Governance and citizenship

The mayor of Bilbao (Spain), Iñaki Azkuna, has been awarded the 2012 World Mayor Prize by the City Mayors Foundation for being the year’s most outstanding mayor.

The City of Bilbao has been transformed into an international centre for tourism and culture since the opening of the Guggenheim Museum in 1997.  The museum, having contributed an estimated €2.4 billion to the Basque Province’s GDP since its opening, has helped increase the number of annual visitors to the city from 100 000 in 1997 to 700 000 in 2011.

In 1999, Askuna was elected mayor of Bilbao and used the museum’s high profile to further rebuild the former industrial city.  Under his administration, the city has managed to steadily reduce its debt, which was fully paid off by 2011.

Upon receiving the prize, Askuna underlined the importance of involving citizens in new city development projects.  He was selected among 900 candidates, a process during which over 463 000 citizens spoke out.

The City of Bilbao is a member of the Association of Basque Municipalities (EUDEL), which often works in cooperation with the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), the Spanish section of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).