By David Hudson · 9 comments· Updated on January 26, 2024
Andorra Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora (Photo: Government of Andorra)
Xavier Espot Zamora, the Prime Minister of Andorra, has revealed he is gay.
Espot, 43, made the comments yesterday during an interview with the nation’s public broadcaster.
“I’m gay. I’ve never hid it,” he told Radio and Television of Andorra. “Now, if I’m not asked I don’t have to say it, in the sense that it doesn’t define the entirety of who I am and even less my personal politics, but at the same time I think it shouldn’t be a problem to express it.
“And if this helps many children, young people or teenagers who are going through a difficult time see that in the end, regardless of their condition or sexual orientation, you can prosper in this country and reach the highest magistracy, then I am happy to express it.”
You can watch below. Espot speaks Catalan, Andorra’s official language.
Andorra is a tiny principality that lies between France and Spain. It has a population of around 80,000 but plays host to around 10 million tourists each year. Many travel there to enjoy skiing in the Pyrenees.
Espot, 43, took office in May 2019. He leads a liberal-conservative coalition between Democrats for Andorra (DA) and Committed Citizens (CC).
Andorra extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in 2022. However, the topic of Espot’s own sexuality did not come up at the time.
Espot joins a small list of other out-gay political leaders in Europe. This includes the Prime Ministers of Luxembourg (Xavier Bettel) and Serbia (Ana Brnabić). Ireland’s equivalent, the Taoiseach (Leo Varadkar), is also gay, as is the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs.
The former Prime Minister of Iceland, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, became the first out-gay head of government when she took office in 2009.
Check out some more photos of Xavier Espot Zamora from his Instagram.
“Gay people do not need to be treated any differently: no separate doctors, no separate radio stations, no festivals, and no separate flags.”
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@still_onthemark Actually, Andorra is one of my favourite places for an occasional break. Your comments might hold some truth, actually, if your experience is limited to shopping in Andorra la Vella or hanging out at the ski resorts – which is the case for a lot of visitors.
But take some time to explore the smaller towns higher up in the mountains – Ordino is my personal favourite – and it might find it quite a nice (and not particularly pricey) retreat.
What is it about these tiny European countries and gay prime ministers? Is Lichtenstein next?
Btw, Andorra is a tax haven where lots of Spaniards go to shop and Spanish youtubers/internet nomads try to take up residency to avoid income taxes.
Note to author: You’re asking for trouble writing “…the Catalan variation of Spanish”. Catalan is the official language of Andorra. Catalan is a co-official language in Spain. What Americans call Spanish is more accurately called Castellano, another co-official language in Spain. As far as I know, Catalan speakers don’t appreciate (consider it ignorant) to refer to Catalan as a variation or dialect of Spanish.
Not sure if Liechtenstein is next but it sure is rich, that’s for sure, outranking Monaco and Luxembourg as the richest countries per capita on earth.
And yes, Catalan is its own language, it isn’t a form of Spanish. It’s a distinct Romance language closely related to French, Spanish and Portuguese (and Italian, Romanian, etc.).
Thanks for pointing this out. As a Catalan speaker – and given how vacuous most of the articles on Queerty tend to be – it was certainly a pleasant surprise to find here a serious report, and largely in Catalan.
Good job Xavier! We are more than just gay, we do excellent work! I am retired since September of 2008, married 15 years to my husband who passed away in June, 2019, and we were together for 57 years. We watched the U.S.A. advance and in Massachusetts, 2004, we got married. I watched SCOTUS overturn section 3 of DOMA in 2013 and make marriage equality the law of the land in 2015. Kudos to our advancements and we will keep on trucking, with a few bumps in the road.
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Paul2
good for him, being true to who he is. But could you please translate so I can read his ;posts?
still_onthemark
It says, “Unless you’re a stamp collector don’t bother going to Andorra, it’s just an overpriced tourist trap.”
Kidding.
henare
Click on the post to open Instagram and then click on “Translate” once in Instagram.
DavidIntl
@still_onthemark Actually, Andorra is one of my favourite places for an occasional break. Your comments might hold some truth, actually, if your experience is limited to shopping in Andorra la Vella or hanging out at the ski resorts – which is the case for a lot of visitors.
But take some time to explore the smaller towns higher up in the mountains – Ordino is my personal favourite – and it might find it quite a nice (and not particularly pricey) retreat.
Fahd
What is it about these tiny European countries and gay prime ministers? Is Lichtenstein next?
Btw, Andorra is a tax haven where lots of Spaniards go to shop and Spanish youtubers/internet nomads try to take up residency to avoid income taxes.
Note to author: You’re asking for trouble writing “…the Catalan variation of Spanish”. Catalan is the official language of Andorra. Catalan is a co-official language in Spain. What Americans call Spanish is more accurately called Castellano, another co-official language in Spain. As far as I know, Catalan speakers don’t appreciate (consider it ignorant) to refer to Catalan as a variation or dialect of Spanish.
henare
True. All true.
Kangol2
Not sure if Liechtenstein is next but it sure is rich, that’s for sure, outranking Monaco and Luxembourg as the richest countries per capita on earth.
And yes, Catalan is its own language, it isn’t a form of Spanish. It’s a distinct Romance language closely related to French, Spanish and Portuguese (and Italian, Romanian, etc.).
DavidIntl
Thanks for pointing this out. As a Catalan speaker – and given how vacuous most of the articles on Queerty tend to be – it was certainly a pleasant surprise to find here a serious report, and largely in Catalan.
GayEGO
Good job Xavier! We are more than just gay, we do excellent work! I am retired since September of 2008, married 15 years to my husband who passed away in June, 2019, and we were together for 57 years. We watched the U.S.A. advance and in Massachusetts, 2004, we got married. I watched SCOTUS overturn section 3 of DOMA in 2013 and make marriage equality the law of the land in 2015. Kudos to our advancements and we will keep on trucking, with a few bumps in the road.