Ester Capella

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Capella and the second or maternal family name is Farré; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
The Honourable
Ester Capella
Capella in June 2018
Minister of Territory of Catalonia
In office
12 June 2023 – 12 August 2024
PresidentPere Aragonès
Preceded byDamià Calvet
Succeeded bySílvia Paneque [ca]
Delegate of the Catalan Government to Madrid
In office
9 June 2021 – 14 June 2023
PresidentPere Aragonès
Preceded byGorka Knörr [ca; es]
Succeeded byJoan Capdevila i Esteve
Minister of Justice of Catalonia
In office
2 June 2018 – 26 May 2021
PresidentQuim Torra
Preceded byCarles Mundó i Blanch
(Direct rule from 27 October 2017)
Succeeded byLourdes Ciuró
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office
8 January 2016 – 1 June 2018
ConstituencyBarcelona
Member of the Senate
In office
23 January 2013 – 12 January 2016
Preceded byIolanda Pineda Balló
ConstituencyCatalonia
Member of the Municipality Council of Barcelona
In office
2007–2011
Personal details
Born
Ester Capella i Farré

(1963-04-03) 3 April 1963 (age 61)
La Seu d'Urgell, Catalonia, Spain
CitizenshipSpanish
Political partyRepublican Left of Catalonia
Other political
affiliations		Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes
Alma materUniversity of Barcelona
OccupationLawyer

Ester Capella i Farré (born 3 April 1963) is a Spanish lawyer and politician from Catalonia. She was the Minister of Justice of Catalonia in the Torra Cabinet. She was previously a member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain and Senate of Spain.

Born in 1968 in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, Capella studied law at the University of Barcelona before becoming a lawyer. She was a municipal councillor in Barcelona from 2007 and 2011 and was appointed to the Senate of Spain in January 2013, serving until January 2016 when she became a member of the Congress of Deputies. She was appointed Minister of Justice of Catalonia in June 2018.

Early life

Capella was born on 3 April 1963 in La Seu d'Urgell, Catalonia.[1][2] She grew up in La Pobla de Segur.[2][3] She has a degree in law from the University of Barcelona.[1][3]

Career

Capella started practising law in 1988.[1] She is a member of the Bar Association of Barcelona.[4] She was president of the Catalan Association of Democratic Lawyers (ACJD) from 2003 to 2007.[1][3] She is a member of several feminist organisations including Women and Rights, the Women's Lobby of Catalonia and the Association of Women Jurists.[3][5]

Capella contested the 2007 local elections as an independent Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal (ERC-AM) electoral alliance candidate in Barcelona and was elected.[6][7] She joined ERC in 2008 and became the party's spokesperson on the city council.[1][8] At the 2011 local elections Capella was placed third on the Unity for Barcelona–Republican Left of Catalonia–Reagrupament-Catalan Democracy-Acord Municipal (UpB-ERC-Ri.Cat-DCat-AM) alliance's list of candidates in Barcelona but the alliance only managed to win two seats in the municipality and as a result she failed to get re-elected.[9][10] She was in charge of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities from 2011 to 2013.[1][3]

Capella and other members of the Catalan government on 2 June 2018

In January 2013 Capella was appointed to the Senate of Spain by the Parliament of Catalonia, replacing Socialist Iolanda Pineda Balló.[1][8] At the 2015 local elections Capella was placed 11th on the ERC-AM alliance's list of candidates in La Pobla de Segur but the alliance only managed to win six seats in the municipality and as a result she failed to get elected.[11][12] She contested the 2015 general election as a Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.[13][14] She was re-elected at the 2016 general election.[15][16]

On 19 May 2018 newly elected President Quim Torra nominated a new government in which Capella was to be Minister of Justice.[17][18][19] She was sworn in on 2 June 2018 at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya.[20][21][22]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Ester Capella
Election Constituency Party Alliance No. Result
2007 local[6][7] Barcelona Independent Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal 2 Elected
2011 local[9][10] Barcelona Republican Left of Catalonia UpB-ERC-Ri.Cat-DCat-AM 3 Not elected
2015 local[11][12] La Pobla de Segur Republican Left of Catalonia Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal 11 Not elected
2015 general[13][14] Province of Barcelona Republican Left of Catalonia Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes 3 Elected
2016 general[15][16] Province of Barcelona Republican Left of Catalonia Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes 3 Elected

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Ester Capella, una abogada y diputada que dirigirá la consellería de Justicia". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Ester Capella, del Congreso a liderar la Conselleria de Justicia". El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Europa Press. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Perfil: Ester Capella: advocada, feminista i amb trajectòria a Madrid". Directe.cat (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Catalan News Agency. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Miembros" (in Spanish). Asociación Parlamentaria en Defensa de los Derechos de los Animales. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  5. ^ "La pallaresa Ester Capella serà la consellera de Justícia en el govern de Torra". Nació Digital (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Catalan News Agency. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Administració Electoral: Junta Electoral de Zona de Barcelona". Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Barcelona (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Diputació de Barcelona. 25 April 2007. p. 25. Retrieved 7 June 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2007 - Mun. Barcelona" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Ester Capella será la senadora de ERC". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Administració Electoral: Junta Electoral de Zona de Barcelona". Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Barcelona (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Diputació de Barcelona. 20 April 2011. p. 16. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2011 - Mun. Barcelona" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Administració Electoral: Junta Electoral de Zona de Tremp". Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Lleida (in Catalan). Lleida, Spain: Diputació de Lleida. 22 April 2015. p. 333. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2015 - Mun. Barcelona" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Otras Disposiciones: Juntas Electorales Provinciales - Junta Electoral de Barcelona" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 24 November 2015. p. 110645. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Congresso / Diciembre 2015" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Otras Disposiciones: Juntas Electorales Provinciales - Junta Electoral de Barcelona" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 31 May 2016. p. 35531. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Congresso / Junio 2016" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Torra nominates new government including jailed and exiled officials". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Torra nombra en su Govern a Aragonès, Artadi, Turull, Rull, Comín, Puig y Maragall". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  19. ^ Puente, Arturo (19 May 2018). "Torra nombra a los encarcelados Turull y Rull consellers de su nuevo Govern". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  20. ^ "Catalan government takes office in emotional event, lifting direct rule". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  21. ^ Villalonga, Carles (2 June 2018). "El nuevo Govern de Torra toma posesión en un acto reivindicativo y escenifica el fin del 155". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  22. ^ "Los consellers toman posesión y prometen "lealtad" a Quim Torra". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Europa Press. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.