Joan Lerma | |
|---|---|
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| President of the Valencian Government | |
| In office 12 August 1982 – 3 July 1995 | |
| Monarch | Juan Carlos I |
| Preceded by | Enrique Monsonís |
| Succeeded by | Eduardo Zaplana |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-07-15)15 July 1951 (age 74) |
| Political party | PSOE |
| Alma mater | University of Valencia |
| Signature |  |
Joan Lerma Blasco (born 15 July 1951 inValencia, Spain) is a Spanish politician for theSpanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), who served as the first democratically electedPresident of the Valencian Government since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s.
Lerma gained a degree in Economic and Business Science from the University of Valencia in 1976. He was a youngTrotskyist and in 1973, practisedentryism by joining the Young Socialists (Spanish:Juventudes Socialistes). In 1974 he joined theUnión General de Trabajadores (UGT), a major trade union historically affiliated with the PSOE, becoming a PSOE member in 1975.[1] at which point the party was still illegal under theFrancoist State.
He served as employment minister in the administration of theValencian Community from April 1978 until June 1979. In July 1978, when theSocialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV) decided to merge with the PSOE, Lerma was elected Secretary for political relations between the two groupings and a year later became Secretary General of the combined PSPV-PSOE, the regional branch of the PSOE in the Valencian Community. He headed the regional PSPV-PSOE list at the1979 General Election and was elected to theSpanish Congress of Deputies representingValencia Province and was re-elected in the subsequent elections in1982.
On 26 November 1982, Lerma was appointed President of the Valencian Community after the resignation ofEnrique Monsonís.[2] This was the last occasion to date that a President was appointed as future President and would be chosen by theCorts Valencianes, the Valencian regional parliament.
In 1983, the PSOE won thefirst elections for the Corts Valencianes since the death of Franco with an absolute majority[3] and the parliament in turn selected Lerma as the first elected President of the Valencian Community since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s.[4]
Lerma announced that the priorities of his first administration would be administrative reform, political and economic recovery and health and education.[5] One controversial issue was the proposed layoffs at the 'Altos Hornos del Mediterraneo' steelworks[4] which led to strikes by local Trade Unions.[6]
The PSOE won the subsequent elections in the Valencian Community in 1987 and 1991 and Lerma was re-elected President of the Valencian Community on both occasions. However the party lost the 1995 election to thePartido Popular.[7] Lerma blamed his defeat on the policies of the Central Government, singling out delays affecting the construction of motorways through the Valencian territory and lack of support from the Central Government in disputes with the neighbouring community ofCastile-La Mancha over the Central Government's National Hydrologic Plan as reasons for his defeat.[8]Following his defeat, Lerma resigned from the Valencian Parliament. Although he had stated that he would only accept a Central Government post in "an emergency situation through a sense of duty",[9] he was appointed Minister for Public Administration by the Prime MinisterFelipe Gonzalez.[1]
Lerma returned to the Spanish Congress in 1996 when he was elected to theSpanish Senate, office he is holding as of August 2019. He served as PSOE spokesman in the Senate from 2004 to 2008.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Valencian Government 1982-1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Public Administration of Spain 1995-1996 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary-General of theSocialist Party of the Valencian Country 1977-1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of theSocialist Group en theSenate 2004-2008 | Succeeded by |
