Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría

Born in Valladolid in 1971, Sáenz de Santamaría grew up as the only child of Pedro Sáenz de Santamaría and Petra Antón.{{cite web |title=Volver a Valladolid es volver a la vida de verdad |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/04/20/valladolid/1303298756.html |publisher=El Mundo |date=25 April 2011 |language=es}}

She studied the Licentiate Degree in Law in the University of Valladolid (1989–1994) and got a first class honours degree, summa cum laude, achieving rank one in her promotion, first of her class, awarded top honors, with an academic record full of honours-qualifications, awarded the Bachelor's Degree Extraordinary Award conferred by the University of Valladolid, for her outstanding academic record.{{cite news |last=Barca |first=Antonio Jiménez |title=Lista para la batalla |url=https://elpais.com/diario/2008/04/06/domingo/1207453953_850215.html |work=El País |date=5 April 2008 |access-date=29 July 2022 |issn=1134-6582 |language=es}}

After passing a "competitive public examination" (oposiciones), she joined the State Lawyers Corps (an elite body of civil servant lawyers of the State).

In 2005 Sáenz de Santamaría married José Iván Rosa Vallejo,{{cite news|title=Santamaría, cuestionada como pregonera por su 'situación matrimonial'|url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/01/23/valladolid/1327336377.html|date=23 January 2013|access-date=31 July 2019|newspaper=El Mundo|location=Valladolid}} with whom she has a son, born on 11 November 2011.{{cite news|last=Govan|first=Fiona|title=Spanish MP with key role back to work 11 days after giving birth|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8916146/Spanish-MP-with-key-role-back-to-work-11-days-after-giving-birth.html|access-date=5 June 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=25 November 2011|location=Madrid}}

File:6 nov. Soraya, Pío, Granados y Bartolomé Glez en Alcalá.jpg]]

In 2000, Mariano Rajoy's former chief of staff hired her to work as advisor to the cabinet of the First Vice-president of the Government in the Ministry of the Presidency and the Ministry of Home Affairs.David Román (28 January 2016), [https://www.ft.com/content/da60cad4-56dd-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2 No problem has been too large or lethal for Rajoy’s deputy] Financial Times.

From 2004 to 2008 Sáenz de Santamaría, served as secretary in the People's Party (PP) executive board, charged with the party's Regional and Local Policy.

She ran as candidate to the Congress of Deputies, 19th in the PP list for Madrid vis-à-vis the April 2004 general election.{{Smallcaps|Juntas Electorales Proviciales}}: {{Cite journal|journal=Boletín Oficial del Estado|issue=41|date=17 February 2004|issn=0212-033X|url=https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2004/02/17/pdfs/A07478-07566.pdf|title=Candidaturas proclamadas para las elecciones al Congreso de los Diputados y al Senado, convocadas por Real Decreto 100/2004, de 19 de enero}} As the PP obtained 17 seats in the constituency, she was not elected, but she assumed the office of deputy in the Lower House on 13 May 2004, covering the vacant seat caused by the resignation of Rodrigo Rato, who had been appointed as managing director of the International Monetary Fund.{{Cite journal|url=https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2011/12/21/economia/1324450592_850215.html|journal=Cinco Días|title=Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría: la mano derecha|date=21 December 2011}} She served as legislator for the rest of the 8th term of the Cortes Generales.

In the 9th term, she was chosen by Mariano Rajoy to become the Spokesperson for the People's Group in the Congress of Deputies, replacing Eduardo Zaplana.

File:Vicepresidenta Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 2012 - La Moncloa.jpg in May 2012, following a meeting of the Council of Ministers.]]

