Germà Gordó: the right-hand man in the shadow
The new Secretary of the Government was the party’s CFO and one of Artur Mas’ most trusted collaborators. As his duties were internal, Gordó was not a well-known figure. However, his role in the party was essential, as it will in the new Government. Gordó will remain somewhat in the shadows, as his new responsibility is to ensure the Government’s functionality. He will be in charge of preparing Government meetings and ensuring that decisions are implemented. He will also directly manage some concrete services, such as the Government’s offices across Catalonia and abroad.
Barcelona (ACN).- Germà Gordó will remain one of the closest collaborators of the new President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas. And he will not be in the media frontline, although his new Government responsibilities will make him far more visible. Germà Gordó is a discrete person, who works beyond the eye of the media. Since 2004, he has been in charge of the Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) treasury as its CFO. CDC is the Liberal wing of the two-party Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition, Convergència i Unió (CiU). Artur Mas, as CDC Secretary General, thus has absolute trust in Gordó. Gordó was in charge of the party’s internal and daily management, but not involved in policy and political decision-making. Now, he will be in a rather similar role in the Government: very close to the Catalan President and in charge of the functioning of the Government machine. As the new Secretary of the Government he will be in charge of preparing the Cabinet meetings, of the policy calendar and of controlling the correct implementation of the Government’s decisions. Gordó will also control some concrete services, such as External Relations and International Cooperation.
Gordó was born in the Catalan Pyrenees, in La Pobla de Segur, in 1963. He graduated in law and he held some secondary responsibilities in previous Catalan Governments led by Jordi Pujol. Gordó was Deputy Minister for Agriculture until 2003. Then, once in the opposition, Artur Mas asked him to take care of the CiU’s treasury in 2004. Gordó enjoys Mas’ total trust. He advised him regarding the new Government structure and he also advised the person who coordinated the Government’s transition and switch of portfolios, David Madí.
Gordó’s political profile is two-sided. Like most members of Mas’ innermost circle, which is popularly known as “the bone”, Gordó is pro self-determination of Catalonia in relation with Spain. They defend the notion that Catalonia should decide upon the future as an independent people. He believes that Catalonia should freely decide if it wants to continue being part of Spain or if it wants to be independent. He is Director General of the Catalan Association of Barcelona 2020, which brings together young nationalists, whose objective is to ensure Catalonia’s full national sovereignty and to defend and promote the use of the Catalan language. At the same time, he has a Christian-Democrat’s ideology, although he is a member of the Liberal faction of the CiU and not the Christian Democrat party (UDC). In fact, he is a sort of a bridge between both Catalan Nationalist parties. He is also a member of the Board of the Fundació Persona i Democràcia of the former President of the Catalan Parliament, Enric Xicoy, who is also from the UDC.