Born in 1930 in Barcelona, Pujol served six consecutive terms as President of the Generalitat from 1980 to 2003, representing the current opposition party CiU (Convergència i Unió, made up of two different parties including Convergéncia Democràtica), a nationalist party. Having seen the devastation of the Spanish Civil War firsthand, Pujol often stated that his life’s goal was to rebuild Catalunya. He earned a Doctorate in Medicine from Barcelona University while becoming increasingly involved in politics. In 1960, Pujol was arrested for organising democratic Catalan-nationalism demonstrations outside the Palau de la Música Catalana. He was imprisoned for two years and then exiled for a year in Girona. When he returned, he picked up in his political endeavours once again, and in 1977 was elected to the Spanish Parliament in Madrid in Spain’s first democratic election since before Franco’s regime. He resigned his Parliamentary position in 1980 to run for the Presidency of the Generalitat, subsequently winning that election and the next five. Throughout his public service, Pujol encouraged national awareness and cultural pride, as well as business and economic affairs. Between 1980 and 2002, tourism in Catalunya increased from a yearly average of nearly 12 million visitors to nearly 23 million visitors. Pujol also encouraged the Catalan language, establishing multiple Catalan language schools and courses. Pujol retired from the Presidency in December 2003.