Damià Calvet

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Calvet and the second or maternal family name is Valera; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
The Honourable
Damià Calvet
Calvet in June 2018
Minister of Territory and Sustainability of Catalonia
In office
2 June 2018 – 26 May 2021
PresidentQuim Torra
Preceded byJosep Rull
(Direct rule from 27 October 2017)
Deputy Mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès
In office
2015–2018
Member of the Municipality Council of Sant Cugat del Vallès
In office
2015–2018
Personal details
Born
Damià Calvet i Valera

(1968-05-23) 23 May 1968 (age 56)
Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain
CitizenshipSpanish
Political partyTogether for Catalonia

Damià Calvet i Valera (born 23 May 1968) is a Spanish politician from Catalonia and who served as Minister of Territory and Sustainability of Catalonia between 2018 and 2021.

Born in 1968 in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Calvet studied construction engineering at La Salle before becoming an academic. He later worked in the private sector in the Balearic Islands before holding various senior positions at the Generalitat de Catalunya. He was a deputy mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès, a municipality in north-eastern Spain, before being appointed Minister of Territory and Sustainability in June 2018.

Early life

Calvet was born on 23 May 1968 in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Catalonia.[1] He has a degree in construction engineering from La Salle (Ramon Llull University), a diploma in technical architecture from Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and a postgraduate degree in real estate management from Autonomous University of Barcelona.[2][3]

Calvet was a member the Nationalist Youth of Catalonia (Joventut Nacionalista de Catalunya) from 1984 to 1998 and was secretary and assistant general-secretary organisation.[4] He was a member of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) of which he was national counselor.[4]

Career

Calvet taught at the UPC's Building Project Management Master's Program and was in charge of Institutional Relations at the United Nations University in Barcelona from 1992 to 1995.[3][4]

Calvet was Chief of Cabinet for the Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Works from 1997 to 2001 and Director-General of Architecture and Housing at the Generalitat de Catalunya from 2001 to 2004.[3][5] From 2011 to 2013 he was Secretary of Territory and Mobility in the government of Artur Mas.[3][5] He was appointed director of the Institut Català del Sòl (INCASÒL) in 2013.[3][5] He was president of Centrals i Infraestructures per a la Mobilitat i les Activitats Logístiques (CIMALSA), a company owned by the Generalitat and responsible for promotion, development and management of infrastructures and centres for the transport of goods and logistics.[4][5]

Calvet worked in the private sector in the Balearic Islands as the regional manager for the real estate group Vertix.[3][5] During his time in the islands he was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Mallorca, vice-president of the Association of Real Estate Promoters of the Balearic Islands (PROINBA), member of the board of directors of the Balearic Institute of Housing (IBAVI), urban development manager for Banco Sabadell in the Balearics and was founding partner of Dèria Editors.[3][5]

Calvet contested the 2015 local elections as a Convergence and Union (CiU) electoral alliance candidate in Sant Cugat del Vallès and was elected.[6] He was deputy mayor for Urban Planning, Mobility and Housing and Government Coordinator in Sant Cugat del Vallès.[4][5] He resigned as deputy mayor in June 2018.[7]

Calvet and other members of the Catalan government on 2 June 2018

On 19 May 2018 newly elected President of Catalonia Quim Torra nominated a new government in which Josep Rull, who was in jail, was to be Minister of Territory and Sustainability.[8][9][10] However, the Spanish government condemned the inclusion of jailed/exiled politicians in the government as provocative and refused to approve Torra's appointments or to revoke direct rule.[11][12][13] Faced with this opposition Torra announced a new government on 29 May 2018 without the jailed/exiled politicians.[14][15] Calvet was to be Minister of Territory and Sustainability in the new government.[16][17][18] He was sworn in on 2 June 2018 at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya.[19][20][21]

In July 2020 Calvet joined the newly formed Together for Catalonia political party.[22]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Damià Calvet
Election Constituency Party Alliance No. Result
2015 local[6] Sant Cugat del Vallès Democratic Convergence of Catalonia Convergence and Union 4 Elected

References

  1. ^ "Perfil i trajectòria professional per a la seva publicació al portal de la transparència" (PDF) (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Perfil i trajectòria professional dels alts càrrecs de l'Administració de la Generalitat de Catalunya" (PDF) (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Perfil.- Damià Calvet, un expert en infraestructures per gestionar Territori". Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. Europa Press. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e Guinó Soler, Àgata (29 May 2018). "El santcugatenc Damià Calvet, nou conseller de Territori i deixa l'Ajuntament". TOT Sant Cugat (in Catalan). Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Damià Calvet, un experto en urbanismo al frente de Territori i Sostenibilitat". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2015 - Mun. Sant Cugat del Vallès" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Damià Calvet renuncia al acta de concejal de Sant Cugat para ser conseller". ABC (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. EFE. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Torra nominates new government including jailed and exiled officials". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Torra nombra en su Govern a Aragonès, Artadi, Turull, Rull, Comín, Puig y Maragall". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  10. ^ Puente, Arturo (19 May 2018). "Torra nombra a los encarcelados Turull y Rull consellers de su nuevo Govern". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  11. ^ Stothard, Michael (20 May 2018). "Rajoy wins opposition support to keep direct rule over Catalonia". Financial Times. London, U.K. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy urges Catalonia to form 'viable' government". The New Indian Express. Chennai, India. Press Trust of India. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  13. ^ Day, Paul (20 May 2018). "Spain to maintain control of Catalonia - El Pais". Reuters. London, U.K. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Torra proposes new nominations to overcome Spain's block on forming government". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Torra unblocks new Catalan government, replacing ministers in exile and prison with new names". El Nacional. Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  16. ^ "El nou executiu tindrà 13 departaments" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya. 29 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Torra sustituye a los cuatro consellers vetados para desbloquear el Govern". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Torra nomena nou govern per superar el bloqueig". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Catalan government takes office in emotional event, lifting direct rule". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  20. ^ Villalonga, Carles (2 June 2018). "El nuevo Govern de Torra toma posesión en un acto reivindicativo y escenifica el fin del 155". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Los consellers toman posesión y prometen "lealtad" a Quim Torra". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Europa Press. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  22. ^ March, Oriol (24 July 2020). "El PDECat certifica la divisió amb Puigdemont a les portes de la fundació de JxCat". Nació Digital (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 26 July 2020.