List of presidents of the Government of Catalonia


The list of presidents of the Government of Catalonia compiles the official list of presidents of the Generalitat de Catalunya since its inception in 1359 to present time. It has been the traditional way of listing presidents, starting with Berenguer de Cruïlles. The most recent stable version of the list dates from 2003, by Josep M. Solé i Sabaté in his work Historia de la Generalitat de Catalunya i dels seus presidents. The procedure to set up this list is the following: for the period of the medieval Generalitat, the president was the most eminent ecclesiastic deputy of the Deputation of the General of Catalonia, a body of the Catalan Courts dissolved in 1716 and reinstated for two years in 1874. From April 1931 on, the list includes the elected presidents as well as the proclaimed exiled presidents during the Francoist dictatorship. The functions of the President of the Government of Catalonia have varied considerably over history, in parallel with the attributions of the Generalitat itself.

Deputation of the General or ''Generalitat'' (1359–1716)

Fourteenth century

Here follows a list of representatives of catalan institutions through the ages. The Presidents as such first appeared with the modern Generalitat in the 20th century.
  1. Berenguer de Cruïlles, Bishop of Girona
  2. Romeu Sescomes, Bishop of Lleida
  3. Ramon Gener
  4. Bernat Vallès, canon of Barcelona
  5. :Romeu Sescomes, Bishop of Lleida
  6. Joan I d'Empúries
  7. Guillem de Guimerà i d'Abella, Grand Prior of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem
  8. Galceren de Besora i de Cartellà, almoner of Ripoll
  9. :Ramon Gener
  10. Felip d'Anglesola, canon of Tarragona
  11. Pere de Santamans, canon of Tortosa
  12. Arnau Descolomer, cleric from Girona
  13. Miquel de Santjoan, canon of Girona
  14. Alfons de Tous, canon of Barcelona

    Fifteenth century

Sixteenth century

Seventeenth century

Eighteenth century

Modern Generalitat (1932–present)

Spanish Republic">Second Spanish Republic">Spanish Republic (19311939)

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Kingdom of Spain">History of Spain (1975–present)">Kingdom of Spain (1975present)

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Controversies

Some historians, like Jaume Guillamet, from Pompeu Fabra University, or José Luis Corral, from Zaragoza University, do not consider the medieval Generalitat to be comparable with the contemporary Generalitat. According to them, the Contemporary Generalitat was created within the framework of the Second Spanish Republic, and the current Generalitat is the result of the exercise of self-government of Catalonia within the framework of Spanish democracy. From their perspective, there would only be 10 presidents of the Generalitat: Macià, Companys, Irla, Tarradellas, Pujol, Maragall, Montilla, Mas, Puigdemont and Torra.
In 2015, one Historian wrote an opinion article defending a list of 16 presidents until Artur Mas. What would give a total of 18 presidents counting up to the current president Torra.
In 2018, the association "Historiadors de Catalunya" also proposed a list of 10 presidents, but substituting Josep Irla for Francisco Jiménez Arenas: Macià, Companys, Francisco Jiménez Arenas, Tarradellas, Pujol, Maragall, Montilla, Mas, Puigdemont and Torra.