Clara Ponsatí

Clara Ponsatí Obiols (born 19 March 1957) is a Catalan economist, appointed Councillor of Education of the Generalitat of Catalonia by former President Carles Puigdemont on 14 July 2017.[1][2] Before she was seconded to her post, she was the Head of the School of Economics and Finance at the University of St Andrews.[3] In 2019 extradition warrants were raised to return her from Scotand to Spain where she faced a charge of sedition because of her role in the attempt to make Catalonia independent.

The Honourable Clara Ponsatí Obiols
Ponsatí in 2017
Counselor of Education of Catalonia
In office 14 July 2017 – 28 October 2017
President	Carles Puigdemont
Preceded by	Meritxell Ruiz
Succeeded by	Josep Bargalló (Direct rule until 2 June 2018)
Member of the Catalan Parliament
In office 17 January 2018 – 29 January 2018
Member of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 February 2020
Personal details
Born	19 March 1957 Barcelona, Catalonia
Education	University of Barcelona University of Minnesota
Occupation	Economist

Life and career

Ponsatí was born in 1957 in Barcelona, Catalonia, the daughter of Josep Maria Ponsatí i Capdevila and Montserrat Obiols i Germà. She studied at the University of Barcelona's Faculty of Economics. In 1988 she received her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota.[4]

Ponsatí specializes in game theory and political economy, with a focus on models of bargaining and voting.[5] Ponsatí was a researcher at the Institute of Economic Analysis of the CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) and took its management from 2006 to 2012. She was a visiting professor at the universities of Toronto, San Diego and Georgetown.[6] in 2013, her teaching position at Georgetown was not renewed. As a result of this, she complained that the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport decided not to renew her position as visiting professor of the Prince of Asturias Chair at Georgetown University because of her favorable position on Catalan independence, something that she considered a maneuver of "censorship" against her political opinions. Her views on the relations between Catalonia and Spain caused the Foreign Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo to state: "una cátedra en el extranjero no debe servir de base para alentar procesos secesionistas contrarios a la Constitución", (This chair abroad should not be used to encourage support to secession movements contrary to the constitution), remarking: "mientras yo sea ministro no ocurrirá en ninguna embajada española" (As long as I'm the minister this will not take place in any Spanish embassy).[7]

From January 2015, she was the director of the School of Economics and Finance at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, her last post before taking charge in July 2017 of the Ministry of Education of the Generalitat of Catalonia.[8]

Since mid-2016, she has been a member of the national secretariat of the Catalan National Assembly. She is also a member of the Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.[9]

After the Catalan declaration of independence, on 27 October 2017, President Carles Puigdemont, Ponsatí and three other former ministers of the regional government went into exile to Belgium. A European Arrest Warrant for all of them was issued but was later retracted. The stated reason for the retraction was the worry that those who had fled to Belgium would have had to be treated differently from those who stayed. Indeed, the charge of sedition underlying the arrest warrant does not exist in Belgian law, and there was speculation that the Belgian courts would only consider extraditing the Catalan politicians after requalifying the charges. On 10 March 2018 Ponsatí announced she had moved back to Scotland in order to return to her position as University professor at St Andrews.

She renounced her seat at the Parliament of Catalonia in January 2018.[10] Sawla el-Garbhi later took possession of her vacant seat at the Parliament of Catalonia.

On 24 March 2018 Mr. Pablo Llarena, judge of Spain's Supreme Court, issued another International and European Arrest Warrants for Ponsatí and other separatist leaders, including president Carles Puigdemont.[11] Aamer Anwar was defending her case.[12][13] In an initial hearing on 28 March 2018, Ponsatí was released on bail without special conditions.[14] The European Arrest Warrant was again withdrawn by Spain on 19 July.[15]

On 5 November 2019 yet another European Arrest Warrant was issued.[16] The next day the warrant was returned to Spain for clarification. Finally the preliminary hearing took place on 14 November 2019, after which she was bailed and allowed to keep her passport, and scheduled to appear in court on 12 December 2019.[17] Ponsatí became a member of the European Parliament following Brexit, as Spain was allocated five of the seats vacated by the UK.[18] The extradition proceedings were subsequently suspended, as Edinburgh Sheriff Court considered that Ponsatí's new status provided her with immunity.[19]

