The president of the Popular Party in the Canary Islands, José Manuel Soria, will be part of Mariano Rajoy's new Executive as Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, as announced this Wednesday by the President of the Government at the Moncloa Palace.
The rest of the cabinet will be made up of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Manuel García Margallo; the Minister of Justice, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón; the Minister of Defense, Pedro Morenés; the Minister of Finance and Public Administrations, Cristóbal Montoro; the Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz; the Minister of Development, Ana Pastor; the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, José Ignacio Wert; the Minister of Employment and Social Security, Fátima Báñez; the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Miguel Arias Cañete; the Minister of the Presidency, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría; the Minister of Economy and Competitiveness, Luis de Guindos; the Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality, Ana Mato, and the Vice President of the Government and Minister Spokesperson, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.
Previously, the President of the Government had already communicated the composition of his Government to the King in a meeting of about 20 minutes held at the Zarzuela Palace, as confirmed to Europa Press by official sources.
Profile of José Manuel Soria
Born on January 5, 1958 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, married and with two children, Soria has a degree in Economics and Business Administration and belongs to the body of Commercial Technicians and State Economists.
President of the Canarian PP, his political career has registered its fundamental milestones in the archipelago. Between 2003 and 2007 he was mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria between 2003 and 2007, as well as Minister of Economy and Finance and Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands (2007-2010).
After the electoral defeat of 2008, he became one of Rajoy's fundamental supports, actively participating in the renewal of the PP initiated at the Valencia Congress of 2008, where he was one of the authors of the political paper, whose drafting led to the withdrawal of the then president of the Basque PP, María San Gil.
However, Rajoy has also valued Soria's solid economic experience for his decision, hardened in Executives of very different political colors, beginning in his task as a market analyst for Venezuela and the Caribbean at the Spanish Embassy in Venezuela between 1980 and 1981. In 1984 he was appointed head of the Import Service of the Ministry of Commerce and, a year later, head of the Foreign Trade Service of the Ministry of Commerce a year later.
Subsequently, he became advisor to the Cabinet of the Minister of Economy and Finance between 1986 and 1987, from where he went on to direct the Cabinet of the General Secretariat of Commerce between 1988 and 1989. In addition, between 1995 and 1999 he was vice president of the Caja de Ahorros de Canarias.