Meritxell Mateu i Pi

{{short description|Andorran politician}}

{{family name hatnote|Mateu|Pi|lang=Catalan}}

File:Meritxell Mateu Pi 2014.jpg

Meritxell Mateu i Pi (born January 19, 1966) is an Andorran politician, member of the Partit Liberal d'Andorra{{cite web |title=ELDR Party {{!}} Diogenes, our members database |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031150933/http://www.eldr.org/diogenes/search_frm_mbgov.php |website=web.archive.org |access-date=3 April 2025 |date=31 October 2007}} who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2009, being the first female to hold this office. Previous positions she has held include ambassadorships to France, Benelux, the European Union, UNESCO, and the Council of Europe.

In 2011 she became a member of the Andorran Parliament.{{cite web |title=Meritxell Mateu Pi — Consell General Principat d'Andorra |url=https://www.consellgeneral.ad/ca/arxiu/arxiu-de-lleis-i-textos-aprovats-en-legislatures-anteriors/vi-legislatura-2011-2015/consellers-generals/meritxell-mateu-pi |website=www.consellgeneral.ad |access-date=1 April 2025 |language=ca}} In November 2011 Mateu alongside Gilbert Saboya Sunyé visited Berlin and met with representatives of Germany as she was part of the Foreign Affairs committee of the Andorran Parliament.{{cite web |title=Andorra |url=https://www.berlinglobal.org/index.php?embassy-of-andorra-in-berlin |website=www.berlinglobal.org |access-date=1 April 2025 |language=en}} From 2011 to 2016, she was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.{{cite web |title=Ms Meritxell MATEU (Andorra, ALDE) |url=https://pace.coe.int/fr/members/6733 |website=pace.coe.int |access-date=1 April 2025}} During her time in parliament, she was Vice President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2013 until 2016. She resigned as a member of the Andorran Parliament in October 2016 after it was revealed that she had an employment relationship with Banca Privada d'Andorra in 2012 and 2013 through a Panamanian company, which led her to influence the government and parliament in favor of private interests.{{cite news |title=Meritxell Mateu dimiteix |url=https://www.diariandorra.ad/nacional/161004/meritxell-mateu-dimiteix_8144.html |access-date=1 April 2025 |work=Diari d'Andorra |date=4 October 2016 |language=ca}}

In 2022, the Court of Cortes sentenced Mateu to 18 months of imprisonment, and she was disqualified from holding public office for five years alone with being imposed a fine based of her relationship with the bank.{{cite news |last1=Coll |first1=Emma |title=Meritxell Mateu i Joan Pau Miquel, culpables de corrupció |url=https://www.diariandorra.ad/nacional/221005/meritxell-mateu-joan-pau-miquel-culpables-corrupcio_114787.html |access-date=1 April 2025 |work=Diari d'Andorra |date=5 October 2022 |language=ca}} Mateu announced that she would appeal the sentence soon after and said it was a set-up.{{cite news |title=Mateu presentarà recurs a la sentència i confia que al Superior es farà justícia |url=https://www.altaveu.com/actualitat/justicia/mateu-presentara-recurs-sentencia-confia-superior-es-fara-justicia_42556_102.html |access-date=1 April 2025 |work=Altaveu |date=4 October 2022 |language=ca}} The High Court confirmed the conviction for corruption in 2023 and increased her sentence to 2 and a half years of conditional imprisonment.{{cite news |title=El Superior confirma la condemna a l'ex consellera general Meritxell Mateu per corrupció i eleva la pena a dos anys i mig de presó condicional {{!}} Andorra Difusió |url=https://www.andorradifusio.ad/noticies/superior-confirma-condemna-ex-consellera-general |access-date=1 April 2025 |work=Andorra Difusió |date=3 March 2023 |language=ca}} She later became a midwife of the Ordino quarter in 2025.{{cite news |title=Meritxell Mateu, nova llevadora del quart |url=https://www.diariandorra.ad/parroquies/250320/meritxell-mateu-nova-llevadora-quart_169319.html |access-date=1 April 2025 |work=Diari d'Andorra |date=20 March 2025 |language=ca}}