Born in La Roca del Vallès (Barcelona) on 5 May 1966, Salvador Illa has devoted much of his professional career to public service.

He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Barcelona and a master's degree in Business Administration from the IESE Business School of the University of Navarra. He was also an adjunct professor at the Blanquerna School of Communication and Institutional Relations.

His public career began in 1995 when he became mayor of La Roca del Vallès, his home town and where he lives to this day with his wife and daughter. Between 2005 and 2009 he headed the Directorate General for Infrastructure Management of the Generalitat de Catalunya Ministry of Justice.

In 2010, after a brief spell in the private sector, he was appointed Director of Economic Management at Barcelona City Council. During his time at Barcelona City Council, he became coordinator of its Socialist Municipal Group (2011-2016), as well as head of Enterprise, Culture and Innovation.

Illa was appointed Minister for Health of the Spanish Government in January 2020, which put him on the front line in managing the most difficult moments of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting health crisis, driving forward the vaccination process.

Candidate and winner of the Catalan elections in February 2021, he has been President of the Socialists and United for Progress Parliamentary Group and was Head of the Opposition in the Catalan Parliament during the last legislature. In the elections of 12 May 2024, Illa once again headed the PSC list, emerging victorious with 42 deputies.

Since December 2021, Illa has been the first secretary of the PSC, which he joined in 1995.