Salvador Illa’s appointment came after the region’s former controversial politician, Carles Puigdemont, returned from exile to his home state.
ADVERTISINGSpanish socialist politician Salvador Illa was sworn in as President of Catalonia on Saturday – this appointment ended more than a decade of separatist rule in the region.
The appointment means the Socialists will return to power after 14 years of nationalist and pro-independence governments.
Earlier this week, Illa secured the support of the left-wing parties PSC, ERC and Comuns at his investiture in the Catalan parliament, thus securing his claim to leadership.
Politicians and citizens attended the inauguration ceremony in the Saló de Santi Jordi, the main hall of the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona.
Illa said in a brief speech that he would use his presidency to unite Catalans in the face of the advance of “divisive, demagogic and populist approaches” that would endanger coexistence and “civic unity”.
It comes days after the former President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont returned to Spain from self-imposed exile to protest against the expected election as party leader.
Puigdemont was the leader of the failed 2017 separatist referendum calling for Catalan independence and has been on the run from Spanish authorities ever since.
In a shocking turn of events, the fugitive politician declared on social media platform X this week that he would return to his home state to protest the impending leadership change.
But after a speech in Barcelona in front of thousands of Spanish supporters, including journalists and police officers, Puigdemont once again escaped the Spanish authorities.
Puigdemont announced on X that he had returned to his exile in Waterloo, Belgium, after “a few difficult days” and “thousands of kilometers”.
