Yolanda Barcina

Who is Yolanda Barcina?

Yolanda Barcina Angulo is a conservative Spanish politician who was the mayor of Pamplona, Navarre from 1999 to 2011, and elected the chairwoman of the Navarrese People's Union in 2009. Since 2011, she has been the President of the Chartered Community of Navarre.

Barcina's parents settled in Navarre when she was 17 and she studied pharmacy at the University of Navarre. Barcina worked as a professor at various Spanish universities including the Universidad Pública de Navarra, where she served as the vice-rector from 1995 to 1996. Barcina was elected the mayor of Pamplona in 1999 and the vice-president of the UPN in 2003. In 2009, she took the position of Miguel Sanz in the party, before winning the elections for President of Navarre.

In 2001, Barcina had a debate with actress Penélope Cruz about the San Fermín running of the bulls. She has distinguished herself for her hard-line approach on Basque nationalism, and a rigid stance on environmental issues, favouring controversial engineering projects like the construction of the Itoiz Reservoir, the high speed train and the trans-Pyrenean motorway. On this account, Barcina was subjected to a spectacular pie smash on the face at a meeting in Toulouse.