Carlos Martínez Mínguez

Carlos Martínez Mínguez (born 28 June 1973) is a politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was elected to the city council in Soria in 1999 and was the mayor from 2007 to 2026. He was a member of the Cortes of Castile and León from 2003 to 2007. In 2025, he was elected secretary general of the Socialist Party of Castile and León, and led the party to second place in the 2026 regional election.

Biography Born in Soria in Castile and León, Martínez was elected onto his hometown's council in 1999, serving in the administration of mayor Eloísa Álvarez in a coalition government of their Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and two other parties. In 2003, the People's Party (PP) won the mayor's office, and Martínez led the opposition; he was simultaneously a member of the Cortes of Castile and León.

In 2007, 34-year-old Martínez became the youngest mayor of a provincial capital of Castile and León. Having led a minority government in his first term, he won an absolute majority of seats on the council in 2011, retaining it in three further elections despite the emergence of third parties such as Podemos and Citizens in the 2015 elections.

In the 2026 Castilian-Leonese regional election, Martínez led the PSOE to second place behind the incumbent PP, with both parties adding two deputies compared to 2022. With Vox growing by one, the parties of the right retained a majority.

On 13 April 2026, Martínez resigned as mayor of Soria the day before being sworn into the Cortes of Castile and León. Having governed for 19 years, he was the longest-serving Socialist mayor of a provincial capital.