María Cristina Cifuentes Cuencas (born 1 July 1964) is a former Spanish politician of the People's Party. She was the President of the Community of Madrid from 24 June 2015 to her 25 April 2018 resignation.[1] From 16 January 2012 to 13 April 2015, she served as the Government Delegate in the Community of Madrid.[2]

Cristina Cifuentes
5th President of the Community of Madrid
In office
24 June 2015 – 25 April 2018
MonarchFelipe VI
Preceded byIgnacio González
Succeeded byÁngel Garrido
President of the People's Party of the Community of Madrid
In office
18 March 2017 – 27 April 2018
Preceded byEsperanza Aguirre
Succeeded byPío García-Escudero
Government Delegate in the Community of Madrid
In office
16 January 2012 – 13 April 2015
Preceded byMaría Dolores Carrión Martín
Succeeded byConcepción Dancausa
Member of the Assembly of Madrid
In office
20 June 1991 – 16 January 2012
Personal details
Born
María Cristina Cifuentes Cuencas

(1964-07-01) 1 July 1964 (age 60)
Madrid, Spain
Political partyPeople's Party (1989‐2019)
Other political
affiliations
People's Alliance (1980–1989)
SpouseFrancisco Javier Aguilar Viyuela
Children2
Alma materComplutense University of Madrid

Biography

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In 1980, when Cifuentes was 16, she became a member of People's Alliance, which would later become the People's Party of Spain. She studied law at the Complutense University of Madrid.

In 2013, she suffered a traffic accident in Madrid while she was riding her motorbike, which put her in a coma for nearly a month.[3][4]

After being the Government Delegate in Madrid from 2012 to 2015, Cifuentes was elected President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid with the support of the centre-right Spanish party Citizens, having won the 2015 regional election and having obtained 48 representatives out of 129 in the Assembly of Madrid.

On 21 March 2018, Cifuentes was alleged to have fraudulently obtained her Master's degree from King Juan Carlos University.[5] On 5 April 2018, a judicial investigation of the case was opened.[6]

On 25 April 2018, she resigned as President of the Community of Madrid, after the release of a 2011 video that showed her being detained in a supermarket for shoplifting (goods worth €40),[7] with Ángel Garrido succeeding her as acting president of the community.[8][9] On 27 April 2018, she resigned from the presidency of the People's Party of the Community of Madrid.[10] On 8 May 2018, Cifuentes resigned from her seat in the Assembly of Madrid and announced her retirement from politics.[11]

On 2 September 2019 the Audiencia Nacional charged Cifuentes together with fellow former regional premiers Ignacio González and Esperanza Aguirre with alleged crimes of illicit funding, diversion of public money and document forgery in the proceedings of the Púnica corruption case.[12][13]

As of October 2019, she appeared in the television program Ya es mediodía as a panelist,[14] and in February 2020, she was signed on Todo es mentira.[15]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Cristina Cifuentes
Election List Constituency List position Result
European Parliament election, 1987 AP Spain 57th (out of 60)  N Not elected
1991 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 46th (out of 101)  Y Elected
European Parliament election, 1994 PP Spain 60th (out of 64)  N Not elected
1995 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 16th (out of 103)  Y Elected
1999 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 17th (out of 102)  Y Elected
May 2003 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 20th (out of 111)  Y Elected
October 2003 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 20th (out of 111)  Y Elected
2007 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 13th (out of 120)  Y Elected
2011 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 13th (out of 129)  Y Elected
2015 Madrilenian regional election PP Community of Madrid 1st (out of 129)  Y Elected

References

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  1. ^ Reyero, Itziar (23 June 2015). "Los agujeros negros de Cristina Cifuentes". ABC (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ^ Preston, Jennifer (26 September 2012). "Images of Clashes at Anti-Austerity Protests in Europe". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. ^ La delegada del Gobierno en Madrid, herida grave en un accidente de moto (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Cristina Cifuentes recibe el alta médica tras el accidente de moto (in Spanish)
  5. ^ Ejerique, Raquel (21 March 2018). "Cristina Cifuentes obtuvo su título de máster en una universidad pública con notas falsificadas". El Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Prosecutors to probe Madrid regional leader master's degree scandal". El País. Madrid. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Madrid leader Cifuentes resigns over supermarket 'theft video'". BBC News. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  8. ^ Blasco, Pedro (25 April 2018). "Ángel Garrido, nombrado presidente en funciones de la Comunidad de Madrid". Voz Populi (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  9. ^ Marcos, José (25 April 2018). "Ángel Garrido, el sucesor natural de Cifuentes". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Cifuentes renuncia a la presidencia del PP de la Comunidad de Madrid". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Cifuentes deja su acta de diputada y se retira de la política". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  12. ^ El juez imputa a Esperanza Aguirre por "fraguar" un plan para desviar dinero público al PP de Madrid desde 2004 (in Spanish)
  13. ^ Parera, Beatriz; Gabilondo, Pablo (2 September 2019). "Aguirre, Cifuentes e Indra, imputadas por financiación ilícita y desvío de dinero público". El Confidencial.
  14. ^ Millán, J. (10 October 2019). "Cristina Cifuentes se estrena como 'tertuliana' en el programa de Telecinco 'Ya es Mediodía'". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Cristina Cifuentes, la nueva estrella de la televisión". Diez Minutos (in Spanish). Hearst Magazines International. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.