Javier Lambán, former president of Aragon, dies at 67.

Barcelona / MadridJavier Lambán, former president of Aragon and former leader of the PSOE in this autonomous community, died this Friday from colon cancer, which he had been suffering from since 2021. The death of the socialist politician, who was 67 years old, occurred in Eixea, in the province of Zaragoza, his hometown. Lambán was president of Aragon between 2015 and 2023, when He became one of the PSOE's main battering rams against Catalonia.. He had also been president of the Zaragoza Provincial Council between 1999 and 2011.

When he announced that he had cancer, Lambán decided to maintain his responsibilities in the regional government, but since then his public agenda had been altered by the treatment. At the beginning of 2025, he announced that he was resigning from his position as a regional senator for the PSOE. "In this way, I end my institutional political life, which began in 1983 in the Eixea City Council," he said in a message to his X account.

After thirteen years at the head of the party in Aragon, the defeat in the 2023 regional elections led Lambán to announce that he would not run again to lead the party in this autonomous community, but he continued to set the pace. Behind closed doors, he tried to convince his disciple, Darío Villagrasa, to present a candidacy to lead the party in Aragon that would represent an alternative to the Spanish government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, Pedro Sánchez's choice, who ended up winning.

Lambán's last public appearance was just over a month ago, when he participated in the presentation ceremony of a portrait of himself that, along with the other paintings of the former presidents of Aragon, hangs in the Sala de la Corona of the Pignatelli Building in Zaragoza. Until the last moment, in his public appearances, Lambán attacked decisions made by his own party, stating, for example, in an article at the end of June in The Country that the PSOE has "submitted to the demands" of those he described as "enemies of the Constitution", in reference to the pacts between the socialists and ERC and Junts, and that the party had become "wokized".

In fact, his presidency of Aragon was already marked by the disagreements he had with Pedro Sánchez and the pacts with the independentists, but also for his constant clashes with the Catalan government. Among the controversies that raised the most heat was Lambán's rejection of a joint bid between Catalonia and Aragon for the 2030 Winter Games. Neither pressure from the Spanish government nor even from the Socialists in Huesca changed his mind.

Expressions of condolence

The outpouring of condolences for the death of the socialist baron has been swift, especially from the political world. "Javier Lambán was a socialist faithful to his values and principles until his last days. He governed Aragon with everyone in mind, and his legacy lives on in this land," the PSOE expressed on the social network X.. Pedro Sánchez himself also mourned the death, along with his successor and current spokesperson for the Spanish government, Pilar Alegría, as well as other socialist men, including the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, another of the most critical voices of Pedro Sánchez. "It is with profound sorrow that I receive the news of the death of a great friend, an excellent person, and an exemplary politician [...] He leaves an immense void," García-Page told X.

The President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Salvador Illa, also expressed his condolences for Lambán's death, recalling him as "a public servant committed to his territory." From the People's Party (PP), the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, said he will be missed and asserted that she appreciated him "very much politically and personally." Alberto Núñez Feijóo, for his part, described Lambán as "a servant, a consistent socialist, and, above all, a trustworthy man." In Aragon, the President of the People's Party (PP), Jorge Azcón, declared three days of official mourning.