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The Right HonourableJosep RullMP
Josep Rull in 2016
18th President of the Parliament of Catalonia
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 June 2024
Vice President	Raquel Sans David Pérez
Preceded by	Anna Erra
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office 20 May 2019 – 24 May 2019 (suspended)
Constituency	Tarragona
Minister of Territory and Sustainability of Catalonia
In office 14 January 2016 – 27 October 2017
President	Carles Puigdemont
Preceded by	Santi Vila
Succeeded by	Damià Calvet (Direct rule until 2 June 2018)
Acting Minister of Enterprise and Knowledge of Catalonia
In office 27 October 2017 – 27 October 2017
President	Carles Puigdemont
Preceded by	Santi Vila
Succeeded by	Maria Àngels Chacón (Direct rule until 2 June 2018)
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 June 2024
Constituency	Barcelona
In office 22 September 1997 – 18 May 2019 (suspended from 10 July 2018 to 13 February 2023)
Constituency	Barcelona
Personal details
Born	Josep Rull i Andreu (1968-09-02) 2 September 1968 (age 56) Terrassa, Spain
Citizenship	Spanish
Political party	Junts (since 2020)
Other political affiliations	CDC (1989–2016) PDeCAT (2016–2020)
Alma mater	Autonomous University of Barcelona
Occupation	Lawyer

Josep Rull i Andreu (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛb ˈruʎ]; born 2 September 1968) is a Spanish politician from Catalonia serving as President of the Parliament of Catalonia since June 2024. He previously served as the Counselor of Territory and Sustainability of Catalonia at the Government of Carles Puigdemont between 2016 and 2017, when Spanish Rajoy's Government ceased the Catalan executive following the Catalan declaration of independence amid the application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution. Between 2 November and 4 December 2017, Rull was jailed and again on 23 March 2018. He was a member of the Catalan Parliament but on 10 July 2018 a Supreme Court judge suspended him as a deputy.

In the April 2019 Spanish general election, Rull was head of the Together for Catalonia candidacy for the Province of Tarragona. After being elected for the Congress of Deputies, he resigned as member of the Parliament of Catalonia on 18 May 2019. He was sworn in on 20 May 2019; on 24 May 2019, by a recommendation of the Supreme Court, the Board of the Congress suspended him and other Catalan independence leaders that were elected lawmakers. He was pardoned and released, along with the other 8 jailed Catalonia independence leaders, in June 2021. On 13 February 2023, he had his disqualification waived by the Supreme Court, allowing him again to run for office. On June 10 2024, after being elected as deputy in that year's elections, he was sworn in as President of the Parliament of Catalonia.

Biography

Graduate in Law from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, he is a member of the Illustrious Bar Association of Terrassa.

Local career

In 1986 he joined the "Nationalist Youth of Catalonia" (JNC) in Terrassa, and he was the general secretary of this organization between 1994 and 1998. In 1989 he joined the political party Democratic Convergence of Catalonia. Between 1993 and 1995 he worked as a collaborator of the legal services of the Catalan Association of Municipalities and later as the head of the Institutional Relations of the Board of Waste (1995–1997).

In local elections of 2003, he presented himself for the first time as the list head of CiU in Terrassa City Council, where he was the president of the Municipal Group of CiU in the Consorcio Egarenc. He also served as a member of the Informative Coordination Commissions with the Autonomous Organizations, General Services and Municipal Societies, in the Boards of Directors of the Municipal Institute of Culture and Sports (IMCET) and the Municipal Institute of Health and Social Welfare (IMSBS), of the General Meeting of Eco Equip, of the General Meeting of the Municipal Communication Society of Terrassa and of the General Meeting and member of the Board of Directors of EGARVIA. A .

Deputy at Catalan Parliament and Counselor of Territory and Sustainability

Deputy in the Parliament of Catalonia since 1997, during the VIII legislature he was the spokesman of the Parliamentary Group of Convergence and Union (CiU) and spokesman of this group to the Territorial Policy commission. In the IX legislature, in 2010, he was elected third secretary of the chamber, position for which he was again chosen in the 10th, in 2012.

On 14 January 2016, he became the Minister of Territory and Sustainability of the Government of Carles Puigdemont. On the same day he announced that he left the General Coordination of Democratic Convergence of Catalonia and that he would not appear to be the new leader of the party.

Imprisonment

On 27 October 2017, after the Parliament of Catalonia proclaimed the Catalan Republic, the Senate approved the measures proposed by the government under the protection of article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, including the dismissal of the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and all of its Government of Catalonia, including Rull. Immediately after it was published in the Official State Gazette, followed by suspension of autonomy.

