Carme Forcadell

Carme Forcadell i Lluís
14th Speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 October 2015
Preceded by	Núria de Gispert
President of the Catalan National Assembly
In office 2012–2015
Succeeded by	Jordi Sànchez i Picanyol
Personal details
Born	1956 Xerta, Spain
Political party	Together for the Yes Republican Left of Catalonia
Alma mater	Autonomous University of Barcelona
Occupation	Teacher, writer, politician
Signature

Carme Forcadell i Lluís (born 1956 in Xerta) is a Spanish linguist and politician, known for her Catalan separatist activism.

She was one of the founders of Plataforma per la Llengua, member of the executive board of the Sabadell branch of Òmnium Cultural and president of the Catalan National Assembly from its inception until May 2015.^[1][2]

In 2015 she won a seat in the Catalan parliament as part of the Together for Yes coalition.^[3] Subsequently in October 2015 she was elected President of the Parliament of Catalonia.

Forcadell has a degree in philosophy and communication studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Masters in Catalan Philology from the same university. She worked at the television station TVE Catalunya from 1979 to 1982 and with various other media organitzations. Forcadell has been a civil servant within the Catalan Department of Education since 1985, as the coordinator of linguistic normalization for the Department's Catalan Education Service since 1992, and then from 2004 on as a consultant of intercultural studies, language, and social cohesion in Vallès Occidental. She has published textbooks, books on language and literature, and a dictionary. She has been a contributing writer for various media outlets, writing about language planning, language, and identity. She is a member of the Comissió de la Dignitat (Commission on Dignity, an organization that works to have documents confiscated by the Franco regime returned to their rightful owners) and the Plataforma pel Dret de Decidir (Platform for the Right to Decide), where she is part of the communications committee.

She is a member of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and served as a city councilperson for this political party in Sabadell from 2003 to 2007.^[4]

On April 22, 2012 the members of the Executive Board of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) chose Forcadell as president of the ANC. She was joined by Carles Castellanos as Vicepresident and Jordi Martínez as Secretary. During the summer of 2012, the ANC organized marches for independence all over Catalonia. As president of the ANC, Forcadell was one of the leading voices behind the organization of the 2012 "Catalonia, Next State in Europe" rallies and the Catalan Way in 2013. On May 17, 2014, she was reelected president of the ANC with 97% of the votes.^[5] Forcadell received the 2014 Joan Blanca Prize from the city of Perpignan in recognition of her commitment to the defense of Catalan culture and identity.

On May 16, 2015 Jordi Sànchez i Picanyol succeeded her as President of the ANC, having been chosen by the members of the Executive Board by a wide margin.^[1] The following July it was announced that Forcadell would be a candidate in the Catalan parliamentary elections to be held on September 27, running second behind Raül Romeva on the electoral list of the pro-independence coalition Together for Yes for the province of Barcelona.

References

1. 1 2 "Jordi Sànchez, nou president de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana". CCMA.cat. May 16, 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015. 
2. ↑ Bataller, Marc (April 30, 2012). "L'actitud hostil d'Espanya ens ajudarà a tenir estat". El Punt Avui (in Catalan). Retrieved 15 July 2015. 
3. ↑ "Diputats electes". El Punt Avui (in Catalan). Retrieved 11 October 2015. 
4. ↑ Minder, Raphael (November 7, 2014). "allying Catalans to the Separatist Cause". New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2015. 
5. ↑ Domènech, Xavier. "De les consultes a l´Assemblea Nacional". Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Retrieved 15 July 2015. 

External links

• Carme Forcadell (Catalan)