Aitor Elizegi
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{short description|Spanish entrepreneur, chef and the president of football club Athletic Bilbao}}
{{family name hatnote|Elizegi|Alberdi|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox president
|name = Aitor Elizegi
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption =
|order = 32nd
|office = President of Athletic Bilbao
|term_start = 27 December 2018
|term_end = 24 June 2022
|predecessor = Josu Urrutia
|successor = Jon Uriarte
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1966|6|27}}
|birth_place = Bilbao, Spain
|birthname = Aitor Elizegi Alberdi
|spouse =
|children =
|alma_mater =
|profession = Entrepreneur, chef
|residence =
|nationality = Spanish
|party = Basque Nationalist Party
|religion =
|vicepresident =
|notable prizes =
|signature =
|website =
|footnotes =
|box_width =
}}
Aitor Elizegi Alberdi (born 27 June 1966) is a Spanish entrepreneur, chef and the president of football club Athletic Bilbao from 2018 to 2022.
Biography
Born in 1966, in Santutxu, Bilbao, Elizegi grew up supporting Athletic Bilbao, becoming a member of the club at the age of 25.{{Cite news|url=https://www.goal.com/es/noticias/aitor-elizegi-no-ha-sido-lo-mejor-para-el-athletic-que/13qjun83phfgg1kvyi0ka3cz64|title=Aitor Elizegi: "No ha sido lo mejor para el Athletic que Uribe-Echevarría haya sido el contador. Podría haber dejado un club mejor"|trans-title=Aitor Elizegi: "It was not the best for Athletic that Uribe-Echevarría was the accountant, he could have left a better club"|work=Goal|date=23 December 2017|access-date=2 January 2019|language=es}} Elizegi entered the culinary industry in 1987, winning the Spanish Chefs Championship a year later and the Basque Gastronomy Award in 2000 for best restaurateur at his Gaminiz restaurant.{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/2001/04/30/espana/988581607_850215.html|title='Un restaurante es una de las pocas zonas neutrales que quedan en Euskadi'|trans-title=A restaurant is one of the few neutral zones left in Euskadi|work=El País|date=30 April 2001|access-date=2 January 2019|language=es}} As of 2019, Elizegi is head of a number of Basque restaurants in Bilbao, including Txocook, Bascook and Basquery.{{Cite news|url=https://www.berria.eus/albisteak/160939/aitor_elizegi_athleticeko_presidente_berria.htm|title=Aitor Elizegi, Athleticeko presidente berria|trans-title=Aitor Elizegi, new president of Athletic|work=Berria|date=27 December 2018|access-date=2 January 2019|language=eu}}
On 27 December 2018, Elizegi won Athletic Bilbao's presidential election to succeeding former incumbent Josu Urrutia, defeating Alberto Uribe-Echevarría, treasurer under Urrutia, by a margin of just 85 votes.{{efn|Elizegi polled in at 9,264 votes (47.9%), from 19,340 voting members, against Uribe-Echevarría's 9,179 votes (47.46%). 781 (4.04%) members voted blank and 116 (0.6%) remaining votes were considered invalid.{{cite web|url=https://www.athletic-club.eus/en/news/2018/12/27/aitor-elizegi-new-president-of-athletic-club|title=Aitor Elizegi, new president of Athletic Club|publisher=Athletic Bilbao|date=27 December 2018|accessdate=2 January 2018}}}}
One of his first acts as president was to replace the long-serving sporting director José María Amorrortu with
Rafael Alkorta and Andoni Ayarza, (both former players of the club),{{cite news|url=https://www.deia.eus/2018/12/30/athletic/llevo-preparando-esto-desde-hace-mucho-tiempo|title="Llevo preparando esto desde hace mucho tiempo"|trans-title="I've been preparing this for a long time"|newspaper=Deia|language=Spanish|date=30 December 2018|accessdate=11 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231124931/https://www.deia.eus/2018/12/30/athletic/llevo-preparando-esto-desde-hace-mucho-tiempo|archive-date=31 December 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/athletic-bilbao/20190102/453908143637/athletic-aitor-elizegi-jose-mari-amorrortu-liga-futbol-primera.html|title=Amorrortu llega a un acuerdo "amistoso" para salir del Athletic|trans-title=Amorrortu reaches a "friendly" agreement to leave Athletic|newspaper=Mundo Deportivo|language=Spanish|date=3 January 2019|accessdate=11 January 2019}} as promised in his election campaign.{{cite news|url=https://www.elmundo.es/pais-vasco/2018/12/24/5c20cea4fc6c83d43f8b46a1.html|title=Alkorta y Ayarza serían director deportivo y secretario técnico del Athletic con Elizegi|trans-title=Alkorta and Ayarza would be sports director and technical secretary of Athletic with Elizegi|newspaper=El Mundo |language=Spanish|date=24 December 2018|accessdate=11 January 2019}}
He did not seek re-election at the end of his four-year term in 2022, with Jon Uriarte appointed to succeed him.[https://www.football-espana.net/2022/06/24/jon-uriarte-confirmed-as-athletic-clubs-new-president Jon Uriarte confirmed as Athletic Club's new president], Football España, 24 June 2022
Politics
Elizegi is a member of the Basque Nationalist Party.{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/deportes/2018/12/28/actualidad/1546012223_200944.html|title=El cocinero que se comió al aparato institucional|trans-title=The cook who ate the institutional apparatus|work=El País|date=30 December 2018|access-date=2 January 2019|language=es}} Elizegi is a Basque nationalist and independentist,{{cite podcast |host=Sid Lowe, Phil Kitromilides|title=No Festive Football|publisher=The Spanish Football Podcast|date=29 December 2018|time=3:52|url=https://soundcloud.com/thespanishfootballpodcast|access-date=2 January 2019}} and has expressed a desire for the admittance of a Basque national football team into UEFA.{{Cite news|url=https://www.marca.com/en/football/spanish-football/2018/12/29/5c276239268e3e454c8b4585.html|title=Elizegi: I would like to see the Basque Country in the European Championship|work=Marca|date=29 December 2018|access-date=2 January 2019}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elizegi, Aitor}}
Category:Businesspeople from Bilbao
Category:Athletic Bilbao presidents
Category:Spanish businesspeople
Category:Businesspeople from the Basque Country (autonomous community)
{{Spain-footy-bio-stub}}