In November 2017 eight members of the Catalan Government, including Josep Rull, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Meritxell Borràs, Carles Mundó, Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa, Joaquim Forn and Santi Vila, who resigned few weeks ago, declared before the judge from the Audiencia Nacional Carmen Lamela for a rebellion crime. The prosecutor, requested unconditional jail for all members of the Catalan Government. On 4 December he and some other members of the Government were released on bail.

In the elections to the Parliament of Catalonia of 2017, Rull was elected deputy with the list of Together for Catalonia. On 23 March 2018, the magistrate of the Spanish Supreme Court Pablo Llarena ordered his entry to prison, as well as for presidential candidate Jordi Turull, former Speaker of the Parliament Carme Forcadell and the regional counselors Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa. Llarena argued unconditional provisional bail without bail for five after considering that there was a risk of leakage and reiteration of the crimes for which they were prosecuted.

On 4 July 2018, Rull was transferred to Lledoners Prison in Catalonia. Since then, several concentrations of support took place at the door of the prison. From 3 December until 20 December 2018, he went on a hunger strike. Same month, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers issued a statement requesting the release of "Catalan political prisoners". On 1 February 2019, he was transferred back to the Madrilenian prison of Soto del Real to face the trial that began on 12 February 2019. and ended and was remitted to decision on 12 June 2019. On 14 October 2019, he was sentenced to a 10 years and a half prison term and disqualification for the sedition crime.

Pardon

He was pardoned and released, along with the other 8 jailed Catalonia independence leaders, in June 2021. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that he pardoned them because it was the best decision for Spain and Catalonia but did not overturn their bans from holding public office.

References

1. "Josep Rull, conseller de Territori i Sostenibilitat". 14 January 2016.
2. "Josep Rull, el único conseller de Puigdemont que fue a su despacho tras el 155". 19 May 2018.
3. Llarena cierra el sumario del ‘procés’ y suspende como diputados a Puigdemont y Junqueras Published by El País, 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
4. Sànchez, Turull y Rull renuncian a su escaño del Parlament para entrar en el Congreso (in Spanish)
5. Junqueras, Sànchez, Rull y Turull prometen "como presos políticos" (in Spanish)
6. La Mesa del Congreso suspende a los diputados presos con los votos de PSOE, PP y Cs (in Spanish)
7. "Spanish parliament suspends jailed Catalan lawmakers". Reuters. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022.
8. ^ Jones, Sam (22 June 2021). "Spanish government pardons nine jailed Catalan leaders". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
9. "El TS condena a Junqueras, Romeva, Turull y Bassa por desobediencia en concurso con malversación y mantiene sus penas de inhabilitación absoluta" (in Spanish). 13 February 2023.
10. "Rull deja en el aire su vuelta a la primera línea política tras quedar habilitado" (in Spanish). 14 February 2023.
11. "El Supremo despeja el camino a Josep Rull para ser el candidato de JxCAT a la Generalitat" (in Spanish). 14 February 2023.
12. "Pro-independence parties name Josep Rull of Junts+ new parliament speaker". 20 June 2024.
13. "Josep Rull, nuevo presidente del Parlament con los votos de Junts, ERC y la CUP" (in Spanish). 20 June 2024.
14. Josep Rull, en Tintín es torna indepe (in Catalan)
15. Josep Rull, nou conseller de Territori i Sostenibilitat Archived 12 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in Catalan)
16. DECRET 3/2016, de 13 de gener, pel qual es nomenen el vicepresident del Govern, els consellers i conselleres dels departaments de la Generalitat de Catalunya i el secretari del Govern. (in Catalan)
17. Josep Rull deja de ser coordinador general de CDC (in Spanish)
18. Orden PRA/1034/2017, de 27 de octubre, por la que se publica el Acuerdo del Consejo de Ministros de 21 de octubre de 2017, por el que, en aplicación de lo dispuesto en el artículo 155 de la Constitución, se tiene por no atendido el requerimiento planteado al M. H. Sr. Presidente de la Generalitat de Cataluña, para que la Generalitat de Cataluña proceda al cumplimiento de sus obligaciones constitucionales y a la cesación de sus actuaciones gravemente contrarias al interés general, y se proponen al Senado para su aprobación las medidas necesarias para garantizar el cumplimiento de las obligaciones constitucionales y para la protección del mencionado interés general. (in Spanish)
19. La Fiscalía pide prisión incondicional para Junqueras y siete exconsellers de Puigdemont y fianza a Santi Vila (in Spanish)
20. La Audiencia cita el jueves y viernes a Puigdemont y sus exconsellers para declarar por rebelión (in Spanish)
21. "Spanish judge jails eight members of former Catalan government". The Guardian. 2 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023.
22. Junqueras y los exconsellers pasan su primera noche en prisión (in Spanish)
23. Los seis ex ‘consellers’ del Govern salen de prisión tras pagar 100.000€ de fianza (in Spanish)
24. Junts per Catalunya, la llista del PDECat que encapçalarà Puigdemont (in Catalan)
25. "Spanish court remands Catalan presidential candidate in custody". The Guardian. 23 March 2018. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023.
26. El juez Llarena manda a prisión a Turull, Forcadell, Bassa, Rull y Romeva por riesgo de fuga (in Spanish)
27. "Ple focus mediàtic a Lledoners la jornada en què arriben els presos al Bages". Regió7 (in Catalan). 4 July 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
28. "IADL calls for release of Catalan political prisoners". International Association of Democratic Lawyers. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
29. Congostrina, Alfonso L. (1 February 2019). "Catalan independence leaders moved to Madrid jails ahead of trial". El País. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
30. "Trial of Catalan Independence Leaders Ends in Spain (Published 2019)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023.
31. "Violent clashes over Catalan separatist leaders' prison terms". The Guardian. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
32. Catalan separatist leaders handed jail terms for independence bid
33. Sentencia del ‘procés’: penas de 9 a 13 años para Junqueras y los otros líderes por sedición y malversación (in Spanish)