During the 2019-20 Coronavirus pandemic her tweet "From Madrid to the sky" caused some controversy. [20]

Work

[21]

• The stability of Multi-Level Governments; Enriqueta Aragonès; Clara Ponsatí; Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, July 2019
• Meritocracy, egalitarianism and the stability of majoritarian organizations; Salvador Barberà; Carmen Bevià; Clara Ponsatí; Games and Economics Behavior, February 2015, 91:237-257
• Multiple-issue bargaining and axiomatic solutions; Clara Ponsati; Joel Watson; Pub.: University of California, San Diego. Department of Economics;(Calif.)
• L'endemà; by Clara Ponsati & altri; Pub.: [Barcelona] Massa d'Or Produccions Coroporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals D.L. 2014
• Von Neumann i la teoria de jocs; Ponsatí, Clara; Pub.: 2010-03-11T09:25:00Z 2010-03-11T09:25:00Z 2010-02-24
• Mediation is necessary for efficient bargaining; Clara Ponsati Obiols; József Sákovics; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Departament d'Economia i d'Història Econòmica; Pub.: Barcelona Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Departament d'Economia i d'Història Econòmica 1992.
• El Finançament de les comunitats autònomes : comparació internacional; Clara Ponsati Obiols; Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica.; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona- 1990.
• Search and Bargaining in Large Markets With Homogeneous Traders; Clara Ponsatí;Publication: Contributions in Theoretical Economics, v4 n1 (2004/2/9);Pub.: Walter de Gruyter eJournals
• La financiación de la Comunidades autónomas : comparación internacional; Clara Ponsati i Obiols; Publication: Revista de economia publica, 1991, 12, pp. 65–10

See also

• Andreu Mas-Colell

References

1. Surroca, Bernat (14 July 2017). "Clara Ponsatí, una economista ben connectada amb Mas-Colell". Nació Digital.
2. "Canvis de govern: marxen Munté, Jané i Ruiz i entren a l'executiu Turull, Forn i Ponsatí". CCMA. 14 July 2017.
3. Mega, Marcello. "Academic in Catalan storm". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
4. "CV Clara Ponsatí School of Economics and Finance University of St Andrews" (PDF). Retrieved 28 March 2018.
5. "Clara Ponsatí, de la ANC al Govern pasando por Georgetown". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
6. "Salvador Cardús, Clara Ponsatí i Elisenda Paluzie: els tres nous candidats de Junts pel Sí". Diari Ara. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
7. "Margallo reconeix que va cessar Ponsatí per sobiranista". Nació Digital. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
8. «Clara Ponsati - University of St Andrews». risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk. 
9. "Clara Ponsatí, bregada en Escocia para abrir los colegios el 1-O". El Periódico (in Spanish). 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
10. "Lluís Puig y Clara Ponsatí renuncian a su escaño". El Periódico. 28 January 2018.
11. "Wanted ex-Catalan minister Clara Ponsati set to surrender, says Scottish police". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
12. "L'advocat de Clara Ponsatí a Escòcia: "Molta gent creu que Franco ha tornat als carrers"". RAC1. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
13. "Ex-Catalan minister to be arrested". 25 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
14. "Clara Ponsati: Arrested Catalan politician released on bail". BBC. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
15. "Spain withdraws Ponsati arrest warrant". BBC News. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
16. "Clara Ponsati: New European arrest warrant issued". BBC. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
17. "Clara Ponsati bailed in Edinburgh and allowed to keep passport". BBC News. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
18. "Ponsati's role as MEP 'could halt extradition'". BBC News. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
19. "Catalan academic's extradition to Spain suspended". BBC News. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
20. Ponsatí (15 March 2020). "De Madrid al Cielo". @ClaraPonsati (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2020.
21. "Results for 'Clara Ponsatí' [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 28 March 2018.