Juan María Atutxa Mendiola
Encyclopedia
Juan María Atutxa Mendiola (Areatza
, May 18, 1941) is a politician from the Basque Country
(an autonomous community in Spain
) with a nationalist ideology
. A member of the Basque Nationalist Party
, he has been Head of the Department of Interior
(1991–98) and President of the Basque Parliament
(1998–2005). He currently heads the Sabino Arana foundation.
) and mandated its extension to the whole autonomous community. Since then, the criminality rates in the Basque Country have consistently ranked among the lowest in Spain according to the data published each year by the office of the Spanish Attorney General. He also implemented the Emergency Response Act, a law unifying the protocols for emergency assistance in the Basque Country, and the Spectacles Act, which mandated periodic safety inspections on buildings authorized to hold public events.
Electoral regulations were also under his responsibility. In this area, he drafted the reform of the electoral law establishing the possibility of a future use of electronic voting
and leaving the actual date of implementation to the Parliament. Furthermore, the Department of Interior introduced many technological advances during his tenure, greatly increasing the pace of the scrutiny and offering election night-data over the Internet
, a first in Spain.
the Basque Nationalist Party renewed its ranks, dropping incumbent Lehendakari
José Antonio Ardanza in favour of the younger, more nationalist-oriented Juan José Ibarretxe
. The Presidency of the Parliament was also affected by this renovation, and incumbent President Joseba Andoni Leizaola handed over the chair to Mr. Atutxa. He stayed in office for two terms, but his third run for the head of the legislature after the 2005 election was blocked by the junior coalition partners of his party. After nine rounds of voting in a tie with the Socialist candidate Miguel Buen, he withdrew his candidacy and was replaced by his party colleague Izaskun Bilbao
who won the vote.
His tenure as president saw the enactment of the Spanish Political Parties Act, which sought outlaw any party that did not condemn the terrorism of ETA. Under this law, Batasuna
was declared illegal by the Spanish Supreme Court, which considered that it had tangible links to ETA and participated in its financing by channeling part of the public money it was entitled to as a party with representation in the Basque Parliament. Consequently, the court ordered the Parliament to disband the parliamentary group of the former party, Sozialista Abertzaleak, which, even though they would still be members of the Parliament, would have denied them the public money allotted to groups. Given that the standing rules of the Parliament did not contemplate the disbanding of parliamentary groups, the nationalist majority in the Bureau decided that they would need to be modified to allow the procedure if so requested by the Supreme Court. However, the same nationalist majority then voted against the modification. This started a chain of lawsuits in both the High Court of the Basque Country and the Spanish Supreme Court in which the three nationalist Bureau members were charged with an offence of contempt of court
for their disobedience of a final ruling of the Supreme Court. After being initially acquitted on parliamentary immunity
by the Basque High Court and an appeal by the Manos Limpias
union in 2007, the Supreme Court sentenced him to a €18,000 fine and 18 months of inhabilitation for the exercise of any public office in early 2008.
Areatza
Areatza is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
, May 18, 1941) is a politician from the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
(an autonomous community in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) with a nationalist ideology
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
. A member of the Basque Nationalist Party
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
, he has been Head of the Department of Interior
Basque Government
The Basque Government is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of this government is the lehendakari or Basque president that is appointed by the Basque Parliament every four years...
(1991–98) and President of the Basque Parliament
Basque Parliament
The Basque Parliament is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible....
(1998–2005). He currently heads the Sabino Arana foundation.
Head of the Department of Interior (1991-1998)
During his term as a regional minister, he was tasked with implementing the recently-passed Basque Country Police Act which the regional police body (ErtzaintzaErtzaintza
The Ertzaintza , is the police force of the Basque Country, one of the autonomous communities of Spain. An Ertzaintza member is an ertzaina .- Origins :...
) and mandated its extension to the whole autonomous community. Since then, the criminality rates in the Basque Country have consistently ranked among the lowest in Spain according to the data published each year by the office of the Spanish Attorney General. He also implemented the Emergency Response Act, a law unifying the protocols for emergency assistance in the Basque Country, and the Spectacles Act, which mandated periodic safety inspections on buildings authorized to hold public events.