v t e Catalan nationalism and independence movement
Events	¡Cu-Cut! incident 1918-1919 autonomy campaign Plot of Prats de Molló Catalan Republic (1931) Events of 6 October Operation Garzón Fresno Case 2009–2011 independence referendums support 2010 autonomy protest 2012 independence demonstration 2013 Catalan Way 2014 Catalan Way 2014 self-determination referendum 2015 Free Way 2016 We are ready 2017–2018 Spanish constitutional crisis 2017 National Day for Yes 2017 Yes Campaign 2017 Operation Anubis 2017 independence referendum reactions 2017 Catalan general strike 2017 Wake Up Europe! 2017 Catalan regional election 2019 trial of independence leaders 2019–2020 protests 2019 Catalan general strike
Concepts	Catalan Countries Principality of Catalonia Republican Generalitat Anti-Catalan sentiment Federalism
Documents	Bases de Manresa (1892) Draft Constitution of the Catalan Republic (1928) Declaration of Sovereignty (23 Jan 2013) White Paper on the National Transition of Catalonia (Sep 2014) Initiation of the Process of Independence (9 Nov 2015) Let Catalans Vote (May 2017) Law on the Referendum on Self-determination (6 Sep 2017) Law of juridical transition (8 Sep 2017) Catalan declaration of independence (10/27 Oct 2017)
People	Valentí Almirall Enric Prat de la Riba Josep Puig i Cadafalch Francesc Macià Lluís Companys Joan Comorera Josep Irla Josep Tarradellas Jordi Pujol Guillem Agulló Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira Artur Mas Oriol Junqueras Muriel Casals Carme Forcadell Jordi Sànchez Jordi Cuixart Carles Puigdemont Roger Torrent Anna Gabriel Quim Torra Elisenda Paluzie Pere Aragonès Lluís Llach
Organisations	Pro-independence Association of Municipalities for Independence Assemblea Nacional Catalana Òmnium Cultural Committees for the Defense of the Republic Estat Català Socialist Party of National Liberation† Catalan European Democratic Party† Republican Left of Catalonia Sobiranistes Junts per Catalunya DC MES Popular Unity Candidacy Endavant Poble Lliure Més per Mallorca PSM Més per Menorca PSMe Catalan Solidarity for Independence Reagrupament Republican Left of the Valencian Country Democratic Tsunami Catalan Alliance Autonomist and federalist Assembly of Catalonia† Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia† Democratic Convergence of Catalonia† Catalonia in Common Proposta per les Illes Youth Young Republican Left of Catalonia Nationalist Youth of Catalonia Arran La Forja Maulets†
Sign † marks defunct organisations.

• 1968 births
• Autonomous University of Barcelona alumni
• Lawyers from Catalonia
• Catalan prisoners and detainees
• Convergence and Union politicians
• Democratic Convergence of Catalonia politicians
• Environment ministers of Catalonia
• Housing ministers of Catalonia
• Hunger strikers
• Living people
• Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain)
• Members of the 12th Parliament of Catalonia
• People from Terrassa
• Planning ministers of Catalonia
• Prisoners and detainees of Spain
• Public works ministers of Catalonia
• Together for Catalonia (2017) politicians
• Together for Catalonia (2020) politicians
• Transport ministers of Catalonia
• Spanish politicians convicted of crimes