Capella, Simó, Mascort: Who are new ministers in Catalan government?

The Catalan government will see a reshuffle in the climate action, territory, and education ministries after the announcement that the climate action minister, Teresa Jordà, is to run in the Spanish general election.

The changes will see two former cabinet members, Ester Capella and Anna Simó, return to the Catalan government and the second-in-command in the climate action ministry, David Mascort, become the new head of the department.

Ester Capella - Territory

Born in the northern town of La Seu d'Urgell in 1963, Ester Capella will now be the new territory minister, replacing Juli Fernandez. The incoming minister will have to tackle the ongoing problems with Rodalies commuter trains, the future of Barcelona airport, and the new highway outside the Catalan capital, the B-40.

Capella was justice minister between 2018 and 2021 during which time she pushed for an urban rent law to regulate prices.

Until now, she was the delegate of the Catalan government in Madrid. Capella studied law and has served as an MP of the pro-independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC) party both in the Catalan parliament and the Spanish Congress, the latter between 2015 and 2018.

Anna Simó - Education

Anna Simó will return to the Catalan government after 18 years. Between 2003 and 2006, she served as the well-being and family minister.

Since then, Simó has been an MP for ERC and the party's parliamentary spokesperson. Between 2012 and 2015, she was the parliament's deputy speaker and the first secretary of the parliament bureau until 2017.

Catalonia's High Court sentenced her recently to four months disqualification for disobedience as a member of the bureau during the 2017 independence referendum. The trial had to be repeated after she was first barred from holding public office for 20 months, but those convicted appealed the ruling alleging a lack of impartiality, a point that the Spanish Supreme Court agreed with.

One of the major challenges Simó will have as the new education minister is dealing with the ongoing confrontations with the teachers' and students' unions as they call to recover some of their rights lost during the 2008 financial crisis. Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray was the minister since the start of the mandate after the 2021 Catalan election.

David Mascort - Climate action

Born in Barcelona in 1969, David Mascort will be the new Minister of Climate Action, Food and the Rural Agenda in Aragonès' government. 

He is stepping up from serving as second-in-command under the outgoing minister Teresa Jordà.

Mascort is head of the regional federation of ERC in the northern city of Girona and was mayor of Vilablareix, just south of Girona, between 2011 and 2022.

He also served as vice-president of Girona County Council between 2003 and 2007 and was a member of the provincial assembly from 2013 to 2015.

He holds a degree in economic and business sciences.

One of the main challenges Mascort will face is the ongoing drought in Catalonia. Recently, the ministry approved grants for livestock farmers to compensate for the situation.

He will also have to manage Catalonia's public energy company L'Energética, which hopes to generate around 10% of the energy consumed by government departments through wind farms and solar panels.