CIDOB renews its Board of Trustees and appoints Carles A. Gasòliba as President

The Board of Trustees has today appointed Carles A. Gasòliba as the new President of CIDOB. He will be replacing Narcís Serra. This change forms part of the renewal of the Board membership that entails the entry of prominent members of the Catalan civil society into the Board. Carles A. Gasòliba, economist, president of the Mediterranean Committee of the European League for Economic Cooperation (LECE), member of the Institute of Catalan Studies, lecturer on European Integration at Pompeu Fabra University, former Senator and former Member of European Parliament with a broad-ranging international experience, will be as of today the new President of CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs). 

The Board of Trustees, in an extraordinary meeting at 12 am today, has approved his appointment as Trustee and Chairman of the Board of the institution. Carles A. Gasòliba will be replacing Narcís Serra, who will continue to be linked to the institution as a Member of the Board of CIDOB. Narcís Serra will also continue as President of IBEI (Barcelona Institute of International Studies). Renewal of the Board of TrusteesThe reshuffling of the Board has brought about the entry of new trustees from the Catalan civil society. Salvador Alemany, Chairman of Abertis, Joaquim Boixareu, CEO of IRESTAL GROUP, and Josep Ribera, Founder and Director of CIDOB between 1973 and 2009, will be part of the Board of CIDOB in personal capacity. With their entry, CIDOB confirms its roots in the Catalan civil society and starts a new stage in which it aims to consolidate its leadership as an independent think tank and a benchmark in the field of International Relations. Moreover, the wide-ranging experience of Carles A. Gasòliba in Europe and at the EU institutions will contribute to the strengthening of the European dimension and the vision of the Foundation.

The Board of CIDOB, the governing body of the Foundation, will as of today be composed of the following:- Institutions: Government of Catalonia, Barcelona Town Hall, Barcelona Provincial Council, Metropolitan Area of ​​Barcelona, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Ministry of Defence.- Universities: University of Barcelona, ​​Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​Pompeu Fabra University, Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Open University of Catalonia. - Personal trustees: Carles Gasòliba (Chairman of the Board), Javier Solana (Honorary Chairman of the Board), Salvador Alemany, Joaquim Boixareu, Josep Ribera and Narcís Serra.

Biography of Carles A. Gasòliba Born in Barcelona, 1945. Carles A. Gasòliba has a Doctorate in Economics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Master of Arts in Industrial Economics from the University of Sussex, Great Britain. He is a permanent member of the Institute of Catalan Studies (Philosophy and Social Science section) and of the Spanish Royal Academy of Economics and Finance. He has lectured in Industrial Economics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and is currently guest Lecturer on European Integration at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona.As an economist, he worked from 1968 as an Adviser on industrial investments until 1980, when he became MP for CiU in the Spanish Parliament, where he was Spokesman for the Parliamentary Group of the Catalan Minority on economic and budgetary issues. From 1980 to 1986 he chaired the Government of Catalonia delegation of Catalonia-Spanish Government Commission for overseeing the negotiations for the entry of the Kingdom of Spain into the European Community. From 1982 to 2004 he was Secretary-General of the Patronat Català Pro Europa under the Presidency of Jordi Pujol. From 1986 to 2004 he was a Member of European Parliament for CiU in the Liberal Group of the European Parliament, and a Spokesman of the Group in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. In 2004 he was elected CiU Senator for Barcelona, and was also Chairman of the Senate Committee for the Economy and Treasury. During the same period he was an MP in the Council of Europe. He has been participating in European Parliament delegations to Japan, South America, Mexico and Central America.At present he is Chairman of AXIS. Consultoría Europea, SL; Senior Advisor to RJ Consultoría de Empresas, and Special Advisor to FIPRA International of London. He is a Member of the Scientific Committee of EUCOMED (Medical Devices Association) in Brussels. He is Chairman of the Spanish Committee of the European League for Economic Cooperation (LECE) and of its Mediterranean Committee in Brussels. He is a Board Member of the Fundació Cercle d’Economia.