Borja Sémper
Spanish politician (born 1976)

Sémper in 2013

Francisco de Borja Sémper Pascual[1] (born 10 January 1976)[2] is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician. He was a city councillor in the Basque cities of Irun (1995–2010) and San Sebastián (2019–2020) and a member of the Basque Parliament (2003–2020), serving as party spokesman in the latter chamber from 2013.

A member of the PP from the age of 17 and a target for violence by ETA, he left politics in January 2020 to work for Ernst & Young, but returned three years later to lead the PP's election campaigns and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.

Biography

Early life and activism

Born in Irun, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Sémper joined the People's Party (PP) at the age of 17. He faced at least two assassination attempts from ETA due to his activism,[3] one of which failed in 1997 because he missed his class at the University of the Basque Country, where he was studying for a law degree.[4] In the New Generations of the People's Party, he formed a friendship with Santiago Abascal, who was voted the regional leader of the sector and later became president of Vox.[3]

Councillor and member of the Basque Parliament

Sémper was voted onto his hometown's council in 1995.[5] He resigned in January 2010, due to conflict with his regional and party political offices.[6] He became a member of the Basque Parliament in November 2003, leader of the provincial PP in November 2009, and the party spokesman in the Basque Parliament in May 2013.[7]

Sémper was selected as the PP candidate for mayor of San Sebastián in December 2018, after 2015 candidate Miren Albistur decided not to run again. The party occupied three of 27 seats in the city council and faced competition on the right from the growth of Citizens and Vox.[8] At the presentation of his campaign in February 2019, he made the unorthodox decision to not use any imagery or colours of his party.[9] After the elections in May, he said that his unusual campaign paid off, as the PP had retained its seats in San Sebastián while experiencing losses elsewhere in the Basque Country.[10]

Exit and return to politics

Sémper at the launch of his book in October 2021, with Emiliano García-Page

In January 2020, Sémper left politics for a position as director of institutional relations at Ernst & Young. He said that he could not cope with the confrontational nature of Spanish politics and wanted a new start for his family.[11] In October 2021, he and PSOE politician Eduardo Madina released the book Todos los futuros perdidos ("All the Lost Futures"), marking the tenth anniversary of ETA's ceasefire.[12]

Sémper returned to the PP at the start of 2023, being hired by leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to lead the campaign for the year's local and regional elections.[13] In the campaign, he expressed discomfort at the unofficial anti-Pedro Sánchez slogan "Let Txapote vote for you" as Txapote, real name Francisco Javier García Gaztelu, was one of the ETA members who had threatened his life.[14] He was elected to the Congress of Deputies as third in the PP list in the Madrid constituency.[15]

Personal life

As of December 2025, Sémper had two sons aged under ten with actress Bárbara Goenaga.[16] Sémper and Goenaga each have one other child from previous relationships.[17]

In July 2025, Sémper announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer.[18]

References

  1. ^ "La carta de Ónega a Francisco de Borja Sémper: "Merece los calificativos de patriota y de héroe"" [Ónega's letter to Francisco de Borja Sémper: "You deserve the titles of patriot and hero"] (in Spanish). Onda Cero. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  2. ^ Lucas, Antonio (15 January 2023). "Borja Sémper, sonreír con tres filas de dientes" [Borja Sémper, smiling with three rows of teeth]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b Escartín, Javier (10 January 2023). "En la 'trinchera' y frente a ETA: así se forjó la amistad "a prueba de bombas" de Sémper y Abascal" [In the 'trench' and against ETA: how the "bombproof" friendship between Sémper and Abascal was formed]. HuffPost (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  4. ^ Coronel, Inma (20 February 2020). "Borja Sémper cuenta cómo faltar a clase en la universidad le salvó de ser asesinado por ETA" [Borja Sémper tells how missing a university class saved him from being assassinated by ETA] (in Spanish). Nius. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  5. ^ "La trayectoria de Borja Sémper, en imágenes" [Borja Sémper's career, in images]. El Correo (in Spanish). 15 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Borja Sémper presenta hoy en el Pleno su renuncia como concejal" [Borja Sémper presents today in the plenary session his resignation as councillor]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 27 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  7. ^ Muñoz, Ainhoa (14 January 2020). "Borja Sémper abandona la política tras 25 años como dirigente del PP" [Borja Sémper quits politics after 25 years as PP activist]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Borja Sémper será el candidato del PP a la Alcaldía de San Sebastián" [Borja Sémper will be the PP candidate for mayor of San Sebastián]. El Mundo (in Spanish). EFE. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  9. ^ Gorospe, Pedro (21 February 2019). "Sémper esconde la imagen del PP al presentarse como candidato a San Sebastián" [Sémper hides the imagery of the PP while presenting himself as candidate in San Sebastián]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  10. ^ Muñoz, Ainhoa (27 May 2019). "Sémper reivindica su estilo en campaña para reflotar el PP en San Sebastián" [Sémper vindicates his campaign style to re-establish the PP in San Sebastián]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  11. ^ Villameriel, Miguel (14 January 2020). "Borja Sémper: "Me voy por un tema personal, pero estoy incómodo en la actual política de trincheras"" [Borja Sémper: "I'm leaving for personal reasons, but I'm uncomfortable in the current trench warfare politics"]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  12. ^ "La ínsula: "El libro 'Todos los futuros perdidos' rinde tributo a todas las vidas que ETA se llevó"" [La Ínsula: "The book 'Todos los futuros perdidos' pays tribute to all the lives that ETA took"] (in Spanish). Onda Cero. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  13. ^ Del Riego, Carmen (9 January 2023). "Feijóo ficha a Borja Semper [sic] como portavoz del comité de campaña" [Feijóo signs Borja Sémper as campaign committee spokesman]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Borja Sémper, sobre el 'que te vote Txapote': "Es una frase que me incomoda porque Txapote quiso matarme y no la uso"" [Borja Sémper, on 'let Txapote vote for you': "It's a phrase that makes me uncomfortable because Txapote wanted to kill me and I don't use it"] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Esto son los 350 diputados elegidos el 23J" [These are the 350 deputies elected in the 23 July elections] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  16. ^ "El viaje sin hijos de Borja Sémper con Bárbara Goenaga para "celebrar la vida" en pleno tratamiento contra el cáncer" [Borja Sémper's journey with Bárbara Goenaga without children to "celebrate life" in the middle of treatment against cancer]. El Economista (in Spanish). 1 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  17. ^ Cobo, Inmaculada (23 February 2020). "Borja Sémper: su vida en Madrid fuera de la política de trinchera" [Borja Sémper: his life in Madrid outside trench warfare politics]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Borja Sémper anuncia que padece cáncer" [Borja Sémper announces that he is suffering from cancer]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 14 July 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
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