Lilith Verstrynge
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Lilith Verstrynge Revuelta (born 7 July 1992)[1] is a Spanish former politician. The daughter of Jorge Verstrynge, with whom she shared membership of Podemos, she served in the Congress of Deputies for six months up to January 2024, and was Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda from July 2022 to November 2023.
Verstrynge is the daughter of fellow politician Jorge Verstrynge, who was born in 1948 in the Tangier International Zone. Jorge Verstrynge was secretary general of the People's Alliance, the precursor to the People's Party, from 1979 to 1986. After a dispute with his predecessor Manuel Fraga, he quit the party in 1986 and moved to the left, joining the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in 1993 and Podemos in 2013.[2] Jorge Verstrynge's biological father was Willy Verstrynge, a supporter of Belgian Nazi collaborator Léon Degrelle, while his stepfather was René Mazel, a French communist expelled from colonial Algeria for his beliefs.[2][3][4]
Verstrynge was raised in the Fuente del Berro neighbourhood of the Salamanca district of Madrid.[3] She was educated at the Lycée Français de Madrid and then studied history at the Paris Diderot University and European studies and international relations at the Sorbonne University in Paris, followed by a master's degree in political sciences from LMU Munich.[3] According to a 2023 article in El Nacional, she can speak Spanish, French, English, German, Portuguese and Arabic.[3]
Political career
Verstrynge began working for Podemos in 2016 as a consultant in the European Parliament in Brussels, then in the Assembly of Madrid.[3] In June 2021, secretary general Ione Belarra named her the secretary of organisation for Podemos.[5] Thirteen months later, she was named Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda, replacing Enrique Santiago.[6] When Belarra was removed from her ministry by prime minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez, Verstrynge was also removed from her role.[7]
In the 2023 Spanish general election, Sumar ran on a joint list with En Comú Podem in the Barcelona constituency, with Verstrynge fourth on the list.[8] The Sumar-ECP list had five members elected to the Congress of Deputies.[9]
On 26 January 2024, Verstrynge resigned her seat in Congress and left Podemos, citing health reasons. Her seat was filled by a Sumar deputy, meaning that Podemos went down to four members of Congress and Sumar up to 27.[10] In 2025 Verstrynge herself reflected in a Guardian article on her experiences in Podemos and the reasons for her resignation.[11]
References
- ↑ "Verstrynge Revuelta, Lilith" (in Spanish). Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- 1 2 Prieto, Darío (6 September 2020). "Jorge Verstrynge, fascismo y Podemos... valga la redundancia" [Jorge Verstrynge, fascism and Podemos... excuse the redundancy]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Degà, Abel (14 June 2023). "Quién es Lilith Verstrynge, la madrileña de buena cuna que Podemos envía a hacer las Catalunyas" [Who is Lilith Verstrynge, the well-bred Madrid native who Podemos sent to Catalonia]. El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ Bolea, Juan (17 July 2014). "Sala de máquinas" [Machine room]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ "Belarra designa a Lilith Verstrynge secretaria de Organización de Podemos" [Belarra names Lilith Verstrynge as secretary of organisation of Podemos]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). 14 June 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ "El Gobierno aprueba el nombramiento de Lilith Verstrynge como nueva secretaria de Estado para la Agenda 2030" [Government approves the naming of Lilith Verstrynge as new secretary of state for the 2030 Agenda] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ "'Pam' y Lilith Verstrynge, las 'número dos' de Irene Montero y Belarra, cesadas como secretarias de Estado" ['Pam' and Lilith Verstrynge, Irene Montero and Belarra's 'number twos', dismissed as secretaries of state]. El Español (in Spanish). 23 November 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ "Lilith Verstrynge, la madrileña que va de número 4 de Podemos en Barcelona" [Lilith Verstrynge, the Madrid native who is Podemos's number 4 in Barcelona]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 10 June 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ "Elecciones generales 2023: Estos son los 32 nuevos diputados del Congreso por Barcelona" [2023 general elections: These are the 32 new deputies in Congress for Barcelona]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 24 July 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ Carvajal, Álvaro (26 January 2024). "Dimite por sorpresa la 'número tres' de Podemos, Lilith Verstrynge, y deja al partido con un diputado menos en el Congreso" [Podemos's 'number three', Lilith Verstrynge, resigns by surprise and leaves the party with one deputy fewer in Congress]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ↑ Verstrynge, Lilith (27 November 2025). "Inside the rise and fall of Podemos: 'We believed we had a stake in the future'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 Jan 2025.