José Antonio Santano
CHAIRPERSON
Directive details aaa
Born in 1965 in Irun (Gipuzkoa), he studied at the Leka-Enea public school and went to high school at the Instituto Pío Baroja. He has a law degree from the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. Married and with two children, he loves sport and has played in different football teams in the city.
José Antonio Santano Clavero has been the mayor of Irun continuously since 2002. He advocates for friendly and sustainable cities, and 10 years ago he endorsed Ciudad30 in Irun, which, in addition to being a pioneer in this field, had the first 100% electric urban line. He uses public transport daily and he is also a great cycling enthusiast.
When he was just 18, he was a councilman in Irún, then the youngest councilperson in Spain, and he held the post until 1988. After working for two years at the consulting firm Arthur Andersen as an auditor and legal counsel, he returned to political activity in 1991 as the regional Youth and Sports Minister. In the following term, he was part of the regional team as Director of Economy and Tourism.
Between 1999 and 2002, he was the first deputy mayor of the City Council of Irun, with responsibilities in the Presidency and Economy and Finance departments. During this period, he also chaired the local development agency, Bidasoa Activa.
In addition, between March 2002 and May 2003, he held one of the key executive ministries of the PSE-EE, namely, that of Economy and Employment. He is currently a member of the PSE-EE ministry.
He has also held other positions of responsibility, such as:
- Chair of the Transport, Sustainable Mobility and Safety Committee of the FEMP (Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces), and Vice-President of EUDEL (Association of Basque Municipalities) for several terms.
- Chairman of the Ficoba Fairgrounds.
- Chairman of the Basque industrial development company, Bidasoa Oarso Industrialdea.
- Chairman of Zaisa, entity that manages cross-border logistics in Irun.
- Chairman of Servicios de Txingudi, the utility that supplies and treats water, manages urban and similar waste, and cleans roads in the municipalities of Irún and Hondarribia.