Santiago Cervera Soto
Encyclopedia
Santiago Cervera Soto is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, 27 March 1965) is a Spanish politician who belongs to the main opposition People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
(PP).
Divorced, Cervera began his political career in 1988 when he was elected to Pamplona council for the Navarrese People's Union
Navarrese People's Union
The Navarrese People's Union , abbreviated to UPN, is a regional conservative political party in Navarre, Spain. Until 2008, it was a fraternal party of the People's Party , acting as the latter's Navarrese branch....
(Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Unión del Pueblo Navarro). This party, abbreviated to UPN, is a right wing regional party which formed an electoral alliance with the larger PP in 1991. At the time of his election, he was still studying medicine in the University of Pamplona
University of Pamplona
The University of Pamplona , is a public, departmental, coeducational research university based primarily in the city of Pamplona, Norte de Santander, Colombia. The university also has two satellite campuses in the department, in the cities of Cúcuta and Villa del Rosario.-External links:* ...
. He remained a councillor until 1996. In 1993 he entered national politics when he was elected to the Spanish Senate
Spanish Senate
The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election...
representing Navarra. He served one term in the Senate and at the 1996 General Election he was placed third on the UPN list for the Spanish Congress of Deputies, missing out on the final seat by just 170 votes. In 1996 he was appointed Health Minister in the regional administration of Navarra
Parliament of Navarre
The Parliament of Navarra or also known as Cortes de Navarra is the Navarre autonomous unicameral parliament.-Functions:...
, serving until 2003.
In September 2007 he accepted an offer to head the UPN list for the 2008 General election and was returned as MP for Navarra Province
Navarra (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Navarra is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales...
. In November 2008, following the PP decision to end their alliance with the UPN, Cervera announced his resignation from the UPN and announced that he would sit in future as a PP deputy.