Following the results of the 2011 general election, which delivered an absolute majority to the PP in the Congress of Deputies, Mariano Rajoy was invested Prime Minister and formed a new cabinet. Sáenz de Santamaría became the Deputy Prime Minister and Spokesperson for the government on 22 December 2011.{{cite news|last=Giles|first=Ciaran|title=Spain's new prime minister sworn in, names Cabinet|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700208999/Spains-new-prime-minister-sworn-in-names-Cabinet.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107112251/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700208999/Spains-new-prime-minister-sworn-in-names-Cabinet.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2012|access-date=5 June 2013|newspaper=Deseret News|date=21 December 2011|agency=Associated Press}}

Sáenz de Santamaría served in the Rajoy Government as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidency from December 2011 to June 2018, as Spokesperson of the Government from 2011 to 2016, and as Minister for Territorial Administrations from November 2016 to June 2018. In 2014, for a brief time, she also assumed in acting capacity the portfolios of Health and Justice.

On 27 October 2017, after Mariano Rajoy enforced the Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution on the Catalan government, dismissing regional premier Carles Puigdemont, Sáenz de Santamaría was entrusted with the responsibility for overseeing the functions of the Generalitat of Catalonia.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41788406|title=Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría – Madrid's enforcer for Catalonia|date=28 October 2017|publisher=BBC News|access-date=28 October 2017|language=en-GB}}{{cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/872242/spain-catalonia-independence-latest-deputy-prime-minister-control-rajoy|title=Spain takes charge of Catalonia- Deputy PM handed CONTROL of region amid fears of violence|last=Mansfield|first=Katie|date=28 October 2017|work=Express.co.uk|access-date=28 October 2017}}

File:Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 2018 logo.png

On 5 June 2018, after the successful motion of no confidence in Mariano Rajoy, and Rajoy's removal from the post of Prime Minister and his decision to also resign as leader of the People's Party, Sáenz de Santamaría postulated herself as candidate in the upcoming primaries to elect a new party leader. Soraya Saénz de Santamaría edged the 1st position in the voting held among party members with a narrow margin of 1,500 votes over Pablo Casado, with otherwise staunch rival María Dolores de Cospedal coming third. On 21 July 2018, a run-off (now voted among party delegates) between the first and second candidates in the first round was held between her and Casado. Sáenz de Santamaría lost to Casado, who became the new party leader,{{cite news |date=5 July 2018 |title=Resultados definitivos primarias PP |url=http://www.pp.es/sites/default/files/documentos/resultados_definitivos.pdf |work=La Vanguardia |language=es |access-date=17 July 2018}} in what was considered a party swing towards the right.{{cite journal|url=https://elpais.com/politica/2018/07/21/actualidad/1532157539_615979.html|journal=El País|title=Pablo Casado vence en el congreso del PP y consuma el giro a la derecha|date=21 July 2018|first=Natalia|last=Junquera}}{{cite journal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/22/spanish-peoples-party-shifts-to-right-with-new-leader|journal=The Guardian|title=Spanish People's party shifts to right with new leader|first=Sam|last=Jones|date=22 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1KB0IB-OCATP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721192429/https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1KB0IB-OCATP|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2018|title=Spain's conservatives swing to the right with new leader|date=21 July 2018|agency=Reuters}}{{cite web|url=http://www.radiocable.com/nm-pp-giro-derecha-casado-linea-dura8542.html|title=La prensa global señala el giro a la derecha del PP con Casado, un "conservador de línea dura"|date=23 July 2018|work=Radiocable}} Some months following her defeat, in September 2018, Sáenz de Santamaría announced that she was leaving politics after 18 years.[http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2018/09/10/5b9662e9ca474183788b4623.html Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría comunica a Pablo Casado que deja la política para "emprender otra etapa"] {{in lang|es}}[https://elpais.com/politica/2018/09/10/actualidad/1536582538_125185.html Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría deja la política] {{in lang|es}}

