Jump to content

Fátima Báñez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fátima Báñez
Image
Bañez in 2012
Minister of Employment and Social Security of Spain
In office
22 December 2011 – 1 June 2018
Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy
Preceded byValeriano Gómez
Succeeded byMagdalena Valerio
Acting Ministry of Health, Social Services, and Equality of Spain
In office
16 August 2016 – 4 November 2016
Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy
Preceded byAlfonso Alonso
Succeeded byDolors Montserrat
Minister of Welfare, Work and Family of Catalonia
In office
27 October 2017 – 2 June 2018
Preceded byDolors Bassa
Succeeded byChakir El Homrani
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office
12 March 2000 – 21 May 2019
ConstituencyHuelva
Personal details
BornMaría Fátima Báñez García
(1967-01-06)6 January 1967
San Juan del Puerto, Andalusia, Spain
Died28 October 2026(2026-10-28) (aged 59)
Los Yébenes, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Cause of deathTrain collision
PartyPP
EducationComillas Pontifical University
Harvard Business School

María Fátima Báñez García (6 January 1967 – 28 October 2026) was a Spanish politician, economist and jurist. A member of the People's Party, she was Minister of Employment and Social Security from 2011 until 2018. She was the first woman in the office.

During her time as Minister for Employment and Social Security, Báñez spearheaded the 2012 labour reform, which led to protests and general strikes; and a reform of the pension system in 2013. She was also member of the Congress of Deputies between 2000 and 2019, and acting Minister of Health in 2016. Báñez died in the 2026 Toledo train collision.

Early life and education

[edit]

Báñez was born on 6 January 1967 in San Juan del Puerto, in the Andalusian province of Huelva as the elder daughter of a construction businessman and an educator.[1][2][3] At the age of 11 she won a poetry prize and the prize was presented to her by the poet Gloria Fuertes.[2]

She graduated with a degree in law and economics and business studies from the Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid, and subsequently went on to complete a postgraduate degree in business administration at the Harvard Business School.[1][4][3]

Career

[edit]

Báñez began her career as Head of Strategy at a family-run business between 1993 and 1997.[5] She entered politics and joined the People's Party (PP), encouraged by Teófila Martínez and Javier Arenas, in 1995 after returning from the United States. She ran as an unsuccessful candidate in the 1996 general election, but four years later was elected to the Congress of Deputies in the 2000 general election for Huelva.[4][2][6][7] She highlighted her work on the Committee on Economic Affairs and Finance and was part of Mariano Rajoy’s technical team during his time as leader of the opposition.[1] She was also responsible for negotiations on the national budget.[6] During the 2008–2011 legislature, Báñez served as deputy spokesperson for the People's Party in the Congress of Deputies with Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.[2] As deptuy, she was re-elected in the elections of 2004 and 2008.[5]

Within the PP, she was a member of the party’s national executive committee and held leadership positions within the People's Party of Andalusia.[2] She also served as a councillor of the Andalusia Radio and Television.[2][7]

Minister of Employment and Social Security (2011–2019)

[edit]
Image
Báñez with U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez in Washington, D.C., 4 June 2015

After the 2011 general election, on 21 December 2011 it was announced that newly elected prime minister Mariano Rajoy appointed her Minister of Employment and Social Security, replacing Valeriano Gómez.[8][2] She was sworn in on 22 December 2011 as the first woman to held this office.[9][5] As minister, Báñez had to grapple with a high unemployment rate, which according to the Spanish Center for Sociological Research at that time, was a serious problem in the country. The the unemployment rate was 22.85%, double the average EU rate, with the youth unemployment rate was closer to 50%. In addition, 1.2 million jobs had been lost since the fourth quarter of 2007 and the percentage of the work force regarded as temporary workers was at 25%, one of the highest in the EU.[10]

Image
Báñez (third from left) in a cabinet meeting, 9 March 2018

On 10 February 2012, she launched the first labour reform of the People's Party government.[1] This measure gained the support of the European Commission,[11] the Bank of Spain[12] and the OCDE,[13] but it could not get the approval of the trade unions. Although Báñez was open to dialogue, she confirmed that the basic lines of the reform would remain unchanged.[14] The most criticised point was that of making dismissal less costly, because the compensation for unfair dismissal for indefinite duration contracts was reduced from 45 to 33 days per year worked, while the compensation in the case of objective dismissals, was set at 20 days per year worked.[15] Redundancy compensation for workers in Spain was traditionally the highest in Europe.[16] The mobilizations against labor reform culminated on 29 March 2012, with the first general strike during the whole period of the governance of Mariano Rajoy.[17]

On 24 January 2013, thirteen months into her post of Minister of Employment and Social Security, the unemployment rate in Spain was 26.02%, higher than when she originally entered office[18] Her reforms were later credited with helping reduce unemployment, which stood at 18.9% in 2016, although still the second-highest rate in the European Union after Greece at the time.[19]

