Mertxe Aizpurua | |
---|---|
Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
Assumed office 21 May 2019 | |
Constituency | Gipuzkoa |
Mayor of Usurbil | |
In office 15 June 2011 – 15 June 2015 | |
Preceded by | Xabier Mikel |
Succeeded by | Xabier Arregi |
Personal details | |
Born | María de las Mercedes Aizpurua Arzallus 18 January 1960 Usurbil, Basque Country, Spain |
Political party | EH Bildu |
Occupation | Journalist |
Mertxe Aizpurua Arzallus (born 18 January 1960) is a Basque journalist and politician who currently serves as Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain.
Early life
[edit]Aizpurua was born on 18 January 1960 in Usurbil, Basque Country.[1][2] She has a Bachelor of Information Science degree.[1]
Career
[edit]Aizpurua was editor of the Egin newspaper and Punto y Hora de Euskal Herria magazine.[3] In September 1983 Punto y Hora published an editorial on Basque separatist "soldiers" and an interview with a brother of an ETA separatist killed whilst handling an explosive device in Tafalla, Navarre.[4] In October 1984 the Audiencia Nacional convicted Aizpurua of "supporting terrorism" and sentenced her to one year in prison and barred her from working as a journalist for one year.[5][6][7]
Aizpurua was a journalist at the Gara newspaper since its establishment in 1999 and was a director from 1999 to 2004.[8][9] In June 2001 she was interrogated by Audiencia Nacional judge Baltasar Garzón after Gara published an interview with two ETA leaders.[10] The case against Aizpurua was finally dropped in March 2004.[11]
Aizpurua is currently director of Gara's 7K Sunday newspaper.[9][12] She is the author of Argala: Pensamiento en Acción : Vida y Escritos (2018), a biography of assassinated ETA leader Argala.[13]
Aizpurua contested the 2011 local elections as a Bildu electoral alliance candidate in Usurbil and was elected.[14] She was mayor of Usurbil from 2011 to 2015 and president of Udalbiltza (an association of municipalities from the greater Basque Country) from 2012 to 2015.[1][9] She contested the 2019 general election as an EH Bildu electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Gipuzkoa and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.[15][16]
Personal life
[edit]Aizpurua is married and has a son.[1]
Electoral history
[edit]Election | Constituency | Party | Alliance | No. | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 local[14] | Usurbil | Bildu | 1 | Elected | |||
2019 general[15][16] | Province of Gipuzkoa | EH Bildu | 1 | Elected |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Members: XIII Legislatura ( 2019-Actualidad) - Aizpurua Arzallus, Mertxe" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Udalbiltzako lehendakariak ez du hautetsi segituko Usurbilen". Berria (in Basque). Andoain, Spain. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Presentación de 'Gara', el diario que sustituirá a 'Egin' en 1999". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. 30 November 1998. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Index". Index on Censorship. 14 (1). London, U.K.: 64 February 1985. doi:10.1080/03064228508533847.
- ^ Yoldi, José (4 October 1984). "Hoy será juzgada la directora de la revista 'Punto y Hora'". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ Yoldi, José (16 October 1984). "Condenada por apología del terrorismo la directora técnica de 'Punto y Hora'". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ Clark, Robert P. (1990). Negotiating with ETA: Obstacles to Peace in the Basque Country, 1975-1988. Reno, U.S.A.: University of Nevada Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-87417-162-8.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Egoera berezia zen, ilegalizazioa zela eta egoera berezia zelako pentsatu nuen ezin nuela ezezkoa eman". Ihintza (in Basque). Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "Mertxe Aizpurua, cabeza de lista de EH Bildu por Gipuzkoa". Naiz (in Spanish). San Sebastián, Spain. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ Lázaro, Julio M. (16 June 2001). "'Gara' quemó las cintas de la entrevista a ETA". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Mertxe Aizpurua eta Martxelo Otamendi auzi honekin ez auzipetzea erabaki du Garzonek". Berria (in Basque). Andoain, Spain. 29 March 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Mertxe Aizpurua Espainiako Diputatuen Kongresurako EHBilduren Gipuzkoako zerrendaburua izango da". Usurbildarrak aurrera (in Basque). 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ Aizpurua, Mertxe (2018). Argala: pensamiento en acción : vida y escritos. Astero. ISBN 9788494959509.
- ^ a b "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2011 - Mun. Usurbil" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central - Elecciones generales. Proclamación de candidaturas" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 79. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 2 April 2019. p. 34288. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central - Elecciones generales. Resultados" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 129. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 30 May 2019. p. 57377. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
External links
[edit]- 1960 births
- Basque journalists
- Basque prisoners and detainees
- Basque women in politics
- EH Bildu politicians
- Imprisoned journalists
- Living people
- Mayors of places in the Basque Country
- Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain)
- People from Usurbil
- Prisoners and detainees of Spain
- Women mayors of places in Spain
- Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain)
- Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain)
- Members of the 15th Congress of Deputies (Spain)