Jordi Hereu (Barcelona, 1965) was mayor of Barcelona between 2006 and 2011 and will assume the Industry portfolio that, between 2006 and 2008, was held by Joan Clos, his predecessor at the head of Barcelona City Council.
Since 2011, when he lost the municipal elections to Xavier Trias, Hereu withdrew from active politics while continuing to be a member of the PSC. Since 2020, he has presided over the company owned by SEPI, Hispasat.
His political career has developed almost entirely in the Barcelona City Council since he took over the management of the Les Corts district, the neighborhood in which he lives. Later, under the mandate of Joan Clos, he took charge of the Security and Mobility portfolio from which he made the leap to the mayor's office. Hereu was one of the promoters of the new urban mobility policies in Barcelona.
Under his mandate, the first and so far only popular consultation was held on an urban project in which all citizens of Barcelona could participate, the construction of the Diagonal tram. The rejection of the project and the technical problems that occurred in the vote ended up taking their toll on his career. Also with him as mayor, the first public rental bicycle service was introduced in a large city in Spain.
Hereu was also the first socialist candidate for mayor of Barcelona to undergo a primary election among the socialist militancy. In this case, he managed to beat his opponent, the former Minister of Health and former mayor of Mollet, Montserrat Tura.
After leaving the political front line, Hereu created a consultancy, Identicity Cosulting, dedicated to urban policies that for some years have taken him to various countries, especially in Latin America.
During this time he also participated in the creation of the Barcelona Business Platform - Fledge Barcelona Accelerator. He was a member of the board of directors of AENA and the advisory board of AGBAR. Hereu has been a strong defender of the coalition between companies and the public sector.
Hereu has a degree in Business Administration and Management from the UPC and a Master's degree in Business Administration and Management from ESADE.
