Antoni Gutiérrez Díaz (1929–2006) was a Catalan physician and communist politician who held various posts. He is also known as El Guti.[1]
Antoni Gutiérrez Díaz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 January 1929 Premià de Mar, Spain |
| Died | 6 October 2006 (aged 77) Terrassa, Spain |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Political party | |
Early life and education
Gutiérrez was born in Premià de Mar on 19 January 1929.[2][3] His parents were originally from Málaga and settled in Premià de Mar.[3] His father was an anarcho-syndicalist activist and was arrested in 1934.[3]
Gutiérrez received a degree in medicine in Barcelona in 1953 and had further training in neonatology in Finland.[2][4] He was among the anti-Franco activists during his youth.[4]
Career and activities
Following his graduation Gutiérrez worked as a physician in Barcelona.[5] He became a member of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) in 1959.[4] He was arrested in December 1962 and detained in Burgos prison for eight years.[1][5] After his release he maintained his activities in secret due to the declaration of a state of emergency in 1969.[5] He was again arrested in October 1973.[5]
Gutiérrez was a deputy at the Spanish Parliament between 1977 and 1978. He was appointed minister without portfolio in the provisional government of Catalonia in 1977 and held the post until 1980.[2] Then he was elected to the Catalan Parliament and served there from 1980 to 1987.[2] He was the secretary general of the PSUC for two terms: between 1977 and 1981 and between 1982 and 1986.[6] He left the PSUC in 1986 and involved in the establishment of a new political party entitled Initiative for Catalonia Greens.[5]
Next Gutiérrez was elected to the European Parliament in 1987 and continued to serve there until 1999.[7] During his tenure at the European Parliament he was part of the Initiative for Catalonia Greens.[7] He served as the vice president of the European Parliament between 1994 and 1999.[7]
Views
From the 1950s Gutiérrez was one of the supporters of the Italian Communist Party which promoted a new version of communism not Stalinism in line with the Gramsci's view.[5] Therefore, he was not a pro-Soviet communist and was an adherent of Eurocommunism.[5][8] After leaving PSUC he adopted an eco-socialist view becoming a member of the Initiative for Catalonia Greens.[5]
Personal life and death
Gutiérrez was married and had three children.[5]
During a visit in Santiago de Compostela Gutiérrez was admitted to a hospital due to heart failure on 29 September 2006.[9] He had been in coma when he was transferred to the Mutua Hospital in Terrassa where he died on 6 October 2006.[2][9]
Awards and legacy
Gutiérrez was a recipient of the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia in 2006.[2]
There are many memorials for Gutiérrez in Barcelona.[2][10] In 2020 Txema Castiella published a book about him entitled El Guti. L’optimisme de la voluntat ISBN 978-84-297-7860-1.[1][11]
References
External links
Media related to Antoni Gutiérrez Díaz at Wikimedia Commons
