List of presidents of the Government of Catalonia
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The list of presidents of the Government of Catalonia compiles the official list of presidents of the Generalitat de Catalunya since its inception in 1359 to present time.[1] It has been the traditional way of listing presidents, starting with Berenguer de Cruïlles.[2][3][4] The most recent stable version of the list dates from 2003, by Josep M. Solé i Sabaté in his work Historia de la Generalitat de Catalunya i dels seus presidents.[5] The procedure to set up this list is the following: for the period of the medieval Generalitat (Deputation of the General),[6] the president was the most eminent ecclesiastic deputy of the Deputation of the General of Catalonia (popularly known as Generalitat),[7] a body of the Catalan Courts dissolved in 1716 and reinstated for two years in 1874. From April 1931 on, the list includes the elected presidents as well as the proclaimed exiled presidents during the Francoist dictatorship.[8] The functions of the President of the Government of Catalonia have varied considerably over history, in parallel with the attributions of the Generalitat itself.[9]
Deputation of the General or Generalitat (1359–1716)
Fourteenth century
Here follows a list of representatives of catalan institutions through the ages. The Presidents as such first appeared with the modern Generalitat in the 20th century.
- Berenguer de Cruïlles, Bishop of Girona (1359–1366)
- Romeu Sescomes, Bishop of Lleida (1363–1364)
- Ramon Gener (1364–1365)
- Bernat Vallès, canon of Barcelona (1365–1367)
- Romeu Sescomes, Bishop of Lleida (1375–1376)
- Joan I d'Empúries (1376)
- Guillem de Guimerà i d'Abella, Grand Prior of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1376–1377)
- Galceren de Besora i de Cartellà, almoner of Ripoll (1377–1378)
- Ramon Gener (1379–1380)
- Felip d'Anglesola, canon of Tarragona (1380)
- Pere de Santamans, canon of Tortosa (1381–1383)
- Arnau Descolomer, cleric from Girona (1384–1389)
- Miquel de Santjoan, canon of Girona (1389–1396)
- Alfons de Tous, canon of Barcelona (1396–1413)
Fifteenth century
Sixteenth century
Seventeenth century
Eighteenth century
Modern Generalitat (1931–present)
Second Republic and exile (1931–1977)
Governments:
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | Government | Election | President (Tenure) |
Ref. | ||||
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Took office | Left office | Duration | Cabinet name | Composition | |||||||
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Francesc Macià (1859–1933) |
14 April 1931 |
14 December 1932 |
2 years and 255 days | ERC | Macià I | Provisional ERC • USC • UGT • PRR • PCR |
N/A | President Niceto Alcalá-Zamora ![]() (1931–1936) |
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14 December 1932 |
25 December 1933 ![]() |
Macià II | ERC | 1932 | |||||||
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Lluís Companys (1882–1940) |
25 December 1933 |
31 July 1936 |
6 years and 295 days | ERC | Companys I | ERC • USC • ACR • PNRE | ||||
President Manuel Azaña ![]() (1936–1939) |
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31 July 1936 |
15 October 1940 ![]() (assassinated) |
Companys II | War ERC • PSUC • UR • UGT • ACR • CNT from Sep 1936 |
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Josep Irla (1874–1958) |
15 October 1940 |
7 August 1954 |
13 years and 235 days | ERC | None | In exile | N/A | Spanish Republican government in exile (1939–1977) |
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Josep Tarradellas (1899–1988) |
7 August 1954 |
18 October 1977 |
23 years and 72 days | ERC |
Restored autonomy (1977–present)
Governments:
- CiU
- Tripartite
- CDC
- Junts pel Sí
- Mixed coalition
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | Government | Election | Monarch (Reign) |
Ref. | ||||
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Took office | Left office | Duration | Cabinet name | Composition | |||||||
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Josep Tarradellas (1899–1988) |
18 October 1977 |
29 April 1980 |
2 years and 194 days | ERC | Tarradellas | Provisional PSC • ERC • PSUC • CDC • UCD |
N/A | King Juan Carlos I ![]() (1975–2014) |
[10] [11] |
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Jordi Pujol (born 1930) |
29 April 1980 |
13 June 1984 |
23 years and 233 days | CDC | Pujol I | CDC • UDC (minority government supp. by CC–UCD and ERC) |
1980 | [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] |
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13 June 1984 |
1 July 1988 |
Pujol II | CDC • UDC • ERC until Feb 1987 |
1984 | |||||||
1 July 1988 |
13 April 1992 |
Pujol III | 1988 | ||||||||
13 April 1992 |
21 December 1995 |
Pujol IV | 1992 | ||||||||
21 December 1995 |
24 November 1999 |
Pujol V | CDC • UDC (minority government supp. by PP 1999–2003) |
1995 | |||||||
24 November 1999 |
18 December 2003 |
Pujol VI | 1999 | ||||||||
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Pasqual Maragall (born 1941) |
18 December 2003 |
28 November 2006 |
2 years and 345 days | PSC | Maragall | Tripartite PSC • ERC • ICV |
2003 | [19] [20] |
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PSC • ICV (minority government) |
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José Montilla (born 1955) |
28 November 2006 |
27 December 2010 |
4 years and 29 days | PSC | Montilla | Tripartite PSC • ERC • ICV |
2006 | [21] [22] |
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Artur Mas (born 1956) |
27 December 2010 |
24 December 2012 |
5 years and 16 days | CDC | Mas I | CDC • UDC (minority government supp. by ERC 2012–2015) |
2010 | [23] [24] [25] |
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24 December 2012 |
12 January 2016 |
Mas II | 2012 | ||||||||
King Felipe VI ![]() (2014–present) |
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CDC (minority government supp. by ERC and DC) |
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Carles Puigdemont (born 1962) |
12 January 2016 |
28 October 2017 (removed) |
1 year and 289 days | CDC | Puigdemont | Junts pel Sí CDC/PDeCAT • ERC (minority government supp. by CUP) |
2015 | [26] [27] |
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PDeCAT | |||||||||||
During this interval, the office was suspended. | Direct rule over Catalonia | N/A | [27] | ||||||||
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Quim Torra (born 1962) |
16 May 2018 |
28 September 2020 (disqualified) |
2 years and 135 days | Independent | Torra | JxCat/Junts • ERC • PDeCAT until Sep 2020 (minority government) |
2017 | [28] [29] |
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During this interval, Vice President Pere Aragonès served as acting officeholder. |
Timeline

Controversies
Some historians, like Jaume Guillamet, from Pompeu Fabra University, or José Luis Corral, from Zaragoza University, do not consider the medieval Generalitat to be comparable with the contemporary Generalitat. According to them, the Contemporary Generalitat was created within the framework of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939), and the current Generalitat is the result of the exercise of self-government of Catalonia within the framework of Spanish democracy. From their perspective, there would only be 10 presidents of the Generalitat: Macià, Companys, Irla, Tarradellas, Pujol, Maragall, Montilla, Mas, Puigdemont and Torra.[30]
In 2015, one Historian wrote an opinion article defending a list of 16 presidents until Artur Mas. What would give a total of 18 presidents counting up to the current president Torra.[31]
In 2018, the association "Historiadors de Catalunya", a Spanish nationalist group, also proposed a list of 10 presidents, but substituting Josep Irla for Francisco Jiménez Arenas: Macià, Companys, Francisco Jiménez Arenas, Tarradellas, Pujol, Maragall, Montilla, Mas, Puigdemont and Torra.[32]
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