, 9 November 1936) is a Catalan Spanish lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

, and scientific popularizer. He holds a degree in Law from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and a Master's in Economic Sciences from the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. He has been an economic writer for the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

, economics director of the Latin American edition of the newsweekly The Economist

The Economist

The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...

, and an economist for the International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

. As a specialist on the impact of emerging technologies, Punset has been a consultant to COTEC, Advising Professor of International Marketing at ESADE

ESADE

The Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas is a college associated with the Ramon Llull University located in Barcelona, Spain. ESADE is composed of three departments; the ESADE Business School, the ESADE Executive Language Center and the ESADE Law School...

, president of the Instituto Tecnológico Bull, Professor of Innovation and Technology at the IE Business School (formerly Instituto de Empresa) in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, President of Enher, Deputy General Director of Economic and Financial Studies at the Banco Hispanoamericano

Grupo Santander

The Santander Group is a banking group centered on Banco Santander, S.A., the largest bank in the Eurozone and one of the largest banks in the world in terms of market capitalisation. According to Forbes Magazine Global 2000, it is the 13th largest public company in the world...

, and Coordinator of the Strategic Plan for the Information Society in Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

.

Punset was elected to the Spanish Congress in 1982 as a Convergence and Union member for Barcelona province

Barcelona (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Barcelona is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. When first contested in modern times in the 1977 General Election, Barcelona was the largest electoral district in Congress in terms of...

. He played a prominent role, as the Union of the Democratic Centre's Minister of Relations with the European Communities

European Communities

The European Communities were three international organisations that were governed by the same set of institutions...

, when Spain opened its economy to the rest of the world. As financial advisor to the Government of Catalonia

Generalitat de Catalunya

The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....

 he took part in the implementation of the State of the Autonomies, and, as president of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

's delegation to Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, he supervised part of the process of economic transformation undertaken in Eastern countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

. When Spain joined the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, Punset was elected to the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 in representation of the Democratic and Social Centre in 1987 and 1989.

Punset is the author of several books on economic analysis and social thought. At present he is Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at the Faculty of Economics of the Chemical Institute of Sarrià (Ramon Llull University

Ramon Llull University

Ramon Llull University is a private university located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain founded in 1990. Currently it is formed by several different colleges specialized in different topics, most of which are located in downtown Barcelona...

). Since 1996, he has directed and presented Redes [linked page in Spanish], a science programme based around interviews with leading scientists, aired on the TVE. He is also the president of the audiovisual production company smartplanet [linked page in Spanish] and Board member of Sol Meliá

Sol Meliá

Meliá Hotels International, S.A. is a Spanish hotel chain which was founded by Gabriel Escarrer Juliá in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca. The company is the world's largest operator of holiday resorts and the 13th biggest hotel chain worldwide. Domestically the company is the market leader in both...

 Hotels & Resorts.

Punset was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2007.

Awards

• "Honor Plaque" awarded by the Asociación Española de Científicos (Spanish Association of Scientists) (2001).
• Airtel Prize for Journalism awarded by the Fundación Vodafone (2002).
• José Manuel Porquet Prize for Digital Journalism (2006).
• Galardón de la Psicología awarded by the Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de la Región de Murcia (Official College of Psychologists, Murcia) (2007).
• Rey Jaime I Prize for Journalism awarded by the Regional Government of Valencia (2007).
• Science and Technology Prize awarded by AEEPP, Asociación Española de Editoriales de Publicaciones Periódicas (Spanish Association of Publishers of Periodicals) (2008).
• Manel Xifra i Boada Prize awarded by the Col·legi d'Enginyers Tècnics Industrials de Girona (Official College of Industrial Engineers, Girona) (2008).
• Premio de la Asociación Profesional Española de Informadores de prensa, radio y televisión: APEI-Catalunya (Spanish Association of Press, Television and Radio Reporters, Catalonia) (2008).
• Hombre CQ del Año Prize for the Best Writer (2008).
• "Mención de honor" (Honorary Mention) by the Sociedad Española de Neurología (Spanish Neurology Society) (2008).
• Premios Zapping: Premio Humano awarded by TVE (2009).

Selected works

• El viaje a la felicidad: Las nuevas claves científicas (The Journey to Happiness: New Scientific Clues, 2005; English translation to be published in the United States in 2007 as The Happiness Trip: A Scientific Journey)
• Cara a cara con la vida, la mente y el universo (Face to Face with Life, Mind, and the Universe, 2004; English translation to be published in the United States in 2007 as Mind, Life and Universe: Conversations with Great Scientists of Our Time)
• Adaptarse a la marea. La selección natural en los negocios (Adapting to the Tide: Natural Selection in Business, 2004)
• Manual para sobrevivir en el siglo XXI (A 20th Century Survival Manual, 2000)
• Information Resources and Corporate Growth (coauthor,1989)
• La España impertinente (Impertinent Spain, 1986)
• España: sociedad cerrada, sociedad abierta (Spain: Closed Society, Open Society, 1982)
• La salida de la crisis (The Way Out of the Crisis, 1980)

External links

• Official Web site
• RTVE official Web page for Redes
• Eduardo Punset's blog
• Skeptical commentary on Redes

[This page is a translation of the Spanish Wikipedia entry].