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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 79)
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

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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

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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]

Attempted assassination

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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]

Vidal-Quadras has claimed that Iran was behind the attempted assassination.[11] According to Vidal-Quadras, his connection to the Iranian opposition the National Council of Resistance of Iran could be linked the assassination attempt.[12] Vidal-Quadras is one of the first politicians that Tehran has added to their terrorist list.[13] The Iranian opposition attributes the authorship to Religious Fascism that governs the country.[14][15]

In 2019 Vidal-Quadras stated that he considers the Iranian regime a cruel dictatorship which foments terrorism.[16] He is the first European politician to be targeted within Europe.[17]

Aftermath

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In January 2024, a suspect in the assassination attempt was arrested in Colombia. Currently four individuals have been arrested in connection with the shooting, while the alleged shooter, a French citizen of Tunisian descent with multiple prior convictions in France, is still at large.

Also Vidal-Quadras called for a change in the EU policy towards the Islamic Republic to avoid trying to "appease, to negotiate, to dialogue and to make concessions".[18]

Political positions

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Alejo Vidal-Quadras defines himself as liberal-conservative. He is opposed to abortion rights[19] and gay marriage.

Personal life

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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

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

References

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  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. ^ "La Policía investiga si Irán está tras el intento de asesinato a Vidal-Quadras". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Conference at the European Parliament, Strasbourg". Maryam Rajavi. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "Po que Vidal-Quadras responsibiliza a Iran del disparo sufrido en Madrid?". 20MINUTOS (in Spanish). 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  17. ^ David Maddox. "Top EU politician who survived Iran assassination plot delivers 'end appeasement' plea to Cameron". Independent.
  18. ^ Spanish politician shot in Madrid points finger at Iran | Reuters
  19. ^ "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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