Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Pedro, 1972–, Spanish political leader, b. Madrid, Ph.D. Camilo José Cela Univ., 2012. A professor of economics and a member of the Socialist Workers party (PSOE), he served in parliament (2009–11, 2013–16) and became leader of the PSOE (2014–16, 2017–). After the 2015 elections, he was unable to form a government (as was Mariano Rajoy Brey of the conservative Popular party) and new elections produced a similar result. Sánchez's continued opposition to a Rajoy government and the PSOE's electoral losses led to his resignation as PSOE leader and from parliament, but he won election to the leadership post in 2017. In 2018, after Sánchez called a no-confidence vote in Rajoy and won, he became prime minister of a minority government that included the left-wing, anti-austerity party Podemos. He won a plurality but failed to form a new government after snap elections in 2019, but after new elections late that year, in the which Socialists again won a plurality, he formed a coalition government with the left-wing Podemos-led alliance and the acquiescence of pro-independence Catalan leftists.
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