Antonio José Cosculluela Bergua (born 9 March 1953)[1] is a Spanish former politician. As a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he was the mayor of Barbastro (1999–2019) and president of the Provincial Deputation of Huesca (1999–2015). He was a deputy in the Cortes of Aragon from 2015 to 2019, and the president of the legislature (speaker) from 2015 to 2016. He retired after spending 2019 to 2023 in the Senate of Spain.
Biography
editEarly life and career
editBorn in Barbastro in the Province of Huesca, Cosculluela is married and has three children.[1] A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he was elected to his hometown's council in the first democratic elections in 1979, and twenty years later he became the mayor and also the president of the Provincial Deputation of Huesca.[1]
In April 2012, Cosculluela was elected secretary general of the PSOE in the Province of Huesca, with 94% of the vote at their congress.[2] That year, he held nine public offices simultaneously. According to the law, he received only the €64,607 salary from the provincial deputation presidency, and he turned down tax-exempt allowances that he was entitled to receive for attending plenary sessions in Barbastro.[3]
President of the Cortes of Aragon
editCosculluela was the PSOE's lead candidate in the Huesca constituency in the 2015 Aragonese regional election.[4] He was the only candidate for president (speaker) of the Cortes of Aragon and was elected with the 35 votes of his party, Podemos, Chunta Aragonesista and the United Left, while the 32 of the People's Party (PP), Aragonese Party (PAR) and Citizens abstained.[5] He remained mayor of Barbastro but resigned as president of the provincial deputation to be succeeded by Miguel Gracia of the same party.[6] In July 2016, he announced his resignation as president of the Cortes to focus on his office as mayor, though summer recess meant that the change would not go into effect until September.[7]
Senate of Spain and retirement
editThe 2019 local elections ended Coculluela's mayoralty after 20 years, as Fernando Torres Chavarría, an independent on the PP list, was elected.[8] Cosculluela resigned from the town council in May 2021,[9] and that September he announced that he would not run for re-election as secretary general of the provincial PSOE.[10]
In the April 2019 Spanish general election, Cosculluela was elected to the Senate by the Huesca constituency, as his party took three of the four seats;[11] the result was repeated in the November 2019 election.[12] He announced that he would not run in the 2023 Spanish general election, and would retire from politics. He said that he would return to his agricultural interests in cereals and olives, and spend more time reading and travelling, with two of his children living abroad.[13]
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Antonio Cosculluela, presidente de las Cortes de Aragón" [Antonio Cosculluela, president of the Cortes of Aragon] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ "Antonio Cosculluela, nuevo secretario de la Federación Altoaragonesa del PSOE" [Cosculluela, new secretary general of the Upper Aragonese Federation of the PSOE]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Europa Press. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ Gracia, Ana I. (30 July 2012). "Presidente de la Diputación de Huesca… y ocho cargos más" [President of the Deputation of Huesca… and eight more offices]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ "La lista del PSOE a las Cortes de Aragón, "atravesada" por candidatos a las alcaldías" [PSOE list for the Cortes of Aragon, "crossed" by candidates for mayor]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 21 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ "Antonio Cosculluela, presidente del Parlamento [sic] aragonés con el apoyo de los grupos de izquierda" [Antonio Cosculluela, president of the Aragonese Parliament with the support of the left-wing groups]. Expansión (in Spanish). Europa Press. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ "Miguel Gracia (PSOE), presidente de la DPH con el apoyo de Cambiar Huesca y PAR" [Miguel Gracia (PSOE), president of the Provincial Deputation of Huesca with the support of Cambiar Huesca and PAR]. Expansión (in Spanish). Europa Press. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ Villanueva, M. J. (9 July 2016). "Cosculluela renuncia a presidir las Cortes: "Elijo a mis vecinos"" [Cosculluela resigns as president of the Cortes: "I choose my neighbours"]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ Pano, José Luis (15 June 2019). "Fernando Torres, un corredor maratoniano al frente del Ayuntamiento de Barbastro" [Fernando Torres, a marathon runner in charge of Barbastro Town Council]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ "El exalcalde de Barbastro Antonio Cosculluela deja la política municipal" [Former mayor of Barbastro Antonio Cosculluela leaves municipal politics]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 25 May 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ Villanueva, María José (10 September 2021). "Cosculluela deja la secretaría general del PSOE de Huesca después de una década" [Cosculluela leaves secretary general post of Huesca PSOE after a decade]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ "¿Quiénes serán los senadores tras las generales del 28A?" [Who will be the senators after the general election on 28 April?]. El Independiente (in Spanish). 29 April 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ "10N - Resultados Senado Huesca" [10 November election - Senate Results Huesca] (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ Carnicero, Laura (2 June 2023). "El adiós de Cosculluela" [Cosculluela's goodbye]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2026.