GWC 16 BCN

Catalan, Spanish

Spain

Santi Vila i Vicente, born on March 15, 1973, in Granollers, Spain, is a Catalan historian and politician. He has held several key political roles, including serving as a member of the Catalan Parliament (2006-2013), mayor of Figueres (2007-2012), and a minister in various departments within the Catalan government: Territory and Sustainability (2012-2016), Culture (2016-2017), and Enterprise and Knowledge (2017). Vila is known for his progressive liberal views and his position as a non-nationalist Catalanist, advocating for dialogue and moderation. He resigned from his ministerial position in October 2017 due to disagreements over the Catalan unilateral declaration of independence.Academically, Vila completed his undergraduate studies in history at the University of Girona and pursued doctoral courses at both the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Girona. He earned his doctorate from the International University of Catalonia in 2017 with a thesis on the Catholic integrist Félix Sardà y Salvany.