Editing Lluís Companys (section)

==Early life==
Lluís Companys i Jover was born in [[El Tarròs]] near [[Lleida]] in western Catalonia on 21 June 1882. His parents, Josep Companys and Maria Lluïsa de Jover, were peasants with aristocratic roots.<ref name="Sapiens121companys">{{cite journal |last= Finestres |first= Jordi |date= October 2012 |title= Lluís Companys. El president màrtir |language= ca |location= Barcelona |journal= [[Sàpiens]] |issue = 121 |pages = 46–49}}</ref> The second child of ten, Companys was sent to [[boarding school]] in Barcelona at the ''Liceu Poliglot''. He obtained his law degree from the [[University of Barcelona]], where he met [[Francesc Layret]], another Catalan nationalist with an interest in politics.  

Companys participated in the political life of Catalonia from a young age. In 1906, the military pressured and attacked the offices of Catalan newspapers ''[[Cu-Cut!]]'' and ''[[La Veu de Catalunya]]'', events which were followed by the passage of the repressive ''[[Law of Jurisdictions|Ley de Jurisdicciones]]'' ("Law of Jurisdictions"), making speech against Spain and its symbols a criminal offense.  In response to these events, he participated in the creation of the successful coalition [[Catalan Solidarity (1906)|Solidaritat Catalana]].<ref>Mata, Jordi. «Solidaritat Catalana: la gran il·lusió». Serra d'Or', num. 555 (March 2006), pp. 20–21. {{ISSN|0037-2501}}</ref> Later, he became affiliated with the ephemeral [[Republican Nationalist Federal Union]] (''Unió Federal Nacionalista Republicana''), where he was president of the youth section. He was investigated for his intense youth activities and was jailed fifteen times. After the violent confrontations in Barcelona during [[Tragic Week (Spain)|Tragic Week]] in 1909, he was classified as a "dangerous individual" in police records.

With Francesc Layret, Companys represented the left-wing labour faction of the [[Partit Republicà Català]] (Catalan Republican Party), for which he was elected local councilor of Barcelona in 1916. In November 1920, he was arrested together with [[Salvador Seguí]] (known as ''El Noi del Sucre''), [[Martí Barrera]] and other [[trade unionist]]s, and he was deported to the ''Castell de la Mola'' in [[Mahón]], [[Menorca]]. While Layret was preparing Companys' legal defense, he was assassinated by gunmen of the [[Sindicatos Libres]]. In the [[1920 Spanish general election|1920 Spanish legislative elections]] Companys took the place of Layret, who would likely have won that election,<ref>{{harvnb|Abelló|2006|p=118}}</ref> and despite having been deported, Companys was elected member of parliament for [[Sabadell]].  As a member of parliament he had legal immunity, which secured his release from prison.

In 1922 Companys was one of the founders of the peasants' trade union [[Unió de Rabassaires]], where he worked as lawyer and director of the ''La Terra'' magazine during the years of the [[Miguel Primo de Rivera|Primo de Rivera]] regime in the 1920s. Detained again, he was unable to attend the ''Conferència d'Esquerres'' (Conference of Leftists), held from 12 to 19 March 1931. The conference produced the political party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC, [[Republican Left of Catalonia]]) by merging [[Estat Català]] (led by Francesc Macià), the Partit Republicà Català itself, and the journal [[L'Opinió]]. The latter included [[Joan Lluhí]] as prominent figure. Nevertheless, Companys was elected as an executive member of ERC, representing the Partit Republicà Català. Thanks to the bonds between the Spanish labor movement and the Spanish trade union movement, the election of Companys to this position gave the ERC great prestige in left-wing public opinion, as it would otherwise have been regarded as a party of the progressive petty bourgeoisie.