Salvador Illa

Salvador Illa Roca (born 5 May 1966) is a Spanish politician who served as Minister of Health of Spain from 2020 to 2021. He has been the Secretary for Organization of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia since 2016, and the candidate for the presidency of Catalonia for this party. Previously, Illa served as Mayor of La Roca del Vallès from 1995 to 2005.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Illa and the second or maternal family name is Roca.
The Most Excellent

Salvador Illa
Minister of Health of Spain
In office
13 January 2020 – 27 January 2021
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byMaría Luisa Carcedo
Succeeded byCarolina Darias
Mayor of La Roca del Vallès
In office
1995–1999
Preceded byRomà Planas i Miró
Succeeded byJosep Estapé Vilà
In office
1999–2005
Preceded byJosep Estapé Vilà
Succeeded byRafael Ros Panedo
Personal details
Born
Salvador Illa Roca

(1966-05-05) 5 May 1966
La Roca del Vallès, Spain
Political partySocialists' Party of Catalonia
EducationBA University of Barcelona MBA University of Navarra

Early years and studies

Born in La Roca del Vallès, Spain on 5 May 1966, Illa is the son of Josep Illa, a worker at the Textiles and Embroidery factory in that municipality, and María Roca, who owned a small textile workshop. He has two younger brothers, Ramón and José María.[1]

Illa attended Escola Pía School in Granollers[1] and he studied in the University of Barcelona, where he received his Philosophy degree.[2][3] He is Associate Professor of the Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations.[4] Illa also studied a master's degree in Economics and Business Management at IESE Business School, University of Navarra.[5] He completed compulsory military service, graduating as Alférez in a company of the Spanish Army Headquarters of Bruc, Barcelona.[5]

Early political career

He was elected councillor of the City Council of La Roca del Vallès in 1987 and he was appointed Councillor for Culture under Mayor Romà Planas i Miró.[1] In 1995, he joined the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) and he became Mayor in replacement of the deceased Mayor.[6][7] During his first term, La Roca Village was built, a shopping center that attracts nearly 4 million visitors each year.[1]

He was ousted as Mayor after a successful vote of no confidence in early 1999, but he soon made a comeback as his party commanded a qualified majority at the June 1999 local elections. In 2009, he moved to the private sector, being CEO of the audiovisual production company Cromosoma, a position he held for nine months.[1]

In September 2005, he was appointed Director-General for Infrastructure Management of the Department of Justice of the Regional Government of Catalonia.[8] From 2010 to 2011 he was Director of the Economic Management Office of the City Council of Barcelona  and Coordinator of the Local Socialist Group in the City Council from 2011 to 2016.[9]

Secretary for Organization of PSC
Illa (right), photographed at the October 8, 2017 demonstration along with Carlos Jiménez Villarejo and Francesc de Carreras, among others.

In November 2016, PSC's leader Miquel Iceta appointed him for the position of Secretary for Organization.[10] Illa was the highest-rank politician from among the PSC cadres who attended the "Prou! Recuperem el seny" (English: Enough! Let's recover common sense) anti-independence demonstration in Barcelona on 8 October 2017 organized by Societat Civil Catalana.[11]

He was part, along with Adriana Lastra and José Luis Ábalos, of the negotiating team of the PSOE that reached an agreement with ERC for their abstention in the investiture of Pedro Sánchez in January 2020.

Minister of Health
Illa in the first Cabinet meeting of the 14th Cortes Generales.

On January 10, 2020, he was unveiled as prospective Minister of Health, replacing María Luisa Carcedo.[12] He was appointed by King Felipe VI of Spain on January 13, taking oath before the Sovereign that day.[13] Illa succeeded Carcedo in taking responsibility for public health affairs, but not in responsibilities for consumer affairs and social welfare, which were transferred to two newly-established offices.

