Lieutenant General Francisco José Gan Pampols to Lead Vice Presidency for Economic and Social Recovery

Lieutenant General of the Spanish Army, Francisco José Gan Pampols, will assume the Vice Presidency of the Valencian Government for Economic and Social Recovery, as announced by the Generalitat's presidency early this Tuesday morning.

Mazón announced the creation of this vice presidency last Friday during his appearance in Les Corts to explain the management of the DANA. Now, the inclusion of the lieutenant general marks the second appointment in the new Consell, following the dismissal of Nuria Montes and the appointment of Marián Cano as Minister of Industry.

This vice presidency has been established to centralize the Consell's actions aimed at the economic and social recovery and normalization of the province of Valencia, devastated by the floods of October 29. Therefore, Gan Pampols will be responsible for designing a recovery plan and coordinating reconstruction efforts in the affected areas.

The lieutenant general will also be responsible for chairing the Interdepartmental Commission tasked with organizing and coordinating all Consell departments focused on the reconstruction process of the affected regions.

Another of his duties will be to develop a protection plan to address future natural disasters that may endanger the population. To this end, the Generalitat will conduct a detailed analysis of infrastructure related to prevention.

Francisco José Gan Pampols joined the General Military Academy (Zaragoza) in 1975 and has risen through the ranks to lieutenant general in 2016. He is currently retired, having reached the mandatory retirement age. He was born in Figueres in 1958.

Among his many military responsibilities, he was appointed in 2009 as director of the General Military Academy, a position he held until March 2013. In March 2013, he was appointed advisor to the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, remaining in this position until May of that year.

In May 2013, he was appointed director of the Armed Forces Intelligence Centre and in December 2016 he was promoted to lieutenant general, remaining in the position until May 2017, when he was appointed Chief General of the High Readiness Land Headquarters.

Gan Pampols has participated in numerous operations and peacekeeping missions in various countries. In fact, he served in 1995 as operations chief of the AGT 'Aragón' in the United Nations Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 1996, he was operations chief of SPABRI I as a NATO member in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2000-2001, he joined as Chief of Operational Staff of the Multinational Brigade West in Kosovo and in 2007 he was appointed head of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Quala e Naw (Afghanistan).

Lieutenant General Gan Pampols holds a degree in Political Science and Sociology from the UNED, and is an honorary doctor from the Catholic University of Valencia; he is also a member of the Civic Circle of Opinion.

Additionally, he holds various civil and military decorations; among these are the Grand Cross of Military Merit, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Civil Guard, and the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild, as well as ten other white crosses for military merit.