Andorra is a tiny country (of 80,000 people) nestled between Spain and France in the Pyrenees mountains.
Monday September 11, the 43-year-old prime minister of Andorra, Xavier Espot Zamora, head of the government since 2019, revealed that he is gay in an interview with a news outlet. The headline says "El presidente de Andorra sale del armario: «Yo soy gay y nunca me he escondido» which I translate as "The president of Andorra leaves the closet: 'I am gay and I have never hidden myself." In Spanish, the text of the report in The Observer is:
El jefe del Gobierno de Andorra, Xavier Espot, ha hecho pública su homosexualidad: «Yo soy gay y nunca me he escondido». Las declaraciones han tenido lugar en durante una entrevista en la radio pública del país, en la que el líder andorrano aseguró que nunca había hablado de su orientación sexual porque no le habían preguntado, pero que «no debe suponer ningún inconveniente», según recoge el diario Nació Digital.
«Estoy encantado de que pueda servir a jóvenes que están en una situación difícil», ha añadido. Espot ha explicado, además, que nunca ha sentido discriminación por su orientación sexual. Sin embargo, ha remarcado que no puede negar que otras personas sí que hayan vivido este tipo de situaciones por el mismo motivo. «Aún no hemos llegado a la plena igualdad de género», lamentó, por lo que ha defendido la necesidad de impulsar unas políticas públicas que combatan la LGTBIfobia.
This is translated (by Google) as:
The head of the Government of Andorra, Xavier Espot, has made his homosexuality public: “I am gay and I have never hidden myself.” The statements took place during an interview on the country’s public radio, in which the Andorran leader assured that he had never spoken about his sexual orientation because he had not been asked, but that “it should not cause any inconvenience,” according to the report.
“I am delighted that I can serve young people who are in a difficult situation,” he added. Espot has also explained that he has never felt discrimination due to his sexual orientation. However, he stressed that he cannot deny that other people have experienced this type of situation for the same reason. “We have not yet reached full gender equality,” he lamented, which is why he has defended the need to promote public policies that combat LGTBI-phobia.
Espot Zamora becomes one of a handful of openly LGBTQ heads of state in the world. According to JoeMyGod, the others are: Luxembourg, Serbia, and Latvia. Wikipedia has a longer list (and distinguishes between heads of the government and heads of state). In the United States these are the same person (President of the United States) but in many other countries they are often different roles occupied by different people. For example, in England King Charles is head of state but Rishi Sunak is the head of government.
Do you know of any openly LGBTQ political figures in the USA? There are currently three (3!) openly LGBTQ governors in the United States. Name them in the comments!
4 comments:
I know the governor of Oregon and the governor of Massachusetts are queer. I didn't know about the third one, the governor of Maryland. It's interesting how they're all queer women, no?
According to my findings online, the three current openly LGBTQ Governers in the United States are Jared Polis (Governor of Colorado), Maura Healey (Governor of Massachusetts and former Attorney General of Massachusetts), and Tina Kotek (Governor of Oregon). I find this to be very promising, epsecially in such a tumultuous time for our community. I hope to see a Lesbian Woman president next LMAOOOO!!
Zach is correct, it's Oregon, Colorado and Massachusetts. Oregon has the distinction of having had TWO governors be members of the LGBTQ community (Kotek's predecessor as OR-GOV was Kate Brown who is bisexual.)
Posting late but I also think that it's important and shows evolution in our society that these important political figures feel safe and secure enough in their positions to share their sexuality publicly.
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