Illa had no experience in health, his appointment was portrayed by the media as that of a "manager", noting that his possible role in the government was not merely carrying the health portfolio but a channel of communication with Catalan independentism.[14]

Coronavirus pandemic
Main articles: Coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19 pandemic, and COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

One of the first challenges faced by the minister was the outbreak of coronavirus in late 2019. Following the health crisis caused by COVID-19, various media reported that he temporarily moved to live at the Moncloa Palace.[1]

Illa during a press briefing to explain the measures taken by the Ministry of Health.

In late January 2020, the Ministry of Health, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, started the process to repatriate around twenty Spaniards from China.[15][16] On January 29 it was announced that they would be held in quarantine for 14 days in a military hospital of Madrid.[17][18] In a joint operation with the government of the United Kingdom, they arrived to Spain on January 31[19] and they were discharged on February 13.[20] The first case of coronavirus in Spain was recorded on January 31, 2020 in the island of La Gomera, in the Canary Islands. The patient, one of a group of five people was taken into observation after they had come into contact with a German man diagnosed with the virus.[21] Since then, multiple cases were recorded. On March 3, 2020, the health authorities announced that a post-mortem test proved that the first coronavirus death in Spain occurred on February 13, 2020.[22] That day, the health ministry supended all medical conferences indefinitely to ensure the availability of all medical professionals[23] and it recommended sports matches played against Italian teams be played without fans.[24]

On March 10, the central government, led by the Health Ministry, adopted more stringent measures. Among them were halting flights to Italy and banning large scale gatherings in Madrid, Basque Country and La Rioja (regions with high risk of contagious).[25] This measures were complemented with other ones taken by regional governments such as shut down schools by the regional governments of Madrid, the Basque Country[26] and La Rioja,[27] as well as the suspension of the Fallas by the valencian government, after the recommendation of the Ministry of Health.[28]

Throughout the pandemic, Illa appeared regularly at the Congressional Health Committee to report on the exceptional situation that Spain went through in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, amid criticism from the political opposition for the management of his department.[29][30] In June 2020, he announced a National Preparedness and Response Plan for possible outbreaks.

Minister Illa visiting the Valdecilla Hospital together with the president of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Revilla, and other regional authorities.

In August, Illa carried out an important reform of the Ministry of Health, recovering the historic Secretariat of State for Health, he suppressed the General Secretariat for Health and created a new General Secretariat for Digital Health, all with the aim of improving the management of the pandemic by the Government and to achieve a more efficient and modern health system.[31] In this sense, at the same time he announced that his department was going to develop a law to create a National Agency for Public Health.[32] This objective was reflected in the general state budget for 2021 with an allocation of five million euros for the launch of the agency.[33]

At the beginning of September 2020, Illa estimated that the vaccine could be ready and the vaccination campaign could begin at the end of December.[34] Thus, in November 2020, the Minister of Health, together with the Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón, presented the government national vaccination strategy, which would begin at the end of December.[35] On December 21, 2020, the European Medicines Agency approved the use of the first of the vaccines, the one developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.[36] The first doses arrived in Spain and the rest of the member states of the European Union on December 26[37] and mass vaccination began on the 27th of that month.[38]

He resigned as minister of Health in January 2021 to focus in the Catalan regional election.

Return to regional politics

On 30 December 2020, PSC leader, Miquel Iceta, announced his decision of stepping back and not to be the candidate of the party in the Catalan regional election of 14 February 2021 and announced that Illa would be the head of the candidacy.[39] On 22nd January 2021 it was announced that Illa had left the ministry to concentrate on the Catalan Elections scheduled for February 2021.[40]

