Paulino Rivero

Paulino Rivero Baute (born 11 February 1952 in El Sauzal, Tenerife, Spain) is a Spanish politician and teacher. A member of the Canarian Coalition, he is the former president of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands.

Biography

Prior to his career in politics, Rivero was a primary school teacher; he received his diploma from the University of La Laguna. In the 1979 regional elections, the first such elections under the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Rivero was elected as the mayor of El Sauzal, a position he held until 1997.

Rivero was also a member of the Cabildo de Tenerife before moving into national politics in 1996.

In February 2007, Rivero was selected as the Canarian Coalition's candidate for President of the Canary Islands at the 2007 regional elections. The coalition received the third-highest share of the vote, 23.36%, but received the second highest number of delegates with 19. Rivero's party formed a coalition with the third-place People's Party, which allowed him to be installed as President on 13 July 2007.