Generalitat of Catalonia

Born in Barcelona on 24 April 1950. He studied at the School of Technical Engineering, specialising in Industrial Chemistry.

He was town councillor in Hospitalet de Llobregat for the PSUC from 1979 to 1991. During the first term of office he was also a provincial deputy and between 1983 and 1987 he chaired the Transport Commission of the Metropolitan Corporation of Barcelona.

Between 1988 and 1995 he was a deputy for Barcelona in the Parliament of Catalonia, he was spokesperson of the parliamentary group and became its president in 1993. He was a member of the Economy, Finances and Budget commission, the Industry Commission, the Town and Country Town Commission, the Domestic Government Commission, the AIDS Study Commission, the 1992 Olympic Games Monitoring Commission and the Commission for Investigation into the Casino Case.

In 1996 he was elected as deputy in the Congress for Barcelona and was re-elected in the year 2000. He was spokesperson on the Parliamentary Commissions for the Environment and Defence. He has also been a substitute on the Commission for Development Assistance and Cooperation, the Social Policy and Employment Commission and the Petitions Commission.

Joan Saura also took part in the process for founding Iniciativa per Catalunya, and in November 2000 he was elected as president of ICV. In June 2002 an electoral agreement was reached with Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (EUiA) and, later, with Els Verds-Esquerra Ecologista.

He was minister of Institutional Relations and Participation for the Generalitat of Catalonia during the previous term of office.