  30. Villalonga, Carles (2 June 2018). "El nuevo Govern de Torra toma posesión en un acto reivindicativo y escenifica el fin del 155". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  31. "Los consellers toman posesión y prometen "lealtad" a Quim Torra". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Europa Press. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  32. Piñol, Àngels (11 March 2019). "Laura Borràs dimitirá por ley como consejera de Cultura antes del día 24". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  33. "Mariàngela Vilallonga to replace Laura Borràs as minister for culture". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  34. "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central - Elecciones generales. Proclamación de candidaturas" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 79. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 2 April 2019. p. 34233. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  35. "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central - Elecciones generales. Resultados" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 129. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 30 May 2019. p. 57375. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  36. "Qui forma la Crida?". 25 August 2019 (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: National Call for the Republic.
  37. "Els afiliats de JxCat fan Borràs presidenciable per àmplia majoria". Ara.cat (in Catalan). 29 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  38. "laura-borras-summoned-to-testify-in-irregular-contracts-investigation-on-july-22". catalannews.com. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  39. "politica/20200716/482332929043/sindicatura-de-comptes-quim-torra-informe-laura-borras-institucio-de-les-lletres-catalanes". lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  40. Ros, Cristina (20 July 2016). "Laura Borràs, directora de la ILC". Ara (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
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