Iratxe García


Iratxe García Pérez is a Spanish politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. She has served as Member of the European Parliament since 2004, and has served as the Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats parliamentary group since 2019.

Biography

Early life

Born on 7 October 1974 in Barakaldo, Biscay, she obtained a diplomature in Social Work at the University of Valladolid in 1995. A resident of Laguna de Duero, she served as municipal councillor of Laguna de Duero and as member of the Valladolid Provincial Deputation from 1995 to 2000.

Member of the Spanish Parliament, 2000–2004

García became a member of the Congress of Deputies after being elected in the 2000 general election in representation of Valladolid.

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–present

In her first parliamentary term between 2004 and 2009, García served on the Committee on Regional Development, the Delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, and the Delegation for Relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union.
She also serves on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Arab Peninsula. In addition, she is a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights and of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Western Sahara.
In July 2014, García was elected chairwoman of the European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. In September 2014, PSOE chairman Pedro Sánchez appointed her as head of the party’s delegation of MEPs in the S&D Group, replacing Elena Valenciano. Following the 2019 elections, the S&D Group chose García as new leader, a day after incumbent Udo Bullmann withdrew his candidacy.