References
  1. "Illa, el hijo de obreros que llegó de rebote al Gobierno y ahora es el ministro de Sanidad que cae bien". El Español (in Spanish). 2020-03-21. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  2. "Salvador Illa: "La política es en buena medida gestos"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  3. "Ajuntament de la Roca del Vallès/Inici". 2020-01-10. Archived from the original on 2020-01-10. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  4. País, El (2020-01-10). "Estos son los ministros y vicepresidentes del nuevo Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  5. "Salvador Illa, el conseguidor del PSC". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  6. CatalunyaPress.cat. "Salvador Illa (PSC): "No tenim por, a Barcelona passarà el que passi"". Catalunyapress (in Catalan). Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  7. "Alcaldes i alcaldesses del Vallès Oriental (des de 1901 fins a l'actualitat)". www.alcaldesialcaldessesdelvallesoriental.net. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  8. "Memòria del Departament de Justícia 2005" (PDF).
  9. Baquero, Camilo S.; Blanchar, Clara; Cia, Blanca (2019-06-07). "Los fontaneros de los pactos en Barcelona". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  10. "Núria Marín serà la número dos del PSC i Salvador Illa el secretari d'Organització". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  11. "El ünico dirigente del PSC en la mani españolista dice que acudió "como un ciudadano más"". ElNacional.cat. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  12. "Salvador Illa, número dos del PSC, nuevo ministro de Sanidad". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2020-01-10. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  13. "Toma de posesión de los ministros del Gobierno Sánchez | Últimas noticias y reacciones, en directo". La Vanguardia. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  14. Robles, Gemma (2020-01-14). "Salvador Illa: ministro multitarea para garantizar la salud del diálogo". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  15. País, El (2020-01-27). "Spain preparing to repatriate nationals from epicenter of coronavirus outbreak". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  16. "Spain to repatriate Spanish nationals from Wuhan area: foreign minister". Reuters. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  17. "Los repatriados españoles de Wuhan pasarán la cuarentena en el hospital militar Gómez Ulla". abc (in Spanish). 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  18. Linde, Pablo (2020-01-30). "Evacuated Spaniards will spend coronavirus quarantine at Madrid hospital". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  19. "Spaniards leave Wuhan thanks to a joint operation Madrid-London". The Diplomat in Spain. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  20. "Los 19 españoles repatriados por el coronavirus abandonan el Gómez Ulla". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  21. Reuters Editorial. "UPDATE 1-Spain confirms first case of coronavirus - Health Ministry". U.S. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  22. "Spain reports first coronavirus death in Valencia". Reuters. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  23. "Los congresos médicos quedan en suspenso pero se mantiene la celebración de Infarma". El Español (in Spanish). 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  24. Corp, ABS-CBN. "Spain: Games against Italian teams to be played without fans". ABS-CBN SPORTS. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  25. "Spain steps up virus efforts to avoid 'Italian scenario'". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  26. País, Juan Navarro, Pablo Linde, El (2020-03-09). "Madrid, Basque city close schools as coronavirus continues spread in Spain". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  27. eldiario.es. "La Rioja suspende las clases en colegios y universidades durante quince días". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  28. "Valencia's Fallas Festival Postponed". Majorca Daily Bulletin. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  29. "Notas de prensa - Congreso de los Diputados". www.congreso.es. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  30. "Salvador Illa niega que el Gobierno oculte las cifras de víctimas de la Covid-19". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  31. "Royal Decree 735/2020, of August 4, which develops the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Health". boe.es. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  32. "Illa llevará al Congreso el Centro Estatal de Salud Pública antes de un año". Redacción Médica (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  33. "PGE 2021: 5 millones para el Centro Estatal de Salud Pública". Consalud (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  34. Portillo, Juande (2020-09-04). "Illa prevé que la vacunación contra el Covid pueda comenzar a final de año". Cinco Días (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  35. "El Gobierno presenta el plan de vacunación contra el Covid-19". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  36. "Commission approves BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine". POLITICO. 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  37. La vacuna contra el coronavirus llega a España bajo fuertes medidas de seguridad (in Spanish), 2020-12-26, retrieved 2020-12-30
  38. Marcos, Mónica Zas (2020-12-27). "España inyecta las primeras vacunas contra la COVID-19 entre la emoción y la incertidumbre por el futuro". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  39. "Iceta renuncia y cede a Illa la candidatura del PSC". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  40. Cué, Carlos E. (2021-01-25). "Los socialistas buscan sacar fruto en la campaña del "todos contra Illa"". EL PAÍS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-26.
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