Ximo Puig

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Puig and the second or maternal family name is Ferrer.

The Right Honourable Ximo Puig
President of the Valencian Government
In office 25 June 2015 – 13 July 2023
Monarch	Felipe VI
Preceded by	Alberto Fabra
Succeeded by	Carlos Mazón
Secretary-General of the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country
In office 30 March 2012 – 24 March 2024
Preceded by	Jorge Alarte
Succeeded by	Diana Morant
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office 13 December 2011 – 3 June 2015
Constituency	Castellón
Member of the Corts Valencianes
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 June 2015
Constituency	Castellón
In office 13 July 1999 – 22 May 2011
Constituency	Castellón
In office 7 June 1983 – 17 April 1986
Constituency	Castellón
Member of the Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 August 2023
Constituency	Corts Valencianes
Personal details
Born	Joaquín Francisco Puig Ferrer (1959-01-04) 4 January 1959 (age 65) Morella, Valencian Community, Spain
Political party	PSPV-PSOE
Children	2
Occupation	Journalist, politician
Signature

Joaquín Francisco Puig Ferrer (born 4 January 1959), known as Ximo Puig (Valencian: [ˈtʃimo ˈputʃ]), is a Spanish politician who served as President of the Valencian Government from 2015 to 2023. He was also the leader of the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV-PSOE), the Valencian regional branch of the PSOE, from 2012 to 2024.

Life and career

Puig was born in Morella, Castellón. A journalist by profession, he worked for local newspapers and for the Antena 3 radio station.[1] He was elected to the Corts Valencianes, the Valencian regional parliament, in the first democratic elections in 1983.[1] He resigned his seat in 1986, when he was appointed Director General of Institutional relations and information in the Valencian regional administration, serving until 1995.[1]

In May 1995 he became mayor of his hometown of Morella, serving until 2012, when he resigned after becoming leader of the PSPV-PSOE.[2] In the 2011 Spanish general election he was elected to the Congress of Deputies, representing Castellón Province.[1] In Congress, he served as spokesman for the committee on industry, energy and tourism.[1] In March 2014 Puig won the PSPV-PSOE primary to be the party's candidate for President of the Valencian Government in the 2015 regional elections. He received 68.8% of the votes in the primary.[3]

On 25 June 2015, he was invested President of the Valencian Government with the favourable votes of PSPV-PSOE, Podemos and Compromís, succeeding Alberto Fabra and putting an end to two decades of PP governments in the region. He was re-elected for a second term, with the support of the same parties, on 13 June 2019.

On 26 June 2023, his government lost a lucrative bid to host a Tesla Gigafactory in Valencia after their negotiations were leaked to the media while Puig denied it was him that leaked the details of the negotiations to the media.[4]

References

1. (in Spanish)biography of Ximo Puig, Levante-EMV, 16 April 2015, accessed 20 May 2015
2. (in Spanish)El secretario general del PSPV Ximo Puig dejará la alcaldía de Morella el 30 de junio, El Mundo, 3 June 2012
3. (in Spanish)El triunfo en primarias blinda a Puig ante un mal resultado en las europeas, El País, 10 March 2014
4. John, Darryn (26 June 2023). "Tesla pulls out of Gigafactory negotiations with Valencia over leak". Drive Tesla. Retrieved 29 June 2023.

Political offices
Preceded by Javier Fabregat	Mayor of Morella 1995–2012	Succeeded by Rhmasés Ripollés
Preceded by Antonio Moreno	Second Vice-President of Corts Valencianes 2003–2007	Succeeded by Isabel Escudero Pitarch
Preceded by Alberto Fabra	President of the Valencian Government 2015–2023	Succeeded by Carlos Mazón
Party political offices
Preceded by Antonio Moreno	Leader of the Socialist Group in Corts Valencianes 2000–2003	Succeeded by Joan Ignasi Pla
Preceded by Jorge Alarte	Secretary-General of the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country 2012–2024	Succeeded by Diana Morant
Incumbent