Roger Torrent

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

Roger Torrent i Ramió (Catalan pronunciation: [ruˈʒe tuˈren]; born 19 July 1979) is a Spanish politician and urban planner from Catalonia. A former mayor of the municipality of Sarrià de Ter in north-eastern Spain, Torrent was President of the Parliament of Catalonia from January 2018 until March 2021. Since 26 May 2021 he is the Minister of Business and Work of Catalonia.

The Right Honourable Roger Torrent
Official portrait, 2021
Minister of Business and Labour of Catalonia
In office 26 May 2021 – 12 August 2024
Preceded by	Ramon Tremosa i Balcells
Succeeded by	Miquel Sàmper
15th President of the Parliament of Catalonia
In office 17 January 2018 – 12 March 2021
Preceded by	Carme Forcadell
Succeeded by	Laura Borràs
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia for the Province of Girona
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 December 2012
Mayor of Sarrià de Ter
In office 16 June 2007 – 19 January 2018
Preceded by	Nicolás Pichardo Delgado
Succeeded by	Narcís Fajula
Member of the Municipality Council of Sarrià de Ter
In office 1999–2018
Personal details
Born	Roger Torrent i Ramió (1979-07-19) 19 July 1979 (age 45) Sarrià de Ter, Catalonia, Spain
Citizenship	Spanish
Political party	Republican Left of Catalonia
Other political affiliations	Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes
Residence	Sarrià de Ter
Alma mater	Autonomous University of Barcelona
Occupation	Urban planner

Early life

Torrent was born on 19 July 1979 in Sarrià de Ter, a village in the Province of Girona in north-eastern Catalonia.^[1][2] He has a degree in political science and administration from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and a master's degree in territorial and urban studies from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Pompeu Fabra University.^[3][4] He has a postgraduate degree in political communication from the UAB's Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials (Institute of Political and Social Sciences).^[5][6]

Career

Torrent joined the Young Republican Left of Catalonia, the youth wing of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), in 1998 and in 2000 joined the ERC.^[7][8] He contested the 1999 local elections as a Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal (ERC-AM) electoral alliance candidate in Sarrià de Ter and was elected.^[9][10] He was re-elected at the 2003 and 2007 local elections.^[11][12] After the 2007 election ERC-AM formed an administration with the Convergence and Union (CiU) and Torrent became Mayor of Sarrià de Ter.^[13][14] He was re-elected at the 2011 and 2015 local elections.^[15][16]

Torrent was the secretary of regional parliamentary policy in the federation of Girona from 2000 to 2008 and the ERC spokesperson on the Diputació de Girona between 2011 and 2012.^[9][17] He was a member of the Municipal Commission of Catalonia and the Local Government Commission of Catalonia between 2007 and 2011 and is a member of the executive of the Association of Catalan Municipalities.^[2][18]

Torrent contested the 2012 regional election as a Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Girona and was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia.^[19] He was re-elected at the 2015 and 2017 regional elections.^[20][21] He was elected President of the Parliament of Catalonia on 17 January 2018, defeating Citizens candidate José María Espejo-Saavedra Conesa by 65 votes to 56 votes.^[22][23][24] He is the youngest president of the Catalan Parliament.^[25]

According to an investigation by The Guardian and El País, Torrent's phone was hacked using the Pegasus software from the NSO Group.^[26]

Personal life

Torrent is married and has two daughters.^[9][5] He is a keen runner and skier, and a fan of football and handball.^[9]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Roger Torrent

Election	Constituency	Party	Alliance	No.	Result
1999 local	Sarrià de Ter	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal		Elected
2003 local[11]	Sarrià de Ter	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal	1	Elected
2007 local[12]	Sarrià de Ter	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal	1	Elected
2011 local[15]	Sarrià de Ter	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal	1	Elected
2012 regional[19]	Province of Girona	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes	1	Elected
2015 local[16]	Sarrià de Ter	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal	1	Elected
2015 regional[20]	Province of Girona	Republican Left of Catalonia	Junts pel Sí	4	Elected
2017 regional[21]	Province of Girona	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes	2	Elected
2021regional[21]	Province of Girona	Republican Left of Catalonia	Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes	3	Elected

References

1. Moldes, Aleix (16 January 2018). "Roger Torrent: alcalde de Sarrià de Ter i el president més jove del Parlament". Ara (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
2. Ubieto, Gabriel (17 January 2018). "Roger Torrent, home de partit i polític professional". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
3. "Roger Torrent serà el nou president del Parlament de Catalunya". VilaWeb (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
4. Tercero, D. (16 January 2018). "ERC presenta a Roger Torrent para la presidencia del Parlament en sustitución de Carme Forcadell". ABC (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
5. Ruiz Valdivia, Antonio (16 January 2018). "17 cosas que no sabías de Roger Torrent". HuffPost (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
6. "Conoce a Roger Torrent, el nuevo presidente del Parlament". teinteresa.es (in Spanish). 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
7. "Roger Torrent, de portaveu adjunt de JxSí a president del Parlament més jove de la història". La Vanguardia (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Catalan News Agency. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
8. "Roger Torrent, de alcalde independentista a presidente más joven de Parlament". RTVE (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. EFE. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
9. Fanals, Laura (17 January 2018). "Roger Torrent: Independentista convençut, esportista i molt vinculat a la vida de Sarrià de Ter". Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
10. Lasalas, Marta (16 January 2018). "Torrent se presenta como "diputado del Parlament de la República catalana"". El Nacional (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
11. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2003 - Mun. Sarrià de Ter" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
12. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2007 - Mun. Sarrià de Ter" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
13. Rovira, Marc (17 January 2018). "Roger Torrent, un valor del fortí independentista al capdavant del Parlament". El País (in Catalan). Madrid, Spain. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
14. Lasalas, Marta (16 January 2018). "ERC to propose Roger Torrent as new Catalan Parliament speaker". El Nacional (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
15. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2011 - Mun. Sarrià de Ter" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
16. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2015 - Mun. Sarrià de Ter" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
17. Ubieto, Gabriel (17 January 2018). "Roger Torrent: así es el nuevo 'president' del Parlament de Catalunya". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
18. Recasens, Júlia (10 December 2014). "Torrent, escollit alcaldable d'ERC a Sarrià de Ter". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
19. "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2012: Candidats electes" (PDF) (in Catalan). Departament de Governació, Administracions Públiques i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya. p. 2. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
20. "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2015: Candidats electes" (PDF) (in Catalan). Departament de Governació, Administracions Públiques i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya. p. 2. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
21. "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.
22. "Catalonia MPs elect separatist speaker as parliament reconvenes". BBC News. London, U.K. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
23. "Catalan lawmakers elect separatist parliamentary speaker as sacked leader Carles Puigdemont eyes comeback". The New Indian Express. Chennai, India. Press Trust of India. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
24. "Roger Torrent, new Catalan Parliament president". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
25. "Roger Torrent: the youngest Parliament president". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
26. Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Jones, Sam (July 13, 2020). "Phone of top Catalan politician 'targeted by government-grade spyware'". The Guardian.

External links

• Catalan Parliament profile
• Roger Torrent on Twitter