Francesc Antich, who was president of the Balearics on two occasions, passed away on Thursday aged 66.
He was born in Venezuela but grew up and lived in Algaida, where he was to be mayor for PSIB-PSOE from 1991 to 1997.
Elected general secretary of the Mallorca Socialist Federation in 1997, he first became president of the Balearics in 1999, when a coalition led by PSOE ended sixteen years of Partido Popular regional government from the time of autonomy. (The PP were the Alianza Popular until 1989.)
Francesc Antich with Francina Armengol in 2007.
A feature of his first term was the introduction of the ecotax in 2002. It was scrapped the following year after the PP regained power.
He was head of a second coalition between 2007 and 2011, a period that was characterised by the financial crisis and cases of corruption that led to the Unió Mallorquina being ejected from the coalition.
He stepped down as party leader following defeat at the 2011 election and was succeeded by Francina Armengol.
From 2004 to 2007 he was a deputy in Congress, while from 2011 to 2019 he was a member of the Senate. For a brief time he was president of the Balearic Ports Authority, a position he resigned from for health reasons. In 2022 he was diagnosed with cancer of the colon.
On Friday afternoon, there was a vigil (funeral chapel) at the Balearic Government's Consolat de Mar headquarters. Marked by a minute's silence, it was attended by the other former presidents of the Balearics with the exception of Jaume Matas.
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Xisco, D.E.P.
Bryan AdamsBeing dead doesn't mean you deserve respect !
Richard PearsonHe's dead. Show a bit of respect, you goujon.
He was a classic example of the Peter Principle