Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vidal-Quadras and the second or maternal family name is Roca.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca
First Vice-President of
the European Parliament
In office
30 July 2004 – 16 January 2007
PresidentJosep Borrell
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byRodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou
Member of the European Parliament for Spain
In office
13 June 1999 – 1 July 2014
Member of the Senate
In office
29 June 1996 – 28 August 1999
ConstituencyParliament of Catalonia
President of the People's Party of Catalonia
In office
9 January 1991 – 28 September 1996
Preceded byJorge Fernández Díaz
Succeeded byAlberto Fernández Díaz
Member of the Parliament of Catalonia for Barcelona
In office
29 May 1988 – 25 August 1996
Member of the Barcelona City Council
In office
10 June 1987 – 26 May 1991
Personal details
Born
Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca

(1945-05-20) 20 May 1945 (age 78)
Barcelona, Spain
Political partyVox (2014–2015)
Other political
affiliations		People's Alliance (1983–1989)
People's Party (1989–2014)

Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca (born 20 May 1945) is a Spanish former politician and radiation physicist. Born in Barcelona, he served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014 and served as First Vice President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007.

Career

Vidal-Quadras was elected on the People's Party ticket and sat with the European People's Party group. In 2014, he announced that he was leaving the People's Party for a new party, Vox. He was the frontrunner for Vox in the 2014 European election, but the party failed to win a seat. He is a member of the European Friends of Israel, a lobby group aiming to defend Israel's interests within the European Union.[1]

Relationship with Iran

In 2013 EL Pais reported that 35 Iranian dissidents said to be affiliated to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) gave VOX about one million euros. According to Vidal-Quadras, the donations were not made to VOX but to himself.[2]

After 2014, Vidal-Quadras operated pro bono the International Committee in Search of Justice, a Brussels-based lobby supporting the NCRI against the Iranian government.[3][4]

Vidal-Quadras has aligned with People's Mojahedin of Iran, which led the Iranian Foreign Ministry to impose sanctions on him in 2023. The Iran Foreign Ministry accused Vidal-Quadras of "supporting terrorism and terrorist groups" while Maryam Rajavi said that "Prof. Vidal-Quadras has dedicated an important part of his life to fight against [Iran's ruling religious fascism]".[5]

Assassination attempt

On 9 November 2023, Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face in Madrid[6] by a person on a motorbike in Calle de Núñez de Balboa [es] at 1:30 p.m. local time.[5][7] He was taken to hospital and was described as recovering after suffering a fracture on his jawbone that required surgery.[5] The assassination attempt is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack.[8][9] On November 21, Spanish police arrested three people in connection to the shooting.[10] In January 2024, a suspect in the assassination attempt was arrested in Colombia.[11]

Vidal-Quadras has claimed that Iran was behind the assassination attempt.[12] According to Vidal-Quadras, his connection to the Iranian opposition the National Council of Resistance of Iran could be linked the assassination attempt.[13] Vidal-Quadras is one of the first politicians that Tehran has added to their terrorist list.[14] The Iranian opposition attributes the authorship to Religious Fascism that governs the country.[15][16]

In 2019 Vidal-Quadras stated that he considers the Iranian regime a cruel dictatorship which foments terrorism.[17]

Political positions

Alejo Vidal-Quadras defines himself as liberal-conservative. He is opposed to abortion rights[18] and gay marriage.

Personal life

He currently lives off his pensions as a former university professor and a former member of the European Parliament.[3] In addition to serving in the European Parliament, he has occupied several elected positions in Spain: he was a member of the Barcelona City Council (1987–1991), member of the Parliament of Catalonia (1988–1996) and Senator in the Spanish Senate (1996–1999).

Books about politics

  • "Cuestión de fondo" (Editorial Montesinos, 1993)
  • "Amarás a tu tribu" (Editorial Planeta, 1998)
  • "Ahora, cambio de rumbo" (Editorial Planeta, 2012)

References

  1. ^ "Políticos españoles se unen al movimiento más poderoso de Amigos Europeos por Israel". 3 December 2017.
  2. ^ Irujo, José María; Gil, Joaquín (11 November 2023). "La carpeta secreta de Vidal-Quadras con los donantes iraníes de Vox". El País (in Spanish).
  3. ^ a b Suanzes, Pablo R. (23 January 2019). "Alejo Vidal-Quadras, fundador de Vox: "Abascal sabía que el dinero era iraní y le parecía muy bien"". ELMUNDO (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  4. ^ "The Committee". International Committee In Search of Justice. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021. PRESIDENT Alejo Vidal Quadras
  5. ^ a b c "Spanish conservative politician shot in face in Madrid. Gunman escaped on a motorbike, reports say". AP News. 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  6. ^ Fahey, Ryan (2023-11-09). "Politician shot in the face in busy city centre by brazen gunman on motorbike". The Mirror. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  7. ^ "Herido grave en Madrid Alejo Vidal-Quadras, ex presidente del PP de Cataluña y fundador de VOX, tras recibir un disparo en la cara". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  8. ^ "Attempted murder of right wing Spanish politician being investigated as "terrorist" incident". Politico. 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  9. ^ "La Audiencia Nacional investiga el disparo a Vidal-Quadras como un delito de terrorismo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  10. ^ "Three arrested over shooting of former rightwing politician in Madrid". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Staff (2024-01-18). "Suspect allegedly involved in shooting of Spain Vox party co-founder is arrested in Colombia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  12. ^ "La Policía investiga si Irán está tras el intento de asesinato a Vidal-Quadras". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  13. ^ "Vidal-Quadras y otros dos políticos españoles están en la "lista de terroristas" del régimen de Irán por apoyar el CNRI". ELECONOMISTA (in Spanish). 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  14. ^ "Intento de asesinato a Vidal-Quadras: la sospecha iraní, un pistolero "profesional" y un giro de cuello que le pudo salvar la vida". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  15. ^ "Conference at the European Parliament, Strasbourg". Maryam Rajavi. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  16. ^ "Spanish far-right politician shot in the face suspects a link to his work with Iranian opposition". AP News. 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  17. ^ "Po que Vidal-Quadras responsibiliza a Iran del disparo sufrido en Madrid?". 20MINUTOS (in Spanish). 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  18. ^ "Vidal-Quadras acusa a los socialistas de destruir con su política del aborto". www.larazon.es. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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