Who is Joan Ribó, former mayor of Valencia?

Joan Ribó Canut was born in Manresa on 17 September 1947. Being born in Catalonia was a geographical accident: his family comes from Adrall, in Lleida province at the foot of the Pyrenees, with roots in mountain farming. He is the eldest of four children, with three brothers and a sister.

His schooling began early away from home, as he boarded in Barcelona from the age of 11. He went on to study agronomic engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). He earned a doctorate on non-polluting pesticides, work mentioned by the journal Phytoma in March 2016. Professionally, he worked as a chemistry teacher, with a confirmed post in Meliana between 2007 and 2010.

His political involvement spans decades. He was a regional MP (Corts Valencianes) from 1995 to 2007 for Izquierda Unida, then again from 2011 with Compromís. In 2015, he became mayor of Valencia, a post he held until 2023.

On leaving city hall, Ribó made clear he was not retiring from political life. According to COPE, dated 27 March 2024, he said: "Dejo de ser regidor, pero no dejo la política y seguiré trabajando en la calle, en las redes sociales, como TikTok, y donde sea necesario" ("I'm stepping down as councillor, but not leaving politics, and I'll keep working on the street, on social media like TikTok, and wherever needed").

His relationship with social media had already been documented. According to Valencia Plaza, dated 12 May 2023, he had opened a TikTok account on his granddaughter's advice, saying he wanted to avoid being "un boomer".

Photo credit: photo by Coentor (2011), dual licence CC BY-SA 3.0 / GFDL, Wikimedia Commons.