During the Zortziak Bat symposium, the current Lehendakari – or President – of the Basque Country (specifically the Basque Autonomous Community), Imanol Pradales Gil, gave a speech which emphasized not only the shared connections between the Basque Country and the Basque diaspora in the United States, but went further to call on our shared values to strengthen those connections. He was seen all over Boise, participating in numerous activities as part of Jaialdi. He was eloquent, intelligent, charismatic and made a strong case for stronger ties between the diaspora and the Basque Country.

• Imanol Pradales Gil was born in Santurtzi, Bizkaia, on April 25, 1975. While both of his parents were born in the Basque Country, they do not have Basque ancestry – Pradales Gil has discussed how his eight surnames are all Castilian. In fact, his ancestors immigrated to the Basque Country from other parts of Spain in the early 1900s. However, both of his parents became involved in Basque national politics, joining the Basque Nationalist Party shortly after he was born.
• Pradales Gil didn’t learn Euskara at home, but attended ikastolas as a child and learned the language fluently. As part of his government, he has advocated for the regular, daily use of Euskara in life. To this end, he has announced the Congress for the Revitalization of the Use of Basque, to start in 2027.
• Before entering politics in 2007, he was a professor at the University of Deusto. He had earned his doctorate in Sociology and Political Science in 2004. In his speech in Boise, he emphasized his academic roots and the importance of education.
• His first foray into politics was an essay that Iñigo Urkullu, soon-to-be Lehendakari and a former professor of Pradales Gil, asked him to write on employment and competitiveness. In 2007, Pradales Gil formally entered politics by becoming CEO of what would become Bizkaia Talent.
• From 2011 to 2024, Pradales Gil served in the Foral Council of Bizkaia, holding various unelected positions. In 2023, he was selected as the Basque Nationalist Party’s candidate for Lehendakari to replace incumbent Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu, his former professor and mentor. While is party received the most votes in the election, they got an equal number of seats as EH Bildu. A coalition between the PNV (the Basque Nationalist Party) and PSE–EE, the Spanish Socialist party, led to Pradales Gil being sworn in as Lehendakari on June 24, 2024.
• Building on his past experience, a key aspect of Pradales Gil’s government is the recruitment and retention of talent. Several initiatives to attract and retain new and existing talent to the Basque Country have been proposed, along with the creation of a network of professionals.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Imanol Pradales, Wikipedia