Salvador Illa’s election as president of the Generalitat, Catalonia’s devolved government, matters beyond party politics because it restored the Socialists to power in Barcelona after years of pro-independence administrations and gave Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a reliable ally in one of Spain’s most politically sensitive regions.

For residents, businesses and public sector workers in Catalonia, the practical consequence is that the Palau de la Generalitat is now led by a PSC president aligned with the government in Madrid, ending more than a decade in which pro-independence parties controlled the Catalan executive. Illa was elected in August 2024 as Catalonia’s 133rd president, according to Reuters and Catalan News, and his government was sworn in days later.

Illa’s path from Madrid to the Palau

Illa entered Spain’s coalition government as health minister in January 2020. RTVE reported at the time that he would take over the Health Ministry, and he became one of the most visible figures in the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 25 January 2021, Spain’s central government confirmed that Illa would leave the ministry that week to run as the PSC candidate in the Catalan election due on 14 February 2021, according to El País. The move came in the middle of Spain’s third coronavirus wave and drew criticism from opposition parties.

“Tomorrow Tuesday will be his last cabinet meeting and his replacement will be disclosed,” the office of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a statement reported on 25 January 2021.

That candidacy was a clear political bet by Sánchez. Spain in English reported on 3 January 2021 that Illa would become the PSOE candidate for the Catalan presidency after Miquel Iceta stepped aside, at a time when the PSC held 17 seats in the Catalan Parliament.

  • Illa’s final Cabinet meeting as health minister was set for Tuesday 26 January 2021.
  • The Catalan election was due on Sunday 14 February 2021.
  • The Catalan Parliament has 135 seats, with 68 needed for a majority.

Why his presidency changed Catalan politics

Illa did not take office in 2021, even though his candidacy reshaped the election campaign. He reached the presidency three years later. Reuters, in reporting carried by Al Jazeera on 8 August 2024, said Illa had been elected leader of Catalonia, while Catalan News said he became the 133rd Catalan president.

That result ended a decade of pro-independence rule in the Generalitat. For local government, that means the administration dealing with health, education, transport and much of day-to-day public policy in Catalonia is now headed by a Socialist leader with a direct political relationship to Sánchez, rather than by parties focused on the independence process.

The change also matters because Illa’s investiture depended on a deal between the Socialists and ERC, the Republican Left of Catalonia. Catalan News reported that the agreement included commitments on tax arrangements, a convention on the political conflict over independence and the creation of a Ministry of Catalan.

“I will stand to be invested. Change has come to Catalonia to stay,” Illa said in February 2021, according to ARA.

What Sánchez gains from Illa

Sánchez’s decision in 2021 to move a sitting health minister into Catalan politics showed how important Catalonia was to his wider strategy. Politico described the move as a Socialist bet on a “third way” in Catalonia, aimed at turning the page on the region’s divisive constitutional conflict.

Now that Illa is in office, Sánchez has an ally running Catalonia’s executive at a time when his own national government faces political and judicial pressure. The significance is not only personal. It affects how Madrid and Barcelona work together on budgets, intergovernmental negotiations and the implementation of agreements that require cooperation between the Spanish government and the Generalitat.

For readers trying to understand why Illa’s presidency matters, the central fact is simple: Sánchez chose him in 2021 to win back Catalonia for the Socialists, and in August 2024 that strategy finally put a PSC leader in the Palau de la Generalitat.

Primary sources: lamoncloa.gob.es. Reported by Carlos E. Cué, El País, News Desk, politico.eu, Quim Bertomeu, Gemma Garrido Granger, Reuters, catalannews.com, RTVE.es, en.wikipedia.org, Nicolas Tomás, consalud.es, Diari ARA.