Lum Rodrigues becomes first woman to head Catalonia’s Sindicatura de Comptes. Lum Rodrigues has become the first woman to hold the position of síndica major at the Sindicatura de Comptes. The decision was made unanimously. The institution’s new composition is now gender balanced.
For the first time in the history of the Sindicatura de Comptes in Catalonia, the post of síndica major has been held by a woman. Lum Rodríguez has been officially confirmed for this position after a unanimous vote by the members of the body. The previous head, Miquel Salazar, left the post for personal reasons at the end of May, and since then Rodríguez had served as acting head.
According to established procedure, the candidacy for síndica major is proposed at a general meeting and confirmed by the President of the Generalitat for a term of three years. After Salvador Illa signs the corresponding decree, Lum Rodríguez will take the oath at a special session. The new makeup of the Sindicatura is now gender-balanced: three men, three women, and one secretary general.
Lum Rodríguez was born in 1961 in Ríoseco (Ourense). She holds two higher education degrees—in law and political science, both from the University of Barcelona. From 1981 to 1993, she worked in the municipality of Sant Adrià de Besòs, where she headed the human resources department. She then moved to the Barcelona Provincial Council: first as a lawyer in the legal department, later as director of this department, then as deputy manager, and from 2019 to 2022 as general manager of the institution. In 2022, she joined the Sindicatura.
In addition to her administrative career, Rodríguez was actively involved in teaching. She served as a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Barcelona from 2006 to 2021, and also taught courses at the Catalan School of Public Administration and the National Institute of Public Administration. Among her publications are co-authored books on taxation and municipal management.
The appointment of Llum Rodríguez reflects a trend toward an increasing number of women in leadership positions in Catalonia’s public sector. By comparison, similar bodies in other regions of Spain are also gradually moving towards a more balanced gender composition. Issues of equality and transparency in the work of state institutions remain in focus, as seen with recent changes in sports federations, which were previously reported in a feature about triathlon in Castilla y León: competitions with a limited number of participants.
The Sindicatura de Comptes of Catalonia is a key financial oversight body responsible for auditing public spending and ensuring transparency in budgetary processes. Rodríguez's appointment may strengthen the focus on efficiency and equality in public finance management. According to russpain.com, such staffing decisions are becoming increasingly prominent amid ongoing reforms in Spain’s public administration system.
