Businessman and former president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Miquel Valls, has died aged 75. He passed away early this Sunday at the private Teknon Hospital in Barcelona, the result of an illness he was recently diagnosed with, El Nacional has learnt.
Valls presided over the Barcelona Chamber of Commerca for 17 years, from 2002 to earlier this year, when he decided to not stand for re-election. The pro-independence Eines de País candidacy won that election and he gave way to Joan Canadell in June, a historical and controversial moment for the institution.
From Antoni Negre to Miquel Valls
Valls was born in Barcelona on 28th September 1943. In 2017, he received the Cross of St George, one of the highest civil distinctions awarded by the Catalan government, "for his participation in the Catalan corporate institutions" for for having "contributed to strengthening and promoting them, putting them at the service of Catalonia's economic development and international projection".
He earned a degree in Economic Sciences from the University of Barcelona, a master's in business management from EADA and a diploma in it from IESE. Between 1970 and 1984, he was director of the Valls family business group, in the metallurgy sector, before becoming CEO of Comercial DVP, another firm in the same industry.
He became president of Barcelona Chamber of Commerce in June 2002, taking over from Antoni Negre; at the same time he also became president of the Council of Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia, which brings together 13 Catalan chambers.
He was also vice-president of Barcelona Trade Fair, of the High Council of Chambers of Commerce of Spain and of the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry. In 2009, representing Spain, he was elected vice-president of Eurochambres, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Created in 1958, Eurochambres represents over 20 million businesses and a network of 1700 regional and local chambers. He was re-elected to that post in 2013.
Valls was also involved in various other large Catalan companies and institutions, for example as a member of the advisory councils of Abertis and employers' association Foment del Treball; of the boards of directors of Gas Natural Fenosa, VidaCaixa and Grup Emergir; and of the executive committee of the Zona Franco Consortium in Barcelona.
17 years at the head of the Chamber
Valls was elected president of Barcelona Chamber of Commerce on a platform which called for increased investment in Catalan infrastructure and public-private management of Barcelona airport. During his mandate, he mainly emphasised the deficit in public investment in Catalonia by the Spanish state. In 2007, the Barcelona Chamber, alongside Foment del Treball, IESE and RACC, organised a large event to call for decision-making power over Barcelona airport, to turn it into a centre for inter-continental flights.
Like anyone in such a position for so long, Valls had his defenders and his detractors, especially towards the end of his mandate. That mandate lasted 17 years, through 4 elections. Some accused him of a lack of leadership and a weak defence of Catalonia; other hailed his achievements, like keeping the Chamber above water despite the change to the law in 2010 eliminating the obligatory contributions for companies, leaving the institution's finances in a precarious state.