Career
In his youth,Roca joined forces with other future Catalan politicians,such as Narcís Serra and Pasqual Maragall,in the Front Obrer de Catalunya,an illegal left-wing organization made up mostly by university students linked to the Popular Liberation Front (FELIPE).
Later in his life,Roca turned to liberal ideas. He was a founding member of Democratic Convergence of Catalonia in 1974,where he served as the adjunct to the Secretary-General. He was elected to the first democratic parliament after the Francoist dictatorship for the district of Barcelona,where he held his seat from 1977 to 1995 in representation of Convergence and Union. He soon became the leader and speaker of the Catalan Minority in Congress.
From 1982 to 1995,Roca represented the Generalitat,Catalonia's devolved regional administration,in the Committee for Bilateral Co-operation with the Spanish government. During this period,he failed in his attempt to create a centrist party to act as a counterweight between the conservative People's Alliance and the social-democratic PSOE,a plan known as Operation Roca.
Roca was the CiU candidate to become the Mayor of Barcelona in 1995,a position he accepted on the advice of then-President of the Generalitat Jordi Pujol. Despite his popularity,he lost by a considerable margin against incumbent Pasqual Maragall,a former correligionary of Roca. He took a post in the insurance company Catalana Occidente soon thereafter. In addition,he runs his own law firm and works as an associate professor of Constitutional Law at Pompeu Fabra University. He is also an honorary board member of various Spanish companies.
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