In September 2013, Báñez announced pension reforms aimed primarily at decoupling pension increases from the CPI from 2014 onwards.[20] In 2016, she served as acting Minister of Health, replacing Alfonso Alonso who had resigned.[1]

Báñez was re-appointed after the 2016 general election in November 2016.[21][22] She was sworn in on 4 November 2016.[23] During the imposition of direct rule resulting from the Catalan Parliament’s unilateral declaration of independence on 27 October 2017, Báñez took charge of the Catalan Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Families, and assumed direct control of the Catalan Public Employment Service, the Directorate-General for Labour Inspection and the Labour Relations Council.[24] In December 2017, she agreed with the trade unions and employers’ organisations to raise the minimum wage from €707 to €850.[25]

When a vote of no-confidence against Mariano Rajoy ousted his government, Báñez's term ended on 1 June 2018 and Magdalena Valerio succeeded her as minister on 7 June 2018.[1][26][27]

Later years

[edit]
Image
Báñez at the Meridiana Awards ceremony, 25 March 2025

Following the PP primaries, which were won by Pablo Casado, Báñez announced that she was leaving politics in March 2019 to pursue a career in the private sector and that she would not be standing as a candidate in that year's elections.[1][28] In December 2019, she became chair of the Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales Foundation and external councillor of the pharmaceutical company Laboratorios Rovi, a position to which she was re-elected in 2024.[1][7]

After 2025, she was member of Iberdrola Energía Internacional, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, and was also a member of the board of directors of the meat processing company Incarlopsa.[29][5] The day before her death, Báñez took part in the conference organised by the Federation of Metal and Related Industries of Asturias in Gijón.[30]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Báñez was married to banking executive Jaime Alonso and had two sons; she kept her family life out of the public eye.[1][2][31] She was a fan of bullfighting, badminton and poetry, admirer of the singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina, and devout follower of the Virgin of El Rocío.[2][3]

On 28 October 2026, Báñez was reported missing in a high-speed train collision in Urda, Toledo, Spain, while traveling from Madrid to Seville on behalf of the CEOE Foundation for an event with business leaders. She was seated in the rear car of the Iryo train, which ultimately bore the brunt of the impact.[1][32] Her death was confirmed by her party the following day.[33][34] The funeral took place at the parish church of San Juan Bautista in San Juan del Puerto on 30 October 2026.[35]

