Anniversary tribute to Carme Chacón: Conference hall named after late minister

Secretary of the Catalunya Socialist Party (PSC) Salvador Illa says a series of commemorative tributes are being prepared for Carme (pictured), who died aged 46 from a congenital heart condition which.

Defence minister under former socialist national president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero – who was criticised at the time for allowing a pregnant woman to visit the front line in Afghanistan – Carme had given speeches about her health and explained that, with the right treatment, she had been able to lead a normal life, including playing basketball, her great hobby.

Carme, from Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona province), who earned 25 seats as head of the party list in Barcelona during the 2008 general elections and had also been housing minister under Zapatero, died very suddenly at home, leaving behind her nine-year-old son.

She will be the third politician to have a PSC conference hall named after her – one was given the name of party founder Joan Reventós and another christened after socialist member Ernest Lluch, who was killed in an ETA terrorist bombing in the year 2000.

A posthumous book with Carme's political thoughts, views and essays will be published at the beginning of May as a tribute to her long life in public office, and will include photographs of different stages of her active career with the socialists.