On 18 October 2018 she was appointed member of the Council of State, the supreme consultative body for the Spanish Government,[https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2018/10/18/5bc8c2c346163f849a8b45ca.html El Gobierno nombra consejera de Estado a Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría] {{in lang|es}} assuming office on 8 November 2018.[https://www.abc.es/espana/abci-santamaria-entra-consejo-estado-bueno-seguir-prestando-este-servicio-estado-201811081252_noticia.html Santamaría entra en el Consejo de Estado: «Es bueno seguir prestando este servicio al Estado»] {{in lang|es}} In March 2019, the incorporation of Sáenz de Santamaría to the Cuatrecasas law firm (both as associate and as member of the board of directors) was announced.{{Cite journal|url=https://elpais.com/economia/2019/03/11/actualidad/1552292911_483653.html|journal=El País|title=El bufete de abogados Cuatrecasas ficha a Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría|date=11 March 2019}}

Saenz de Santamaría, called by many media as "the most powerful woman in Spain since (the return of) democracy",{{cite news |date=23 December 2011 |title=Spain's new deputy prime minister 'most powerful woman since democracy' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8975694/Spains-new-deputy-prime-minister-most-powerful-woman-since-democracy.html |work=telegraph.co.uk |access-date=23 December 2011}}{{cite news |date=9 March 2015 |title=5 of Europe's most powerful women |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/09/5-women-leaders-fighting-europes-toughest-battle-global-post/24640405/ |work=USA Today|access-date=9 March 2015}}{{cite news |date=28 October 2016 |title='Most powerful woman since democracy' put in charge of Catalonia in defiance of independence |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/catalan-independence-spanish-deputy-prime-minister-saenz-de-santamaria-put-in-charge-of-region-2017-10 |work=Business Insider|access-date=28 October 2016}}{{cite news |date=8 March 2016 |title=Are these Spain's ten most powerful women? |url=https://www.thelocal.es/20160308/spains-ten-most-powerful-women |work=The Local|access-date=8 March 2016}}{{cite news |date=23 December 2011 |title=Soraya Saenz de Santamaria: The Most Powerful Woman in Spain |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/soraya-saenz-de-santamaria-most-powerful-woman-spain-387116 |work=International Business Times|access-date=23 December 2011}}{{cite news |date=28 October 2017 |title=Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría – Madrid's enforcer for Catalonia|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41788406 |publisher=BBC|access-date=28 October 2017}} has been often considered to espouse a technocratic form of governance, without a clearly defined ideology.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.elboletin.com/noticia/164605/nacional/liberal-democristiano-quien-es-quien-en-la-batalla-por-el-poder-en-el-pp.html|journal=El Boletín|title=¿Liberal? ¿Democristiano? Quién es quién en la batalla por el poder en el PP|date=19 June 2018}} Distanced from the party executive board except for her spell at the helm of the area of Regional and Local Policy, it has been pointed out she built her political leadership outside from the party rather than from the inside.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20180719/soraya-saenz-santamaria-copiloto-rajoy-moncloa-pide-ponerse-mandos-del-pp/1765781.shtml|publisher=RTVE|title=Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, la copiloto de Rajoy en Moncloa pide ponerse a los mandos del PP|date=19 July 2018|first=José A.|last=Carpio}} She was regarded as the theoretical representative of the most moderate wing within the PP.{{Cite journal|url=https://elpais.com/sociedad/2013/12/20/actualidad/1387569808_953621.html|journal=El País|title=Rajoy tomó la decisión final tras meses de debate interno y tensión en el PP|first=Carlos E.|last=Cué|date=20 December 2013}}

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{{s-bef|before=Eduardo Zaplana}}

{{s-ttl|title= Spokesperson of the People's Party Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies|years=31 March 2008 – 13 December 2011}}

{{s-aft|after=Alfonso Alonso}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz de Santamaria, Soraya}}

Category:1971 births

Category:21st-century Spanish women politicians

Category:Deputy prime ministers of Spain

Category:Health ministers of Spain

Category:Living people

Category:Members of the 11th Congress of Deputies (Spain)

Category:Members of the 12th Congress of Deputies (Spain)

Category:Members of the State Lawyers Corps

Category:People from Valladolid

Category:People's Party (Spain) politicians

Category:Women government ministers of Spain

Category:Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain)