Josep Tarradellas
Josep Tarradellas i Joan (), 1st Marquess of Tarradellas (19 February 1899 – 10 June 1988) was a Spanish politician, first president of Catalonia in the democracy. Biography. In 1931, he became general secretary of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC). He also was deputy at the Cortes that year, Governance and Health councillor when Francesc Macià was President of the Generalitat of Catalonia as well as Public Services, Economy and Culture councillor during the Spanish Civil War. Exiled to France since 1939, he became President of the Generalitat of Catalonia when Josep Irla resigned, in 1954. Two years after  Francisco Franco's death (1975), the President of the Spanish Government Adolfo Suárez met him to negotiate the reestablishment of the Government of Catalonia, an event which occurred on 23 October 1977. The sentence pronounced at his arrival has become famous as a symbol: "Ciutadans de Catalunya, ja sóc aquí!" (Catalan for "Citizens of Catalonia, I am here at last!"). He was welcomed solemnly in Barcelona and set up a unity government. He finished his work with the elections for the Catalan Parliament (March 1980), and Jordi Pujol was elected in April. On 24 July 1986 Tarradellas received the hereditary  title "marqués de Tarradellas" (English: Marquess of Tarradellas) from King Juan Carlos I. Tarradellas died in Barcelona in 1988. The hereditary marquessate is now held by his son, who became the second marquess. On 21 December 2018 the Government of Spain announced that Barcelona–El Prat Airport would be renamed after Tarradellas.