Spain announces new health, industry ministers ahead of local elections

OVIEDO, Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced changes to his Cabinet on Monday, ahead of local elections.

Hector Gomez was named the new industry, commerce and tourism minister, while Jose Minones is taking over the health minister post.

The change comes as their predecessors, Reyes Maroto and Carolina Darias, are shifting to local politics.

Maroto hopes to become the next mayor of Madrid, while Darias is running to lead the city of Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria. Municipal elections are on May 28.

Replacing the two women with men means Spain will still have 12 female ministers out of 22, which complies with the government’s new quota system for representation.

Gomez is a Socialist Party politician from Tenerife who has held high-profile roles in his party, including as the bloc’s spokesperson from 2021 to 2022. Before that, he was the director of the Spanish Institute of Tourism.

Minones, also a Socialist Party politician, is departing from his post as the federal government delegate in the region of Galicia. He has a degree in pharmacy and worked as a researcher for six years before entering politics.

However, the two new ministers may not have much time to get comfortable in their new roles as Spain is set to hold national elections before the end of the year.

• Elections
• Pedro Sanchez
• Spain