Josep Irla i Bosch (; 24 October 1874 – 19 September 1958) was a Catalan businessman and politician.

He was a deputy in the Parliament of Catalonia and the Spanish Congress in 1932, as an Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya affiliate. He was also the last President of Parliament of Catalonia at the end of Republican Catalan resistance in the Spanish Civil War, before Francisco Franco abolished the Generalitat of Catalonia. He was elected President of the Parliament of Catalonia on 1 October 1938.

In office, Irla pushed for cooperation with the allies, Basque nationalists and other anti-Francoist groups, though excluding the communists. Therefore, Irla had to expand his role and worked for the functioning of the schools and continued his support for the preservation of archaeological and artistic heritage of Catalonia.

In January 1937, just after President Josep Tarradellas published the decrees which sought to control and provide standards for the entire financial system of Catalonia, Irla was appointed Director General of Heritage and Revenue.

President of the Parliament of Catalonia

On 1 October 1938, with part of the Catalan territory occupied by Nationalist's troops and imminent defeat, Irla agreed to become President of the Catalan Parliament. In his inauguration to the presidency, he said: "We were, we are and will be republicans and Catalans, because we are liberals, because it is a feeling of our soul that has led us to feel and know the needs of our people."

Exile

thumb|394x394px|Villa Catalonia residence in exile of President Josep Irla, with his goddaughter Lola Aymerich and a niece, possibly Montserrat.

On 28 January 1939, Josep Irla, President of the Catalan Parliament, began his exile. With 62, he traveled to French territory with his wife, his daughter (Concepción Pijoan), his brother Francis and his sister in law Maria Duran, his nieces and the wife of his brother Nicholas. All their property in Sant Feliu de Guixols were confiscated by the fascist authorities.

He lived for a time in Le Boulou (Roussillon) and later settled in Ceret (Vallespir), where he sought his livelihood dedicated to what he did best: the cork industry. In 1940, he was arrested by the Vichy French authorities and confined in Le Mans, where he could escape and return to Céret.

With the execution of Lluis Companys, 15 October 1940, he refused to travel to America and became, automatically, President of the Generalitat of Catalonia according to the Interior Statute of Catalonia. He was the only modern president who would not set foot, as such, the Palace of the Generalitat. Then, he moved to Cogolin, where he resumed the manufacture of cork stoppers, an activity that provided the resources needed to survive.

Generalitat de Catalunya in exile

The first years in office were marked by adversity, with many limitations for minimum performance, resulting from the Second World War, the problem of Catalan refugees and the permanent danger for those who remained in French territory, together with decreasing economic resources. Whilst in hiding, Irla maintained contacts with Catalans scattered throughout France.

After the war, he established an Advisory Council of the Presidency of the Generalitat, with the intention of preparing the structures for a future Catalan government. The council included Carles Pi i Sunyer, Pompeu Fabra, Antoni Rovira i Virgili, Josep Carner, Joan Comorera, Manuel Serra i Moret and Pau Padro.

During his rule, he prepared the return of the government to Catalonia, maintained relations with the Catalans who had been living in Spain, he was concerned about the situation of the Catalan exiles outside Spain always keeping alive the democratic will of Catalonia, defending Catalan and international reporting the situation of fascist repression in Spain.

In this regard, in 1946, he directed a memorandum to the United Nations in which, after exposing the historical reality of Catalonia, denounced the actions of the caudillo Franco against autonomy, culture and economy of Catalonia, asking United Nations to condemn Francoist Spain and recognize the damage done to Catalonia. He obtained a fragile international condemnation that did not refer to the republican legality crushed by the military uprising, nor made any reference to the repression of Catalonia. However, the disagreement between the Catalans living in exile who hoped that the end of World War II meant the end of Francoist Spain, made into crisis his government in 1947 and he dissolved a year following. At that time, he said: "The work of the Government can not suffer any interruption and will continue to be exercised with the patriotic spirit of always". Since then, the institutional representation of the Generalitat was customized on its president.

Death and legacy

Josep Irla died on 19 September 1958, shortly before turning 82, in Saint-Raphaël, Var (Provence).

In 1981, his remains were moved to Barcelona and received solemnly by the presidents Jordi Pujol and Heribert Barrera. Being celebrated a state funeral in the town of Sant Feliu de Guixols.

Josep Irla had a hard face and was not a great orator nor a charismatic character, but was a political manager and efficient, which he connected important sectors of Catalan society at the time (he won every election which he presented) and retains the continuity of the Catalan institutions at a time of great adversity.

Today, the foundation that bears his name, has undertaken to honor the president and keep his ideological legacy.

Bibliography

  • Presidents del Parlament: "Josep Irla i Bosch (1938–1940)". parlament.cat. [Retrieved: 19 June 2010].
  • Oliveira, Susanna. "El tercer president". Presència [Girona], no. 2019, 5–11 November 2010, p. 46–49.
  • Masanés, Cristina. "Tomba de Josep Irla. Porteu-me allà baix". Sàpiens [Barcelona], no. 79, May 2009, p. 59. .
  • Fundació Irla Bibliography
  • Memoriaesquerra
  • Família Soler – Aymerich

References

  • Parlament de Catalunya – Josep Irla i Bosch
  • Fundació Josep Irla
  • Josep Irla i Bosch at MemòriaEsquerra.cat
  • Josep Irla i Bosch at Gran enciclopèdia catalana