V Employment Congress 2022

Idoia Mendia Cueva

Second Deputy First Minister and Minister of Labour and Employment of the Basque Government (from September 2020). In this legislature, she is leading a profound transformation of public employment policies linked to the consequences of the demographic, energy and digital transitions. Indeed, she is promoting a new model for the public employment service, a new employment law, and also designing a more flexible guaranteed income system so that no one is left behind in this process. A graduate in Law from the University of Deusto, with a postgraduate degree in International and European Relations from the Amsterdam School of International Relations, she was also the first woman to lead the PSE-EE/PSOE. Since October 2021, she has been Secretary for Studies and Programmes of the PSOE's Federal Executive Committee. She is the author of a book, several forewords and articles related to Basque and Spanish politics, and has given lectures in the Basque Country, Madrid, Seoul and Berlin on employment innovation and social cohesion.