Concepción Veray, the daughter of a Girona-based PP family, is now the delegate for Andalusia.

BarcelonaAmidst the unrest in the streets following the repression of the leaders of the Catalan independence movement, Enric Millo, who had served as the Spanish government's delegate to Catalonia in the fall of 2017, was appointed Secretary General for Foreign Action of the Andalusian government in April 2019. He was the first to begin working with the Andalusian executive without any prior connection to that autonomous region, but other Catalan PP officials have followed suit, finding in Juanma Moreno Bonilla's government a place to further their political careers. In March 2023, the Andalusian president and Millo himself inaugurated the regional government's delegation in Catalonia, which was first headed by former PP deputy Esperanza García. This June, García died at age 50 from cancer.and her position became vacant, but by now she already has a successor. Another prominent figure in the Catalan PP, close to Millo, Concepció Veray (Girona, 1976), has already taken the reins of the office.

Veray has held multiple roles in political life and will now have to explore that of delegate for Andalusia in Catalonia. Daughter of an important Girona lineage linked to the birth of the People's Alliance First, and later in the People's Party—through her father, Jaume Veray i Batlle, the first People's Party deputy from Girona—she has developed an extensive political career, as has her brother Jaume, current deputy, city councilor, and former provincial president (2021-2025). She has been a member of the Congress of Deputies (2011-2015), a city councilor in Girona (2003-2019), president of the New Generations in the district (1999), and provincial president (2005-2008). Chief of staff to the mayor of Badalona, Xavier García Albiol (2020-2022)Veray, who until now served as an advisor to MEP Dolors Montserrat, said, "I love the challenge and being able to help people, especially since it means continuing the work of Esperanza García, a close friend of mine. I was motivated and excited when the president proposed it to me." According to Veray, Juanma Moreno Bonilla himself told her about it, and she couldn't refuse. "It shouldn't seem strange that someone from here, who knows civil society, is the delegate for Andalusia," she said, emphasizing the importance of her role in strengthening the "bonds of unity" between the two regions. Although she says she has no Andalusian family roots, she explains that she is particularly focused on "working with Andalusian organizations in Catalonia as a bridge to the Andalusian government," as well as assisting "Andalusians who want to invest in Catalonia, or vice versa." The Principality, in fact, has, excluding Andalusia of course, the largest Andalusian community in the country.

Long history

After a long political career, she had to stop at the end of 2022 due to health issues. In 2023, recovered, she unsuccessfully ran for office in Girona in the June 23rd elections—as she had in 2015 and 2016—and has collaborated with Dolors Montserrat on "reports" and "specific consulting" as a freelancer, in addition to having "other clients" as a communications consultant. The current delegate maintains that she knows the country's civil society well and, in fact, was one of the driving forces behind Catalan Civil Society and a trustee of the Joan Boscà Foundation, instrumental for the pro-Spanish organization, as well as being involved in Girona's network of associations. Other sources consulted by this newspaper emphasize that "she is hardworking" and that "she is a close friend of Millo and Dolors Montserrat."