Beatriz Fanjul

Beatriz Isabel Álvarez Fanjul (born 23 August 1991)^[1] is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician. She was elected to the Congress of Deputies to represent Biscay in November 2019, and was voted president of the New Generations of the People's Party (NNGG) in 2021.

Biography

Fanjul was born in Bilbao in the Basque Country as one of six children, including a twin sister.^[2] She studied Business Administration and Management from the University of Deusto; as of November 2019 she had not graduated.^[3] She began playing chess at the age of four and played it competitively until she was 25.^[3]

Having been a candidate in the April 2019 Spanish general election, 28-year-old Fanjul was elected by the Biscay constituency in the November election, after the addition of gave the People's Party (PP) a seat at the expense of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV).^[3] She was her party's only deputy elected in the Basque Country.^[2] Endorsed by PP leader Pablo Casado, she was elected president of the New Generations of the People's Party (NNGG) in April 2021, with 96% of the vote.^[4]

Fanjul named as her political heroes two Basque members of the PP, Gregorio Ordóñez (assassinated by ETA in 1995) and Antón Damborenea.^[2] She has publicly stated that she has a "magnificent relationship" with Vox leader Santiago Abascal as a fellow Basque and former NNGG activist, despite holding opposing opinions on gender violence, autonomous communities and the European Union.^[1] Fanjul has described herself as economically liberal and socially conservative.^[3]

References

1. Redondo, Guillermo (18 April 2021). "Beatriz Fanjul: «A mí nunca nadie me ha dicho qué tengo que decir, ni cómo»" [Beatriz Fanjul: "Nobody has ever told me what to say, or how"]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 January 2023.
2. Ruiz Valdívia, Antonio (15 November 2019). "17 cosas que no sabías de Beatriz Fanjul" [17 things that you didn't know about Beatriz Fanjul]. HuffPost (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 January 2023.
3. Espartero, Marta (14 November 2019). "Así es Beatriz Fanjul, la diputada ajedrecista que la "diáspora vasca" rescata in extremis para el PP" [This is Beatriz Fanjul, the chess-playing deputy that the "Basque diaspora" rescued at the 11th hour for the PP]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 January 2023.
4. Calleja, Mariano (11 April 2021). "La diputada vasca Bea Fanjul, presidenta de Nuevas Generaciones del PP con el 96 por ciento de los votos" [Basque deputy Bea Fanjul, president of the New Generations of the PP with 96 percent of the vote]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 January 2023.