Pere Navarro has taken office as the new State delegate in the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, beginning a new corporate stage at the head of the Barcelona public entity.
Navarro was appointed last Friday, June 29, and replaces Jordi Cornet in the position of delegate and executive president of the public entity, while the presidency of the institutional plenary falls to the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau.
A graduate in Biological Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Pere Navarro i Morera (Terrassa, December 23, 1959) has acceded to the position after a long career in which his experience as mayor of Terrassa stands out, as first secretary of the Party of Socialists of Catalonia (PSC) between 2011 and 2014, and as a deputy in the Parliament and president of the parliamentary group for this formation.
In the private sphere, his professional experience has focused on a subject that has always passionate him, the strategic direction of territorial planning and urban development, an area whose interest he combines with his sensitivity in social matters and his concern for sustainability and respect for the environment.
A founding member of the Socialist Youth in Terrassa (Barcelona), he soon stood out in social solidarity actions and acceded to areas of responsibility in the PSC and in the Egarense council (1987), until acceding in 2002 to its mayoralty, a position he held for 10 years in the third city of Catalonia in terms of population after revalidating in the elections of 2003, 2007 and 2011.
In 2012, he was named by the British foundation City Majors as one of the 98 best mayors in the world, along with the mayor of Bilbao, Iñaki Azkuna. Credentials for the nomination included actions such as his leadership for Spain's first municipal anti-crisis pact (2009), the promotion of the Orbital 40 Science and Technology Park (2010), the signing of the local pact for culture (2011), and the creation of the first mortgage mediation office to prevent evictions (2012).
Pere Navarro's political commitment has led him to hold positions in social entities linked to refugees (2005-2011 Acsar Foundation), to the care of people with disabilities (2007-2011 Royal Board on Disability), to the application of Information Technologies (president of Localret 2006-2011) and to the National Commission of Local Administration (2007-2011), as well as other activities linked to municipal activity.
Navarro increased his public relevance in 2012 when he was nominated as the PSC candidate for the presidency of the Generalitat in the elections of November 25, a candidacy that followed his designation as first secretary of the PSC (2011-2014), being later elected a member of the Federal Executive Commission of the PSOE (from 2014 to 2016). In the PSOE, he promoted the federalist agreement for constitutional reform called the Granada Agreement (July 2013). In the Parliament of Catalonia, he was president of the socialist group and first secretary of the board, as well as promoter of the activities of the Parliament's advisory council on Science and Technology (CAPCIT).
In the private sphere, he has exercised his expertise in urban matters as strategic development director of the consulting firm IdenCity (2017-2018), specialized in the strategic planning of cities and territories in terms of innovation, competitiveness, sustainability, and social quality.