Bernat Solé

Bernat Solé i Barril (born 30 January 1975) is a Spanish industrial engineer and politician from Catalonia, member of the Parliament of Catalonia and Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia between 2020 and 2021. He was previously mayor of Agramunt. He is currently awaiting trial on charges of disobedience for his role in the Catalan declaration of independence.

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Solé and the second or maternal family name is Serra; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Bernat Solé
Solé in March 2020
Minister for External and Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia
In office
21 March 2020 – 26 May 2021
PresidentQuim Torra
Preceded byAlfred Bosch
Succeeded byVictòria Alsina
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia
Assumed office
26 October 2015
ConstituencyLleida
Mayor of Agramunt
In office
2011–2020
Preceded byAmadeu Padullés i Serra
Member of Agramunt Municipal Council
In office
2007–2020
Personal details
Born
Bernat Solé i Barril

(1975-01-30) 30 January 1975
Agramunt, Catalonia, Spain
CitizenshipSpanish
Political partyRepublican Left of Catalonia
Other political
affiliations		Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes
Alma materPolytechnic University of Catalonia
OccupationIndustrial engineer

Early life

Solé was born on 30 January 1975 in Agramunt, Catalonia.[1][2] He has a degree in industrial engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.[3][4]

Career

Solé is an industrial engineer by profession.[5] He has worked as an engineer in the private sector and has taught technology in schools.[2][6]

Solé has been a member of Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) since 2006.[3][4] He was communication secretary for ERC's Urgell county branch from 2006 to 2008.[7] He has been a member of ERC's national executive since 2015.[7] At the 2006 regional election he was placed 12th on ERC's list of candidates in the Province of Lleida but the party only won three seats in the province and as a result he failed to get elected.[8][9]

Solé contested the 2007 local elections as a Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal (ERC-AM) electoral alliance candidate in Agramunt and was elected.[10][11] He was re-elected at the 2011 local elections and became mayor of Agramunt.[4][12][13] He was re-elected at the 2015 and 2019 local elections.[14][15][16]

Solé contested the 2015 regional election as a Junts pel Sí (JxSí) electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Lleida and was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia.[17][18] He was re-elected at the 2017 regional election.[19][20] He became deputy spokesperson for the Repiblican group in Parliament in May 2019 following Gerard Gómez's election to the Congress of Deputies.[21][22]

In May 2019 the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) summoned Solé to appear before the court on 4 June 2019 to be interrogated about charges of disobedience in relation to his role in the conduct of the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.[23][24] At the interrogation Solé rejected the charges of disobedience, stating that as mayor he did not promote the referendum and that he was merely expressing his political opinions.[25][26] In October 2019 TSJC judge Mercedes Armas found evidence of Solé committing disobedience, closed the investigation against him and requested that an oral trial begins.[27][28] The TSJC dismissed an appeal by Solé in January 2020 and ordered that he be tried for disobedience for facilitating the referendum in Agramunt, allowing the use of public premises and hiding ballot boxes.[29][30] Solé could be disqualified from holding public office for one and a half years and fined €24,000 if found guilty.[2][6]

In March 2020 Solé replaced Alfred Bosch as Catalonia's Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency.[5][31] He was sworn in on 21 March 2020.[3][32]

Solé was a member of the Cobla Jovenívola d’Agramunt (1987-2006), a youth cobla group, and the Agramunt scout group (1998-2004) where he was a group leader.[7] He is a director of the Grup Caramellaire Aires del Sió.[7]

Personal life

Solé is married and has three children.[2][33] He played for the basketball club in Agramunt.[7]

Electoral history
Electoral history of Bernat Solé
Election Constituency Party Alliance No. Result
2006 regional[8][9]Province of LleidaRepublican Left of Catalonia12Not elected
2007 local[10][11]AgramuntRepublican Left of CataloniaRepublican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal2Elected
2011 local[12][13]AgramuntRepublican Left of CataloniaAcord d'Esquerra-Acord Municipal1Elected
2015 local[14][15]AgramuntRepublican Left of CataloniaAcord d'Esquerra-Acord Municipal1Elected
2015 regional[17][18]Province of LleidaRepublican Left of CataloniaJunts pel Sí4Elected
2017 regional[19][20]Province of LleidaRepublican Left of CataloniaRepublican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes2Elected
2019 local[16]AgramuntRepublican Left of CataloniaAcord d'Esquerra-Acord Municipal1Elected

