Òscar Ribas Reig (Catalan: [ˈɔskəɾ ˈriβəz ˈret͡ʃ]; 26 October 1936 – 18 December 2020) was an Andorran politician, lawyer, and businessman who became the prime minister of Andorra in 1982.[2] He twice served as head of government, first from 8 January 1982 to 21 May 1984 and again from 12 January 1990 to 7 December 1994.
Òscar Ribas Reig | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait | |
| Prime Minister of Andorra | |
| In office 12 January 1990 – 7 December 1994 | |
| Monarchs | Episcopal Co-prince: Joan Martí i Alanis French Co-prince: François Mitterrand |
| Preceded by | Josep Pintat-Solans |
| Succeeded by | Marc Forné Molné |
| In office 8 January 1982 – 21 May 1984 | |
| Monarchs | Episcopal Co-prince: Joan Martí i Alanis French Co-prince: François Mitterrand |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Josep Pintat-Solans |
| General Councillor | |
| In office 1972–1979 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 October 1936 Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra |
| Died | 18 December 2020 (aged 84) Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra |
| Political party | National Democratic Group |
| Spouse | Roser Duró Ribó[1] |
| Children | 5[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Barcelona University of Fribourg |
| Signature |  |
Early life and education
editÒscar Ribas Reig was born in Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra,[1] on 26 October 1936 to an Andorran father and a Catalan mother.[3] He moved to Spain as a child, living in Barcelona where he attended La Salle Bonanova School and then graduated in law from the University of Barcelona in 1959. In 1961, he completed a master's degree in political philosophy from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.[4] He was married to Roser Duró Ribó and had five children.[1]
Political career
editEarly political years
editRibas Reig's earliest political service was as Secretary to the City Council of his native Sant Julià de Lòria between 1963 and 1965.[5] Following the 1971 parliamentary elections, he was elected a member of the General Council (then named the "General Council of the Valleys") as an independent, because it was not until 1993 that political parties were legalized and political parliamentary groups were formed in Andorra. He remained a member until 1979, when he declined to compete in that year's parliamentary elections.[6][7] During that period, he held the Finance portfolio which, as there was then no institutionalized separation of powers, was a position comparable to that of Minister of Finance.[1]
First term as prime minister: 1982–1984
editDuring Andorra's institutional reform process, Ribas Reig was considered to be a possible new head of government, especially after the 1981 parliamentary election in which he was re-elected for the Sant Julià de Lòria parish.[8][9][10] When the position of prime minister was created, he was the first to be elected to the office by the General Council on 8 January 1982, while he was in Latin America.[11][12] On 14 January, he presented to the General Council the first Executive Cabinet and the government program.[13]
On 1 May 1984, he resigned due to lack of parliamentary support and the difficulties of trying to implement a new tax law.[14] He was succeeded by Josep Pintat-Solans on 25 May.[15]
Later terms as prime minister: 1990–1994
editRibas Reig was again elected head of government after the 1989 parliamentary election on 12 January 1990.[16] In 1990, he signed a Customs Agreement with the European Economic Community.[17][18] In 1992, Ribas Reig resigned after his efforts to introduce a new constitution securing civil human rights were blocked by conservatives.[19]
After the 1992 parliamentary election, on 5 May he was invested for a third time.[20] His third term was highlighted by the ratification of the first Andorran Constitution by referendum on 14 March 1993, under which the principality formally abandoned the previous feudal system.[21]
Ribas Reig founded the center-right political coalition National Democratic Group (Agrupament Democràtic Nacional),[22] with which he ran for the 1993 parliamentary election, the first after the legalization of political parties. His candidacy won but failed to achieve an absolute majority.[23] He was re-inaugurated on 19 January 1994, after reaching an agreement with the New Democracy and Democratic National Initiative parties.[24] In 1994, Andorra became a member of the United Nations, and Ribas Reig gave the admission speech at the United Nations General Assembly on 28 July 1993,[25] which was the first delivered before the international parliamentary body in Catalan.[26][2]
On 25 November 1994, after losing the vote of confidence which he presented due to the crisis in the government coalition, Ribas Reig submitted his resignation from the position as head of government taking effect on 8 December 1994; the liberal opposition leader Marc Forné was named to succeed him.[27][28]
Later life
edit
After his political career, Ribas Reig returned to work at his family business group, where he was the president of the Banca Reig and vice president of the Agricultural Bank of Andorra, now Andbank.[29] He was also the honorary president of Andbank from 2002 on.[30]
On 30 June 2005, Ribas Reig entered the Spanish Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences in Barcelona, and remained an academician until his death in 2020.[31] On 8 July 2009, the Andorran government named him special ambassador with the mission of developing relations with Europe, an office he held until 2015.[32][33] In December 2020, Ribas Reig published his memoirs.[34]
Ribas Reig died on 18 December 2020 at the age of 84 in his hometown.[35] On 19 December, the government decreed a national day of mourning.[36] His funeral was held on 20 December in Sant Julià de Lòria's church and presided over by Co-Prince Joan Enric Vives.[37]
Honorary distinctions
edit- Honoris causa University of the Balearic Islands (1996).[38]
Commandeur of the Legion of Honour (2010).[39]
Medal of the Group of Ex-Syndics and Former General Councilors (GESCO) (2018).[40]- Honoris causa University of Georgia.[41]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Curriculum Vitae de Òscar Ribas Reig" (PDF). Real Academia de Ciencias Económicas y Financieras (in Spanish).