Electoral regulations were also under his responsibility. In this area, he drafted the reform of the electoral law establishing the possibility of a future use of electronic voting
Electronic voting
Electronic voting is a term encompassing several different types of voting, embracing both electronic means of casting a vote and electronic means of counting votes....
and leaving the actual date of implementation to the Parliament. Furthermore, the Department of Interior introduced many technological advances during his tenure, greatly increasing the pace of the scrutiny and offering election night-data over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, a first in Spain.
President of the Basque Parliament (1998–2005)
In the 1998 electionBasque parliamentary election, 1998
Elections to the Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain, were held on October 25, 1998.The Basque Nationalist Party won 21 seats, the People`s Party came second with 16 seats, the Batasuna party under the name Euskal Herritarrok and the Socialist Party of the Basque...
the Basque Nationalist Party renewed its ranks, dropping incumbent Lehendakari
Lehendakari
The President of the Basque Government , usually known in English as the Basque regional president, is the head of government of Basque Country. The president leads the executive branch of the regional government....
José Antonio Ardanza in favour of the younger, more nationalist-oriented Juan José Ibarretxe
Juan José Ibarretxe
Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu is a Basque politician of Spain. A leading member of the Basque Nationalist Party , he was President of Spain's Basque Country autonomous community from January 2, 1999 to May 7, 2009....
. The Presidency of the Parliament was also affected by this renovation, and incumbent President Joseba Andoni Leizaola handed over the chair to Mr. Atutxa. He stayed in office for two terms, but his third run for the head of the legislature after the 2005 election was blocked by the junior coalition partners of his party. After nine rounds of voting in a tie with the Socialist candidate Miguel Buen, he withdrew his candidacy and was replaced by his party colleague Izaskun Bilbao
Izaskun Bilbao Barandica
Izaskun Bilbao Barandica is a politician from the Basque Country, a region in Spain. A member of the Basque Nationalist Party, she was the President of the Basque Parliament in the 2005-2009 term, being elected to the office as a "consensus candidate" among the nationalist majority in the...
who won the vote.
His tenure as president saw the enactment of the Spanish Political Parties Act, which sought outlaw any party that did not condemn the terrorism of ETA. Under this law, Batasuna
Batasuna
Batasuna was a Basque nationalist political party based mainly in Spain, where it was outlawed in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. Batasuna is included in the "European Union list of terrorist persons and organizations" as a component...
was declared illegal by the Spanish Supreme Court, which considered that it had tangible links to ETA and participated in its financing by channeling part of the public money it was entitled to as a party with representation in the Basque Parliament. Consequently, the court ordered the Parliament to disband the parliamentary group of the former party, Sozialista Abertzaleak, which, even though they would still be members of the Parliament, would have denied them the public money allotted to groups. Given that the standing rules of the Parliament did not contemplate the disbanding of parliamentary groups, the nationalist majority in the Bureau decided that they would need to be modified to allow the procedure if so requested by the Supreme Court. However, the same nationalist majority then voted against the modification. This started a chain of lawsuits in both the High Court of the Basque Country and the Spanish Supreme Court in which the three nationalist Bureau members were charged with an offence of contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
for their disobedience of a final ruling of the Supreme Court. After being initially acquitted on parliamentary immunity
Parliamentary immunity
Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which members of the parliament or legislature are granted partial immunity from prosecution. Before prosecuting, it is necessary that the immunity be removed, usually by a superior court of justice or by the parliament itself...
by the Basque High Court and an appeal by the Manos Limpias
Manos Limpias
Manos Limpias is a fascist trade union registered in Spain. The group was inspired and founded in Madrid in 1995 by the Spanish lawyer Miguel Bernad Remón, as an organization representing employees of the Spanish public services. The union has no institutional representation as of 2009...
union in 2007, the Supreme Court sentenced him to a €18,000 fine and 18 months of inhabilitation for the exercise of any public office in early 2008.
Criticism
In the political field he sternly confronted the violence of ETA, a decision that would make him a target for the terrorists. While he was commended for his actitude as Head of the Department of Interior, he received strong criticism in his labor as President of the Basque Parliament due to his block to the dissolution of the SA group. He replied showing his indignation against the accusations of collusion with the terrorists, citing his status as a potential target:External links
- Basque Parliament: Juan María Atutxa - Bio