:Ignacio Garriga
{{Short description|Spanish politician (born 1987)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{family name hatnote|Garriga|Vaz de Conceição|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ignacio Garriga
| honorific_suffix = MP
| image = Ignacio Garriga Abril 2024.jpg
| caption = Garriga in 2024
| office = Secretary-General of Vox
| president = Santiago Abascal
| term_start = 6 October 2022
| term_end =
| predecessor = Javier Ortega Smith
| successor =
| office1 = Member of the Parliament of Catalonia
| term_start1 = 12 March 2021
| term_end1 =
| constituency1 = Barcelona
| office2 = Member of the Congress of Deputies
| term_start2 = 21 May 2019
| term_end2 = 11 March 2021
| constituency2 = Barcelona
| birth_name = Ignacio Garriga Vaz de Conceição
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|2|4|df=y}}
| birth_place = Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Vox (2014–present)
| spouse =
| children = 4
| alma_mater = International University of Catalonia
| otherparty = People's Party (2005–2010)
}}
Ignacio Garriga Vaz de Conceição (born 4 February 1987) is a Spanish politician as well as a former dentist and professor. He is known in the Spanish media for being the first notable Afro-Spaniard elected politician within the far-right Vox party.{{cite web|title=Así es Ignacio Garriga Vaz de Concicao, el polémico "Negro de Vox"|url=https://elcierredigital.com/investigacion/685586414/ignacio-garriga-vaz-vox.html|publisher=El Cierre Digital|date=15 December 2018|access-date=13 September 2019|first=David|last=Gonzalez|language=Spanish}} In October 2022 he became Secretary General of Vox.{{Cite web |title=Abascal es desempallega d'Ortega Smith i promociona Ignacio Garriga |url=https://www.vilaweb.cat/noticies/abascal-desempallega-ortega-smith-promociona-ignacio-garriga/ |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=VilaWeb |language=ca}}
Personal life
Garriga was born in Sant Cugat del Vallès to a Spanish father named Rafael of maternal Belgian descent and an Equatoguinean mother named Clotilde. His mother is also of Portuguese descent through her father. Clotilde's parents, Mercedes and Pablo, owned a supermarket in Malabo, but after the death of Pablo, Mercedes sent Clotilde and her seven brothers to live in Barcelona.{{cite web|title=Negro, catalán y directivo de VOX: "Hay una caridad mal entendida en inmigración"|url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2018-08-24/negro-catalan-y-directivo-de-vox_1607218/|publisher=El Confidencial|date=24 August 2018|access-date=13 September 2019|first=Roberto|last=Ballesteros|language=Spanish}} His father, Rafael Garriga Kuijpers, comes from a political family where both his father and brother (Ignacio's grandfather and uncle) were both involved in nationalist organizations. Garriga's cousin is Juan Garriga Domenech who has also since become active in Vox.{{cite web|title=Els orígens d'Ignacio Garriga, el diputat català de Vox|url=https://www.elcritic.cat/perfils/els-origens-dignacio-garriga-el-diputat-catala-de-vox-40567|publisher=El Critic|date=6 November 2019|access-date=4 December 2019|first=Joan|last=Cantarero|language=Catalan}}
Garriga is one of five children and grew up speaking Catalan as his first language. He considers himself 100% Spanish. Before becoming a politician Garriga worked as a dentist.{{cite web|title=Ignacio Garriga, el dentista de origen guineano que lidera la lista de Vox por Barcelona|url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/3589837/0/ignacio-garriga-dentista-origen-guineano-lidera-lista-vox-barcelona/|date=16 March 2019|access-date=13 September 2019|language=Spanish|publisher=20minutos}} He is married and has one daughter and three sons.{{cite web|title=Ignacio, "harto" de ser el negro catalán de Vox: "Soy español. Eso es racismo"|first=David|last=López Frías|url=https://www.elespanol.com/david_lopez_frias/20181208/ignacio-harto-negro-catalan-vox-espanol-racismo/358965111_0.html|date=8 December 2018|access-date=13 September 2019|language=Spanish|publisher=El Español}} He has worked as a professor at the Faculty of Dentistry of the International University of Catalonia.
Political career
Garriga was previously a member of the People's Party, but left in 2010 after disagreements on the party's stance on gay marriage, abortion, Spanish unity, and immigration.{{cite web|title=¿Quién es Ignacio Garriga, el "número uno" de Vox por Barcelona para asaltar el 28A?|author=C. Lorca|url=https://www.larazon.es/espana/quien-es-ignacio-garriga-el-candidato-de-vox-en-cataluna-para-asaltar-el-28a-IA22446583|date=17 March 2019|access-date=13 September 2019|language=Spanish|publisher=La Razón}}
Garriga joined Vox in 2014. Due to being the only black politician in the party, he is sometimes described as the "Black Catalan of Vox", although Garriga rejects this label, arguing that he is Spanish, and that the name is racist. He supports mandatory deportation of illegal immigrants. Garriga has stated that Vox is Christian humanist, and the most accepting political party in Spain. Garriga identifies as Catalan but is strongly opposed to the Catalan independence movement.
Garriga was elected to the 13th Congress of Deputies in the April 2019 Spanish general election.{{cite web|title=Abascal i la seva "tropa"|url=https://directa.cat/abascal-i-la-seva-tropa/|language=Catalan|website=directa.cat|date=12 December 2018|first=Conrad|last=Bosch}} He was re-elected to the 14th Congress of Deputies in the November 2019 Spanish general election.{{cite web|title=Qui són els dos diputats de Vox per Catalunya?|url=https://www.ara.cat/politica/son-dos-diputats-Vox-Catalunya_0_2341565970.html|language=Catalan|website=ara.cat|first=Cristina|last=Mas|date=10 November 2019|access-date=4 December 2019}}{{cite web|title=Vox, únic partit amb representació santcugatenca al Congrés|url=https://www.totsantcugat.cat/actualitat/politica/vox-unic-partit-representacio-santcugatenca-congres_2100388102.html|language=Catalan|website=totsantcugat.cat|date=11 November 2019|access-date=4 December 2019}} In 2020, he resigned his seat in the Congress after becoming a representative in the Catalan Parliament and was replaced by Carlos Segura.
Since August 2020, Garriga is the leader of Vox in Catalonia. In October 2022, he was promoted to secretary general of Vox.{{Cite web |title=Abascal es desempallega d'Ortega Smith i promociona Ignacio Garriga |url=https://www.vilaweb.cat/noticies/abascal-desempallega-ortega-smith-promociona-ignacio-garriga/ |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=VilaWeb |language=ca}}
See also
- Bertrand Ndongo, Vox member born in Cameroon
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Politicians from Catalonia
Category:Vox (political party) politicians
Category:Spanish people of Equatoguinean descent
Category:Spanish people of Belgian descent
Category:Spanish people of Portuguese descent
Category:People from Sant Cugat del Vallès
Category:Politicians from Barcelona