Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
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Spanish lawmaker Noelia Nunez resigns over false academic claims, impacting the People's Party amid ongoing political scandals.
By David Latona
MADRID (Reuters) -A lawmaker in the leadership of Spain's opposition People's Party (PP) resigned on Wednesday after admitting to having provided "incorrect information" about her university qualifications.
Noelia Nunez, 33, was appointed by PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo as the party's national vice secretary in 2023. She was a rising star in Madrid politics, partly due to her appeal as a young and social media-savvy conservative.
However, Nunez became the centre of controversy this week after local media reported inconsistencies between her publicly stated qualifications and official records.
In her CV on the lower house's transparency portal, Nunez listed a dual degree in law and public administration legal sciences. She had also variously claimed to hold an English degree from distance-learning university UNED and a law degree from the University of Central Missouri.
Following media scrutiny and viral threads on X by Transport Minister Oscar Puente casting suspicion on her credentials, Nunez admitted on Tuesday she had yet to complete any degree but wanted to resume her studies and "never had the intention to fool anyone".
After meeting with Feijoo on Wednesday, she decided to step down from party leadership and both her posts as national lawmaker and local councillor in Fuenlabrada, a Madrid suburb.
"I apologise to all who feel disappointed, but I also believe that apologising isn't enough," she wrote in an open letter. "I'll feel at ease if I contribute to restoring confidence in politics."
The scandal comes as Spain's two main parties each face a slew of corruption accusations and judicial inquiries.
Top members of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's inner circle are alleged to have led a kickbacks scheme linked to public contracts at the transport ministry, with his erstwhile right-hand man held in pre-trial detention.
Meanwhile, a judge is probing whether a law firm founded by former PP Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro charged companies large sums to obtain tailor-made legal reforms during his tenure. Over 150 elected PP officials are implicated in 28 pending corruption trials, most of which are scheduled to kick off after the summer.
(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Noelia Nunez resigned after admitting to providing incorrect information about her university qualifications, which were found to be inconsistent with official records.
Nunez claimed to hold a dual degree in law and public administration legal sciences, as well as an English degree from a distance-learning institution.
After meeting with PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Nunez decided to step down from her leadership roles and her positions as a national lawmaker and local councillor.
Media scrutiny and viral social media posts by Transport Minister Oscar Puente raised doubts about her credentials, leading to her eventual admission and resignation.
The scandal comes amidst ongoing corruption accusations against Spain's major political parties, highlighting a troubling trend in the country's political landscape.
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