In memoriam – José Gracia Barba

Last Saturday, 19 November, José Gracia Barba, member of the Board of Directors of our Chamber, unexpectedly passed away.

Three days earlier he attended the event organised with President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Ingenious, generous, friendly, and witty as always, nothing made us think about the outcome.

He always wanted to be known as “Pitu” and, to our very dear Pitu, goes our tribute.

It is difficult to use the past when writing these lines. The imprint of his presence in the Chamber’s life will live on. Undoubtedly.

Kindness, generosity, intelligence, commitment. His service to Spain, from his position as administrator of our Chamber, highlights these qualities.

In 2012, he played a decisive role in integrating the (private) Spanish Chamber in Luxembourg into the current Official Chamber, and from 2017 to 2020 he was its Vice-President for the Grand Duchy.

Pitu was an Industrial Engineer. His professional experience led him to be part of different companies, among them Inespal (Empresa Nacional del Aluminio), before starting his career on his own.

Since 1995, Gracia Barba had developed different projects in the financial and energy sector, holding various positions in companies such as EUROSIGMA, Metrovacesa, Gecina, CTI, or Banco Pastor. He currently held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBN (Banco de Negocios S.A.).

“Death is not real when the deed of life has been well done”, said the Cuban philosopher and poet José Martí. This quote becomes a reality in the person of Pitu.

Margarita, Pitu’s support, has our affection and love. With her, Pitu remains among us.

Dear Pitu, thank you for everything.