Rudi made the announcement at the Aragón PP executive committee meeting, where she recalled her career since taking her seat as a member of the Aragón regional parliament in 1983. She said she had experienced “triumphs and disappointments” first in Alianza Popular and later in the People’s Party.
The senior People’s Party figure said she had been “privileged” and had gone "here and there" wherever the party needed her. However, she said that the time had come to withdraw from frontline politics: “I have come this far”.
Aragón President Jorge Azcón thanked her for her dedication and highlighted both the fact that she had been a pioneer in many respects and that, beyond “men or women”, she was “undoubtedly” the most important Aragonese politician in the history of Aragón and one of the most important political figures in the history of democracy.
LUISA FERNANDA RUDI’S BIOGRAPHY
Luisa Fernanda Rudi began her political career in the early years of democracy within Alianza Popular, securing institutional representation as a member of the Aragón regional parliament and the Congress of Deputies. Her rise to the forefront of municipal politics was consolidated in 1995, when she became Zaragoza’s first female mayor after winning the local elections at the head of the People’s Party. Her administration of the Aragonese capital was endorsed by re-election in 1999.
Throughout her long career, Rudi has achieved important historic milestones within Spain’s institutions. In 2000, she made history by becoming the first woman to preside over the Congress of Deputies. After returning to regional politics, she took over as leader of the People’s Party of Aragón and, following the 2011 elections, was sworn in as president of the Government of Aragón, leading the region until 2015.
After heading the Aragonese executive, the People’s Party leader continued her institutional representative work in the Cortes Generales through the Senate, where she joined as an appointee of the regional parliament and later as an elected senator for Zaragoza.
