Jorge Azcón

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Jorge Azcón
Jorge Azcón in 2019
President of the Government of Aragon
Assumed office
11 August 2023
Vice PresidentAlejandro Nolasco (since 2023)
Preceded byJavier Lambán
Mayor of Zaragoza
In office
15 June 2019 – 16 June 2023
Preceded byPedro Santisteve
Succeeded byNatalia Chueca
President of the People's Party of Aragon
Assumed office
19 December 2021
Preceded byLuis María Beamonte
City councillor of Zaragoza
Assumed office
11 June 2011 – 17 June 2023
8 April 2000 – 16 June 2007
Personal details
Born
Jorge Antonio Azcón Navarro

(1973-11-21) 21 November 1973 (age 50)
Zaragoza, Spain
Political partyPeople's Party
Other political
affiliations		People's Party of Aragon
Alma materUniversity of Zaragoza
OccupationPolitician
Signature

Jorge Antonio Azcón Navarro (born 21 November 1973) is a Spanish politician, serving as the President of the Government of Aragon since 2023. He is the president of the People's Party of Aragon. He was also city councillor (2000–2007; 2011–2023) and the mayor (2019–2023) of Zaragoza.

Biography[edit]

Born in Zaragoza, Azcón graduated in Law from the University of Zaragoza, where he also obtained a master's degree in Urban Planning. He then worked for MRA, a business involved in subsidised housing.[1] He was the leader of the New Generations of the People's Party in the Province of Zaragoza and the region of Aragon.[1]

When José Atarés was mayor from 2000 to 2003, Azcón was the councillor in charge of young people, and subsequently he was the party's assistant spokesman when they were in opposition to Juan Alberto Belloch.[1] In February 2016, when the local party leader Eloy Suárez left the city hall to centre his work on the Congress of Deputies, the party unanimously chose Azcón to be the new spokesman.[2]

In the 2019 Zaragoza election, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) led by Pilar Alegría was the party that obtained the most seats, though the People's Party could gain the majority in alliance with fellow centre-right party Citizens.[3] With the votes of his party (8), Citizens (6) and Vox (2) he was invested as the city's first non-left-wing mayor in 16 years.[4]

Among Azcón's projects for Zaragoza is "El Bosque de los Zaragozanos", a plan to create a forest of 700,000 trees. The project received €400,000 from energy company Repsol in 2021.[5]

In July 2021, Azcón led the city council in displaying a banner with the rainbow and transgender flags from the city hall balcony. A judge ordered its removal, citing a 2020 Supreme Court judgement that public buildings cannot fly unofficial flags at any time, for reasons of neutrality.[6]

In August 2021, as spokesman of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), Azcón led several PP mayors in criticising the PSOE-led national government whom he accused of lying over investment in municipalities during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Azcón was housebound for two weeks in January 2021 after contracting COVID-19.[8] In December that year he was chosen as the PP's lead candidate for the 2023 Aragonese regional election, replacing Luis María Beamonte.[9] He led the party to first place, up 12 seats to 28.[10]

After being sworn in as President he formed the Azcón government.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "¿Quién es Jorge Azcón, nuevo alcalde de Zaragoza?" [Who is Jorge Azcón, the new mayor of Zaragoza?]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 15 June 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. ^ "El PP designa a Jorge Azcón portavoz en el Ayuntamiento, tras la marcha de Suárez" [PP designates Jorge Azcón as spokesperson in the City Hall, after Suárez's exit]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 1 February 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Alegría (PSOE) gana en Zaragoza pero Azcón (PP) podría gobernar" [Alegría (PSOE) wins in Zaragoza but Azcón (PP) could govern] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Azcón, investido alcalde de Zaragoza con los votos de Cs y Vox" [Azcón, invested as mayor of Zaragoza with votes from Cs and Vox]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 15 June 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Fundación Repsol aporta 400.000 euros al proyecto del Bosque de los Zaragozanos" [Repsol Foundation contributes 400,000 euros to the Bosque de los Zaragozanos project] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  6. ^ Pérez, Roberto (2 July 2021). "Un juez obliga al Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza a retirar una pancarta con la bandera LGTBI" [A judge orders Zaragoza City Council to take down a banner with the LGBTI flag on it]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Jorge Azcón: "Sánchez también ha mentido a los ayuntamientos en la pandemia"" [Jorge Azcón: "Sánchez has also lied to city halls during the pandemic"]. [ABC (in Spanish). 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  8. ^ "El alcalde de Zaragoza se reincorpora al Ayuntamiento tras pasar el covid-19" [Mayor of Zaragoza returns to City Hall after recovering from COVID-19]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 27 January 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. ^ Carnicero, Laura (18 December 2021). "Jorge Azcón coge el mando del PP de Aragón y abre una nueva etapa" [Jorge Azcón takes control of the Aragon PP and opens a new era]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Jorge Azcón será el presidente de Aragón y promete gobernar "para todos"" [Jorge Azcón will be the president of Aragon and promises to govern "for everyone"]. Diario del AltoAragón (in Spanish). 29 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jorge_Azcón&oldid=1210245693"