News

Torrent: a perfectionist

A rapid rise through the political ranks of ERC, councillor and then mayor, Torrent arrived in Parliament in 2012 and now is its youngest ever Speaker

A few years ago a profile of Roger Torrent might have included the popular expression Yuppie (young upwardly mobile professional), but friends, colleagues and fellow party members who have seen his rapid rise to the position he now holds, know that there is much more to him than this. What has been stressed in recent hours is the fact that at 38, he is the youngest ever Speaker of the House.

Those who have worked with him say that is very self-critical and demanding of himself and a perfectionist who believes “things can be better.”

Torrent is attentive to what happens around him, taking time to jot down ideas in an ever-present notebook. On a personal level, he is polite, friendly and helpful, but at time shows a serious side.

Born in 1979 in Sarrià de Ter (Girona), he studied political science and became active in ERC early on, elected town councillor at only 20, and then mayor, a position he will leave to take up his new duties. As mayor of an industrial town he has worked hard to see the reopening of the iconic Torraspapel factory, although there were problems of noise and fumes from the factory. He also made sure that the council finances have stabilised in the crisis. Torrent debuted as MP in 2012 with ERC and repeated in 2015, and in the last legislature was deputy spokesperson of JxSí, earning the trust of Oriol Junqueras and Marta Rovira.

Since Carme Forcadell announced she was not in contention, Ernest Maragall and Raul Romeva had been mentioned to replace her but Torrent’s youth, growing reputation and the fact that he is not involved in legal proceedings swung the choice in his direction.

Sign in. Sign in if you are already a verified reader. I want to become verified reader. To leave comments on the website you must be a verified reader.
Note: To leave comments on the website you must be a verified reader and accept the conditions of use.