Joaquim Forn
Joaquim Forn i Chiariello (born 1 April 1964) is a Spanish politician and lawyer from Catalonia. A former deputy mayor of the city of Barcelona in north-eastern Spain, Forn served as Minister of the Interior from July 2017 to October 2017 when he was removed from office following the Catalan declaration of independence. Born in 1964 in Barcelona, Forn graduated from the University of Barcelona before joining the legal profession. A supporter of Catalan independence, Forn joined the nationalist Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) whilst a student. He was elected to the Municipality Council of Barcelona in 1999 and in 2011 he became the city's first deputy mayor, serving until 2015. He was appointed Minister of the Interior for Catalonia in July 2017. On 1 October 2017, an independence referendum was held in Catalonia despite the Constitutional Court ruling that it breached the Spanish constitution. 92% supported independence though turnout was only 43% due to a boycott by unionists. The Catalan Parliament declared independence on 27 October 2017 which resulted in the Spanish government imposing direct rule on Catalonia, dismissing the Catalan government, including Forn. The Catalan Parliament was dissolved and fresh elections imposed by central government. On 30 October 2017 charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds were brought against Forn and other members of the Catalan government. Forn and Puigdemont, along with others, fled to Belgium, but on 31 October 2017 Forn returned to Spain. On 2 November 2017 Forn and seven other Catalan ministers were remanded in custody by the Audiencia Nacional. Six of the ministers were released on bail on 4 December 2017 but Forn and Vice President Oriol Junqueras were kept in custody. At the regional elections held on 21 December 2017 Forn was elected to Parliament and Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament. Forn resigned from Parliament in January 2018 but remains in prison. During December 2018 he did a hunger strike. On 1 February 2019 he was transferred to a prison in Madrid, waiting for the trial that started on 12 February. In the 2019 Barcelona City Council election, he was head of the Together for Catalonia candidacy to Mayor of Barcelona. He was not able to participate in the electoral campaign while in prison. The Supreme Court allowed him to collect the councilor's credentials on 14 June and took office on 15 June. He was pardoned and released, along with the other 8 jailed Catalonia independence leaders, in June 2021. Early life and family Forn was born on 1 April 1964 in Barcelona, capital of Catalonia in north eastern Spain. He is the son of a Catalan and an Ecuadorian. After being home schooled, he joined the Lycée Français de Barcelone aged 13, avoiding the Spanish francoist education. After school Forn joined the University of Barcelona, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree. Whilst a student he joined the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC), a conservative Catalan nationalist political party, now known as the Catalan European