Carles Puidgemont (29 December 1962-) was President of the Generalitat of Catalonia from 12 January 2016 to 30 October 2017, succeeding Artur Mas. Puidgemont, a leader of the PDeCAT party, was the leader of the October 2017 Catalan independence movement, declaring independence on 27 October after a controversial referendum. He was forced to flee to Belgium three days later as the Spanish government restored its control over Catalonia, which was stripped of its autonomy.
Biography[]
Carles Puidgemont was born in Amer, Girona, Catalonia, Spain on 29 December 1962, and he began a journalism career during the 1980s. He later became a Catalan nationalist, joining the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia in 1983 and entering politics in 2006. From 2011 to 2016, he served as Mayor of Girona, and he was elected President of the Generalitat of Catalonia in January 2016. He refused to take an oath of loyalty to the Spanish monarchy, the first Catalan president to do so, and he oversaw the execution of the 1 October 2017 independence referendum, which was deemed illegitimate by the Spanish government due to its unconstitutionality and its (enforced) low voter turnout. On 27 October 2017, after negotiations with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy failed, Puidgemont declared the independence of Catalonia, but he went into exile in Brussels, Belgium on 30 October after he was charged with sedition, rebellion, and embezzlement of public funds.