Lluís Gratallops
Lluís Gratallops | |
|---|---|
 Gratallops in 2002. | |
| Prime Minister of the Rodaves | |
| In office 9 May 1998 – 2 September 2005 | |
| Monarch | Caterina Sofia |
| Deputy | Josuè Botxí Marc Flors Julià Tremp |
| Preceded by | Esteve Narcís Cercs |
| Succeeded by | Domènec Duesaigües |
| In office 12 April 2009 – 4 February 2011 | |
| Monarch | Lluís Josep IV |
| Preceded by | Domènec Duesaigües |
| Succeeded by | Pere Martí |
| President of Vinga Rodagues | |
| In office 16 October 1997 – 20 June 2013 | |
| Succeeded by | Eduard Bell-lloc |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 2 September 2005 – 12 April 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Domènec Duesaigües |
| Succeeded by | Raül Cardedeu |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 16 October 1997 – 20 June 2013 | |
| Constituency | Les Franqueses del Vallès |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lluís Antoni Gratallops i Agricola 20 February 1951 L'Aldea, Rodaves |
| Political party | New Conservative Party (2014-Present) |
| Other political affiliations | Vinga Rodaves (1997–2014) |
| Spouses |
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| Domestic partners |
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| Children | At least 6 |
| Parents |
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| Residence(s) | L'Aldea, Rodaves |
| Education | University of L'Aldea |
| Awards | List of honours and decorations |
| Net worth |  UD$8.0 billion (as of 30 April 2021[update]) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | www.vingagratallops.ro |
Lluís Antoni Gratallops i Agricola, ORLJ (born 20 February 1951) is a Rodavese media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of the Rodaves from 1998 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2011. Gratallops was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1998 to 2013 for Les Franqueses del Vallès, covering many suburbs of L'Aldea. He is the most recent Prime Minister of the Rodaves not to be a member of the National Workers' Union (UNO).
Gratallops is the controlling shareholder of Mitivest and owned the Rodavese football club A.F. Valls from 1996 to 2017. He has been consistently ranked as one of the richest men in the world with a net worth of UD$8.0 billion. He has also been ranked throughout the 2000s as one of the most powerful men in the world for his domination of Rodavese politics as the president of Vinga Rodagues for fifteen years.
Gratallops served as Prime Minister for over nine years in total, making him the longest serving Prime Minister in the modern era of Rodavese politics. He was also the youngest Prime Minister ever elected at the time of the 1998 election. Gratallops was the leader of the right wing Vinga Rodagues from 1997 to 2013. Since 2017, he has been a devout supporter for the New Conservative Party, the successor to his Vinga Rodagues party, hosting several campaign rallies for the party.
On 12 December 2013, he was convicted of tax fraud by the High Court of Justice of the Rodaves, confirming his four-year prison sentence along with a public office ban for two years. Because he had been sentenced to a gross imprisonment for more than two years, a new Rodavese anti-corruption law led to the Generalitat expelling and barring him from serving in any legislative office for five years.
Gratallops is internationally known for his populist political style and brash personality. He still remains a controversial figure who divides public opinion and political analysts. Supporters emphasize his leadership skills and charismatic power, his fiscal policy based on tax reduction, and his ability to maintain strong and close foreign relations with the United Dominions. In general, critics address his performance as a politician, the ethics of his government practices in relation to his business holdings, and unnecessary interference in wars overseas. He has been accused of having mismanaged the state budget and of increasing the Rodavese government debt. He has also been heavily criticized for vigorous pursuit of his personal interests while in office, including benefitting from his own companies' growth due to policies promoted by his governments, and being blackmailed as leader because of his turbulent private life.
Early Life
Born and raised in L'Aldea on the coast of Montagut in an upper middle-class family. His father, Ferran Lluís Gratallops i Subirats (1923-2004), worked in the Rodavese railroad industry, and his mother Mariona "Ona" Agricola i Pinell (1926-2020), served as a housewife. Lluís was the first of three children, he has a sister, Maria Francesca Gratallops i Agricola (born 1958) and a brother, Lluc Gratallops (born 1964). He studied at the Escola Santa Llúcia, located in inner L'Aldea. He later moved from the Escola Santa Llúcia to the Institut Antoni d'Oristà, a public high school.
After completing his secondary school education, he studied economics at the University of L'Aldea, graduating with honours in 1976. During his university studies, he played guitar and sang in a rock band called "Rumors lletjos" ("Ugly Rumours"), and performed some stand-up comedy.
In 1975, he married Carla Ossó de Sió after meeting her at university, and they had two children: Maria (born 1981), and Pere Lluís (born 1984).
Business Career
He became involved in the media industry setting up a small cable television company. After expanding and creating the media group Mitivest, which expanded into a country-wide network of local TV stations.