References
  1. "Bernat Solé" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Republican Left of Catalonia. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. "Solé, un alcalde de ERC para Exteriores a la espera de ser juzgado por el 1-O". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  3. "Bernat Solé toma posesión por vía telemática como 'conseller' de Exteriors". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. Europa Press. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  4. "Bernat Solé assumeix la conselleria d'Exteriors per videoconferència". Nació Digital (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. Baquero, Camilo S. (20 March 2020). "Torra nombra a Bernat Solé, investigado por el 1-O, como nuevo consejero catalán de Acción Exterior". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  6. "MP Bernat Solé appointed new foreign minister". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  7. "Bernat Solé" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Republican Left of Catalonia. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  8. "Administració de Justícia: Juntes Electorals". Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan). No. 4730. Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya. 30 September 2006. p. 40778. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  9. "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2006: Candidats electes" (PDF) (in Catalan). Departament de Governació, Administracions Públiques i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya. p. 3. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  10. "Eleccions Consell General d'Aran i Eleccions Locals 2007: Relació de Candidatures Proclamades - Junta Electoral de Zona de Balaguer" (PDF). Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Lleida (in Catalan). No. 64. Lleida, Spain: Diputació de Lleida. 1 May 2007. p. 129. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  11. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2007 - Mun. Agramunt" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  12. "Eleccions Locals 2011: Relació de Candidatures Proclamades - Junta Electoral de Zona de Balaguer" (PDF). Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Lleida (in Catalan). No. 61. Lleida, Spain: Diputació de Lleida. 26 April 2011. p. 5. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  13. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2011 - Mun. Agramunt" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  14. "Administració Electoral: Junta Electoral de Zona de Balaguer - Candidatures proclamades en aquesta Junta Electoral per a les eleccions locals 2015" (PDF). Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Lleida (in Catalan). No. 80. Lleida, Spain: Diputació de Lleida. 28 April 2015. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  15. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2015 - Mun. Lleida" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  16. "Administració Electoral: Junta Electoral de Zona de Balaguer - Candidatures proclamades en aquesta Junta Electoral per a les Eleccions Locals 2019" (PDF). Butlletí Oficial de la Província de Lleida (in Catalan). No. 83. Lleida, Spain: Diputació de Lleida. 30 April 2019. p. 2. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  17. "Anuncis Diversos: Administració Electoral - Juntes Electorals Provincials". Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan). No. 6947. Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya. 1 September 2015. p. 3. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  18. "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2015: Candidats electes" (PDF) (in Catalan). Departament de Governació, Administracions Públiques i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya. p. 3. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  19. "Otras Disposiciones: Juntas Electorales Provinciales - Junta Electoral de Barcelona" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 281. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 19 November 2017. p. 111446. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  20. "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2017: Composició del Parlament" (in Catalan). Generalitat de Catalunya. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017.
  21. Bertomeu, Quim (20 March 2020). "Del planter d'alcaldes d'ERC a liderar la política exterior catalana". Ara (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  22. "Historial de la composició: Junta de Portaveus" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Parliament of Catalonia. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  23. "TSJC cita com a imputat l'alcalde d'Agramunt i diputat d'ERC per l'1-O". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. EFE. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  24. "L'alcalde d'Agramunt, citat a declarar per desobediència l'1-O". El Nacional (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  25. "L'alcalde nega l'organització de l'1-O a Agramunt". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  26. "El alcalde de Agramunt niega haber promovido el 1-O y asegura que solo expresó opiniones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  27. "El TSJC veu indicis de delicte de desobediència de l'alcalde d'Agramunt per l'1-O". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. Catalan News Agency. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  28. "El TSJC deixa a un pas del judici un alcalde i diputat d'ERC per l'1-O". El Nacional (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  29. "El TSJC avala portar a judici a l'alcalde d'Agramunt i diputat d'ERC per l'1-O". El Nacional (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  30. "El TSJC cree que el alcalde de Agramunt "tuvo alguna intervención" en la organización del 1-O". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  31. Camps, Carlota (20 March 2020). "L'alcalde d'Agramunt, Bernat Solé, nou conseller d'Exteriors". El Nacional (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  32. Ansola, Emma (22 March 2020). ""Ara el primer que cal és contactar amb els catalans a l'estranger"". El Punt (in Catalan). Girona, Spain. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  33. "El candidat serà el cap de Llista de la formació Acord d'Esquerra. A continuació desglosem un breu currículum i descripció de la llista" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Republican Left of Catalonia. 22 February 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2020.

Bernat Solé i Barril on Twitter

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