The mayor, Carolina Darias, has expressed deep regret and has highlighted his figure as “a reference, who has meant a lot for our country, for the Canary Islands and for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria due to his extensive political, vital and personal career.”
The Golden Hall of the Town Hall of Santa Ana will host, from this afternoon, at 7:00 p.m., the funeral chapel where the man who was mayor between 2007 and 2011, president of the Government of the Canary Islands and minister will be laid to rest.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tuesday, November 21, 2023.- The City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria deeply regrets the death of Jerónimo Saavedra, who was mayor of the capital between 2007 and 2011, Favorite Son of the city in 2001 and Gold Medal in 2012, who died this Tuesday at the age of 87. The City Council has decreed three days of mourning in the municipality and his wake will be held in the Golden Hall of the Town Hall starting at 7:00 p.m. this afternoon.
The mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Carolina Darias, has expressed deep regret for the death of Jerónimo Saavedra, “a man committed to his time and also to the way of life that he has always believed in,” the mayor noted. “For us,” she added, “he has been a reference for everyone, especially in the world of culture. “A person to whom we owe important initiatives that have marked the progress of the city.”
“Today the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the entire Canary Islands are in mourning for his death; “My deep condolences to his entire family, to the PSOE family and to the citizens,” he said.
Jerónimo Saavedra Acevedo, born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on July 3, 1936, contributed to the advancement of this city during his period as mayor between 2007 and 2011, identifying his mandate with the proximity policy, the revitalization of the neighborhoods and the creation of new facilities for the enjoyment of citizens.
During Saavedra’s mayoralty, the city experienced great cultural activity, bringing the different cultural manifestations closer to the five districts of the municipality and promoting important initiatives such as the Canary Islands Music Festival.
Doctor of Law, Jerónimo Saavedra began his political career by joining the PSOE and UGT in 1972, the height of the Dictatorship. Five years later he was elected general secretary of the Canarian Socialist Party, with which he was elected deputy of the Cortes for the province of Las Palmas in the first democratic elections after the Dictatorship and, subsequently, senator of the Cortes Generales (1999- 2003).
Throughout his long political career, Jerónimo Saavedra was the first president of the Government of the Canary Islands during the democratic period in 1983, a position he repeated between 1991 and 1993. Later, he was a minister of the Government of Spain, first with the portfolio of Public Administrations (1993-1995) and later with Education and Science (1995-1996).
In June 2011, Jerónimo Saavedra was elected Deputy of the Canary Islands, a position in which he remained until 2018.
Jerónimo Saavedra has been linked his entire life to the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He studied at the San Ignacio de Loyola School, the Jesuits, in the capital of Gran Canaria until he began his university studies in Law first at the University of La Laguna and, later, at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he finished his degree to begin his career. as a professor at the Faculty of Law.
Saavedra expanded his studies in Colonia, Trieste and Florence before returning to the Canary Islands as a professor at the University of La Laguna. During this stage, the former mayor of the city gained special relevance due to his involvement in the social and union struggles with transport workers, the tomato sharecroppers of the South and the non-tenured professors of his faculty.
The post first appeared on www.laspalmasgc.es