- ^ a b Andorra entry on Hutchinson Encyclopedia
- ^ "Mor Òscar Ribas Reig, el primer cap de Govern". Cadena Ser (in Catalan). 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Commoció per la mort d'Òscar Ribas, home d'idees i actor cívic". Altaveu (in Catalan). 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Arxiu Fundació Julià Reig". Fundació Julià Reig (in Catalan).
- ^ "Òscar Ribas i Reig". University of the Balearic Islands (in Catalan).
- ^ "Es necesaria una reforma del sistema electoral". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 11 December 1979. p. 37.
- ^ "Primer jefe de Gobierno en Andorra". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 9 January 1982.
- ^ "El informe Duverger se acomoda a la corriente "oficialista" francesa". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 19 August 1981.
- ^ "Conjeturas sobre el nuevo Gobierno". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 24 December 1981.
- ^ "Andorra tria el primer cap de govern de la seva història". El Nacional (in Catalan). 8 January 2018.
- ^ "Esperant que Antoni Martí faci el pas". El Periòdic d'Andorra (in Catalan). 17 February 2011.
- ^ "Andorra: Presentación del nuevo ejecutivo al Consell". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 14 January 1982.
- ^ "Los impuestos provocan la caída del Gobierno andorrano". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 1 May 1984.
- ^ "Andorra: sorprende la amplia mayoría obtenida por el nuevo jefe de gobierno". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 25 May 1984.
- ^ "Óscar Ribas, elegido nuevo jefe del Gobierno de Andorra". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 13 January 1990.
- ^ "Andorra: Customs Unions and preferential arrangements". European Commission. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ "Andorra i l'acord d'associació amb la UE". El Periòdic d'Andorra (in Catalan). 5 September 2017.
- ^ Secrets of the seven smallest states of Europe, By Thomas M. Eccardt, p. 82. (via Google Books)
- ^ "Jefe de Gobierno de Andorra". El País (in Spanish). 4 May 1992.
- ^ "Andorra: adiós al poder absoluto". El País (in Spanish). 15 December 1993.
- ^ "Fallece Òscar Ribas, ex jefe de gobierno Andorra que habló en catalán en ONU". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Ribas, dispuesto a presidir un Gobierno de concentración en Andorra". El País (in Spanish). 13 December 1993.
- ^ "Oscar Ribas, nuevo jefe de Gobierno andorrano". ABC (in Spanish). 20 January 1994.
- ^ "General Assembly Admits Andorra as 184th Member State of the United Nations". United Nations.
- ^ "Mor Òscar Ribas, l'excap de govern d'Andorra que va pronunciar el primer discurs en català a l'ONU". Nació Digital (in Catalan). 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Dimite el Gobierno andorrano al perder la cuestión confianza". 26 November 1994.
- ^ "Marc Forné, nuevo jefe de Gobierno de Andorra". El País (in Spanish). 8 December 1994.
- ^ "Mor l'excap de Govern Òscar Ribas". Diari d'Andorra (in Catalan). 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Muere el presidente honorario de Andbank, Òscar Ribas". Cronica Global. 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Excmo. Sr. D. Òscar Ribas Reig". Real Academia de Ciencias Económicas y Financieras (in Spanish).
- ^ "Decret del 8-07-2009 pel qual es nomena el Sr. Òscar Ribas Reig pel càrrec d'ambaixador especial amb la missió de desenvolupar les relacions amb Europa". 8 July 2009.
- ^ "Decret del 17-12-2015 pel qual es fa públic el cessament del Sr. Òscar Ribas Reig com a ambaixador especial amb la missió de desenvolupar les relacions amb Europa". 17 December 2015.
- ^ "Mor el primer cap de Govern, Òscar Ribas Reig, als 84 anys". El Periòdic d'Andorra (in Catalan). 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Mor el primer cap de Govern Òscar Ribas Reig". Altaveu (in Catalan). 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Decret del 19-12-2020 pel qual es declara dol nacional al Principat d'Andorra amb motiu de la mort de qui fou cap de Govern, Sr. Òscar Ribas Reig". 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Familiars i les principals autoritats donen el darrer adeu a Òscar Ribas". 20 December 2020.
- ^ "Homenatge del Grup d'Ex-Síndics i Ex-Consellers Generals (GESCO) a Òscar Ribas Reig". Consell General (in Catalan). 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Oscar Ribas Reig is the former President Andorra, club madrid member". World Leadership Alliance - Club de Madrid (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Homenatge del Grup d'Ex-Síndics i Ex-Consellers Generals (GESCO) a Òscar Ribas Reig". Consell General (in Catalan). 18 December 2020.
- ^ "The University of Georgia. Honors". 18 December 2020.