Honors

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Garzón, Mónica (28 October 202). "Muere Fátima Báñez a los 59 años, víctima del accidente de tren en Toledo" [Fátima Báñez dies aged 59, a victim of the train accident in Toledo]. ¡Hola! (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Peña, César (21 December 2011). "Fátima Báñez, ministra de Empleo y Seguridad Social: la mano derecha de Soraya en el Congreso" [Fátima Báñez, Minister for Employment and Social Security: Soraya’s right-hand woman in Parliament]. RTVE (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Benito, Marian (28 October 2026). "Fátima Báñez: madre de dos hijos, amante de la poesía y admiradora de Sabina" [Fátima Báñez: mother of two, lover of poetry and admirer of Sabina]. La Razón (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 Rodríguez Silva, José M.; Segovia, Carlos (28 October 2026). "Fátima Báñez, ex ministra de Trabajo con Mariano Rajoy, entre los desaparecidos en el accidente" [Fátima Báñez, former Minister of Labour under Mariano Rajoy, is among those missing following the accident]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 López Marín, Alberto (29 October 2026). "Confirmada la muerte de Fátima Báñez a los 59 años, primera ministra de Trabajo y artífice de la reforma laboral de 2012: viajaba en uno de los trenes del accidente de Toledo" [The death of Fátima Báñez, aged 59, former Minister of Labour and architect of the 2012 labour reform, has been confirmed: she was travelling on one of the trains involved in the Toledo accident]. Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  6. 1 2 Esteban, Javier (29 October 2026). "Fátima Báñez, la ministra reformista de Rajoy que cambió el mercado laboral para siempre" [Fátima Báñez, Rajoy’s reform-minded minister who changed the labour market forever]. El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 Vega, Antonio R. (28 October 2026). "Fátima Báñez, la discreta exministra de Rajoy fallecida en el accidente de trenes de Urda que encaró el desafío del desempleo en plena recesión" [Fátima Báñez, Rajoy’s low-key former minister who died in the Urda train crash and who tackled the challenge of unemployment in the midst of a recession]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "BOLETÍN OFICIAL DEL ESTADO Núm. 307 Jueves 22 de diciembre de 2011" (PDF). ABC. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Fátima Báñez toma posesión como Ministra de Empleo y Seguridad Social" [Fátima Báñez takes office as Minister for Employment and Social Security]. RTVE (in Spanish). 22 December 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Datos de la Encuesta de Población Activa del cuarto trimestre de 2004". Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "La Comisión Europea celebra la reforma laboral". Cinco días. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "El Banco de España aprueba la reforma laboral y pide flexibilidad para que no suba el paro en 2012". RTVE. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  13. ↑ "La OCDE aplaude la reforma laboral porque agilizará los ajustes de plantilla". El Mundo. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  14. ↑ ("Fátima Báñez dice que el Gobierno no cambiará el grueso de la reforma laboral". ABC. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  15. ↑ Gómez, Manuel V. (11 February 2012). "La reforma facilita y abarata el despido". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  16. ↑ Branine, Mohamed (2011). Managing Across Cultures: Concepts, Policies and Practices. SAGE. p. 375. ISBN 9781446210314. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Siete huelgas en democracia han protestado en las calles contra las medidas laborales y el paro". 20minutos (in Spanish). 9 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  18. ↑ "El paro roza los 6000000". El Mundo. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  19. ↑ Spain’s Rajoy appoints EU-friendly Cabinet EurActiv, November 4, 2016.
  20. ↑ Manjón, Pedro L. (2 September 2013). "El Gobierno propone que las pensiones suban mínimo un 0,25% y máximo, el IPC más un 0,25%" [The Government is proposing that pensions rise by a minimum of 0.25 per cent and a maximum of the CPI plus 0.25 per cent]. RTVE (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  21. ↑ "Fátima Báñez, la cara de las políticas de empleo" [Fátima Báñez, the face of employment policy]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 3 November 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  22. ↑ "Fátima Báñez repite como ministra de Empleo y Seguridad Social" [Fátima Báñez has been reappointed as Minister for Employment and Social Security]. La Sexta (in Spanish). 3 November 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  23. ↑ "Los trece ministros del nuevo Gobierno de Rajoy toman posesión de sus cargos" [The thirteen ministers of Rajoy’s new government take up their posts]. Cadena SER (in Spanish). 4 November 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Ramírez, Lorenzo (28 October 2017). "Los ministros Montoro, Guindos y Báñez toman el control de la política económica catalana" [Ministers Montoro, Guindos and Báñez take control of Catalan economic policy]. Okdiario (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  25. ↑ Gómez, Manuel V. (20 December 2017). "El salario mínimo subirá de 707 euros a 850 euros en tres años" [The minimum wage will rise from 707 euros to 850 euros over three years]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  26. ↑ "Real Decreto 352/2018, de 1 de junio, por el que se declara el cese de los miembros del Gobierno" [Royal Decree 352/2018 of 1 June, declaring the resignation of the members of the Government.] (PDF) (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Estado. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  27. ↑ "TRASPASO DE CARTERAS ENTRE LOS MINISTROS DE LOS GOBIERNOS DE RAJOY Y SÁNCHEZ" [HANDOVER OF PORTFOLIOS BETWEEN MINISTERS IN THE RAJOY AND SÁNCHEZ GOVERNMENTS]. RTVE (in Spanish). 7 June 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  28. ↑ "La exministra Fátima Báñez deja la política y se incorporará a la empresa privada" [Former minister Fátima Báñez is leaving politics and will join the private sector]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  29. ↑ Peña, Juan Cruz (24 February 2025). "Iberdrola recoloca a la exministra Fátima Báñez en su filial Internacional". Cinco Días (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  30. ↑ Esteban, Olga (29 October 2026). "Encantada con la lluvia y agradecida a los empresarios asturianos: así fue el último acto público de Fátima Báñez" [Delighted by the rain and grateful to Asturian business leaders: this is how Fátima Báñez’s latest public appearance went]. El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  31. ↑ Téllez de Meneses, Bea (30 October 2026). "Así era Fátima Báñez, exministra del PP, fallecida en el accidente de tren en Toledo: su marido Jaime Alonso, sus dos hijos y trayectoria". Voz Populi. Retrieved 3 November 2026.
  32. ↑ "Aumenta la inquietud por Fátima Báñez, que sigue sin ser localizada tras el accidente de trenes de Toledo" [Concerns are mounting over Fátima Báñez, who has still not been found following the train crash in Toledo]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 29 October 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  33. ↑ Pascual Cortés, Raquel (29 October 2026). "Muere la exministra Fátima Báñez, que viajaba en uno de los trenes siniestrados en Urda" [Ex-minister Fátima Báñez, who was travelling on one of the damaged trains in Urda, dies]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 October 2026.
  34. ↑ Hernández-Morales, Aitor (29 October 2026). "Former Spanish employment minister died in train crash". Politico. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  35. ↑ Saiz, Eva (30 October 2026). "Dolor y emoción en la despedida de familiares, vecinos y dirigentes del PP a Fátima Báñez en San Juan del Puerto" [Pain and emotion as family, neighbours and PP leaders bid farewell to Fátima Báñez in San Juan del Puerto]. El Pais (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  36. ↑ "Real Decreto 1037/2018, de 3 de agosto, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III a doña María Fátima Báñez García" [Royal Decree 1037/2018, of 3 August, conferring the Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III upon Ms María Fátima Báñez García.] (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Estado. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fátima_Báñez&oldid=1383656160"