Juan Alberto Belloch

Juan Alberto Belloch Julbe (born 1950) is a Spanish judge and socialist politician, who served in different cabinet posts. He served as the mayor of Zaragoza between June 2003 and 13 June 2015.

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

Juan Alberto Belloch
Belloch in 2011
Mayor of Zaragoza
In office
14 June 2003 – 13 June 2015
Preceded byJosé Atarés
Succeeded byPedro Santisteve
Minister of Interior
In office
5 May 1994 – 6 May 1996
Prime MinisterFelipe González
Preceded byAntoni Asunción Hernández
Succeeded byJaime Mayor Oreja
Minister of Justice
In office
14 July 1993 – 6 May 1996
Prime MinisterFelipe González
Preceded byTomás Fernández del Castillo
Succeeded byMargarita Mariscal de Gante
Personal details
Born1950 (age 71–72)
Mora de Rubielos, Teruel Province
NationalitySpanish
Political partySocialist Party
Spouse(s)Mari Cruz Soriano
Alma materUniversity of Barcelona

Early life and education

Belloch was born in Mora de Rubielos, Teruel Province, in 1950.[1] He graduated from the University of Barcelona with a law degree.[2]

Career and activities

Belloch worked as a judge in the Basque county.[1] He is the founder of the Judges for Democracy and was an active member of the organization until 1990.[2] He also established the association for human rights in 1984.[1] He served as the president of the provincial court of Vizcaya.[3] In 1990, he was appointed a member of the general council of the judiciary.[1]

Belloch is a member of Spain's Socialist Party.[4] On 14 July 1993 he was appointed justice minister in a cabinet reshuffle and became part of the cabinet led by the prime minister Felipe Gonzalez.[5] However, he was an independent member of the cabinet.[1] He served in the post until 6 May 1996.[3][6]

He was also appointed interior minister on 5 May 1994, replacing Antoni Asunción Hernández in the post,[7][8][9] who resigned from office in late April 1994.[10] Therefore, both justice ministry and interior ministry were headed by Belloch.[10] His attempts to clean the ministry of interior led to the discovery of the GAL affair which triggered the trial and arrest of the former interior minister José Barrionuevo.[7] The affair then was searched by an inquiry committee in the Spanish senate and following the inquiry it was dissolved.[7] Belloch was in office until 6 May 1996 and was succeeded by Jaime Mayor Oreja in the post.[6] He became a member of the Spanish parliament in 1996, representing Zaragoza province. and served there until 2000.[3] Next he became a senator for Zaragoza and held the post from 2000 to 2004.[3]

After leaving office, he became a Zaragoza councilman.[11] He ran for the mayor of Zaragoza and was elected to the post in June 2003.[3][11] He was reelected for office in 2007 and in 2011.[4] In 2008, he was appointed the chairman of the association of cities and regions hosting an international exposition (AVE).[12] He attempted to make Zaragoza the European Capital of Culture for 2016.[2] His other significant activity as mayor was to make the city the host of the Winter Olympics in 2022.[2] In the municipal elections in May 2015 he lost and Pedro Santisteve was elected as the mayor of Zaragoza.[13]

References
  1. Eamonn Rodgers; Valerie Rodgers, eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture (PDF). London: Routledge. p. 54. ISBN 0-415-13187-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2020.
  2. "Sustainable Water Management in Cities". UN. December 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  3. "Expo, not just a one-time event". Shanghai Daily News. 27 September 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. Alidad Vassigh (20 August 2011). "Spanish Mayors". City Mayors. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. Phil Davison (14 July 1993). "Gonzalez brings independents into Spain's cabinet". The Independent. Madrid. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  6. "Spain – Ministries, etc". Rulers. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  7. José María Magone (2009). Contemporary Spanish Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-415-42188-1.
  8. Rory Watson (7 December 1995). "EU faces attack over crime-fighting record". Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  9. "Gonzalez pledges to fight on: Ministerial resignations deal heavy blow to Spanish PM". Financial Times. 6 May 1994. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  10. Phil Davison (6 May 1994). "Gonzalez stands firm as ministers resign". The Independent. Madrid. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  11. "Spaniards Consider Putting on Tux". Wired. 9 May 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  12. "Zaragoza mayor appointed chairman of AVE". Expo. 14 September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  13. Fernando Garea (15 June 2015). "Municipal politics completes shift to the left as new councils voted in". El Pais. Madrid. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
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