| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honourable |
| Ester Capella | |
| Office: | Minister of Territory of Catalonia |
| Term Start: | 12 June 2023 |
| Term End: | 12 August 2024 |
| President: | Pere Aragonès |
| Predecessor: | Damià Calvet |
| Office1: | Minister of Justice of Catalonia |
| Term Start1: | 2 June 2018 |
| Term End1: | 26 May 2021 |
| President1: | Quim Torra |
| Predecessor1: | Carles Mundó i Blanch |
| Successor1: | Lourdes Ciuró |
| Office2: | Member of the Congress of Deputies |
| Constituency2: | Barcelona |
| Term Start2: | 8 January 2016 |
| Term End2: | 1 June 2018 |
| Office3: | Member of the Senate |
| Constituency3: | Catalonia |
| Term Start3: | 23 January 2013 |
| Term End3: | 12 January 2016 |
| Predecessor3: | Iolanda Pineda Balló |
| Office4: | Member of the Municipality Council of Barcelona |
| Term Start4: | 2007 |
| Term End4: | 2011 |
| Birth Name: | Ester Capella i Farré |
| Birth Date: | 3 April 1963 |
| Birth Place: | La Seu d'Urgell, Catalonia, Spain |
| Citizenship: | Spanish |
| Party: | Republican Left of Catalonia |
| Otherparty: | Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes |
| Alma Mater: | University of Barcelona |
| Occupation: | Lawyer |
Ester Capella i Farré (born 3 April 1963) is a Spanish lawyer and politician from Catalonia. She was the Minister of Justice of Catalonia in the Torra Cabinet. She was previously a member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain and Senate of Spain.
Born in 1968 in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, Capella studied law at the University of Barcelona before becoming a lawyer. She was a municipal councillor in Barcelona from 2007 and 2011 and was appointed to the Senate of Spain in January 2013, serving until January 2016 when she became a member of the Congress of Deputies. She was appointed Minister of Justice of Catalonia in June 2018.
Capella was born on 3 April 1963 in La Seu d'Urgell, Catalonia.[1] [2] She grew up in La Pobla de Segur.[2] [3] She has a degree in law from the University of Barcelona.[1] [3]
Capella started practising law in 1988.[1] She is a member of the Bar Association of Barcelona.[4] She was president of the Catalan Association of Democratic Lawyers (ACJD) from 2003 to 2007.[1] [3] She is a member of several feminist organisations including Women and Rights, the Women's Lobby of Catalonia and the Association of Women Jurists.[3] [5]
Capella contested the 2007 local elections as an independent Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal (ERC-AM) electoral alliance candidate in Barcelona and was elected.[6] [7] She joined ERC in 2008 and became the party's spokesperson on the city council.[1] [8] At the 2011 local elections Capella was placed third on the Unity for Barcelona–Republican Left of Catalonia–Reagrupament-Catalan Democracy-Acord Municipal (UpB-ERC-Ri.Cat-DCat-AM) alliance's list of candidates in Barcelona but the alliance only managed to win two seats in the municipality and as a result she failed to get re-elected.[9] [10] She was in charge of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities from 2011 to 2013.[1] [3]
In January 2013 Capella was appointed to the Senate of Spain by the Parliament of Catalonia, replacing Socialist Iolanda Pineda Balló.[1] [8] At the 2015 local elections Capella was placed 11th on the ERC-AM alliance's list of candidates in La Pobla de Segur but the alliance only managed to win six seats in the municipality and as a result she failed to get elected.[11] [12] She contested the 2015 general election as a Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.[13] [14] She was re-elected at the 2016 general election.[15] [16]
On 19 May 2018 newly elected President Quim Torra nominated a new government in which Capella was to be Minister of Justice.[17] [18] [19] She was sworn in on 2 June 2018 at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya.[20] [21] [22]
| Constituency | scope=col | Party | scope=col | Alliance | scope=col | No. | scope=col | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal | 2 | Elected | ||||||
| UpB-ERC-Ri.Cat-DCat-AM | 3 | Not elected | ||||||
| Republican Left of Catalonia-Acord Municipal | 11 | Not elected | ||||||
| 3 | Elected | |||||||
| 3 | Elected |