On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers appointed Ana Berenguer Giménez as the new Director General of Planning and Evaluation, a department under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda led by Isabel Rodríguez. The Alicante native now sits at the third tier of Spain’s central government. She previously served as Director General of Analysis and Public Policy for the presidency of the Valencian government during the Botànic administration.
Berenguer earned a law degree from the Complutense University of Madrid (1997-2002) and completed a master’s in Financial Markets at the Instituto de Estudios Bursátiles. She also holds a Master in Public Administration with a specialization in Public Policy Analysis from Columbia University in New York (2011-2013).
Her appointment adds another Botànic veteran to the coalition government that governs alongside Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Among them are former ministers Rebeca Torró and Arcadi Spain, now at the helm of Industry and Territorial Policy, respectively. Both Valencians shifted to Madrid from the Valencian regional parliament, having been on the PSPV’s regional list for the May elections. Torró later recruited the Valencian Jordi Llinares as Director General of Industrial Programs, while Arcadi designated Alcoy native Rafa Briet as his Chief of Staff. Berenguer now joins the Alicante contingent in the central government, highlighted for advising the Valencian regional president on governance and policy. She contributed to the government team that managed the Covid-19 health and economic crisis in the Valencian Community and is recognized for her expertise in evidence-based decision-making, both qualitative and quantitative.
Berenguer’s profile includes a decade-long focus on public policy analysis and economic research. She spent ten years in the United States, shaping policy evaluation and economic development strategies. From 2016 to 2019 she served with the New York City government as Vice President for Economic Analysis, directing a research team that measured the impact of public interventions and the diffusion of development programs. This experience underscored her capacity to translate data into actionable policy recommendations, a theme echoed in her current role in planning and evaluation.
Earlier, between 2014 and 2016, she worked as a senior analyst developing research programs on policy ideation and implementation for clients in nonprofit, public, and private sectors, including U.S. federal agencies, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Citi Foundation, Google, and Microsoft. Her broader analysis has also examined global political and growth trends, such as China’s economic slowdown, territorial disputes in Asia, the euro area crisis and Brexit, U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy, and the global commodity cycle. In 2012, she worked with a United Nations Development Programme project that crafted a new framework for global development through an assessment of the Millennium Development Goals.
Back in Spain, Berenguer practiced law at Garrigues in Madrid before moving into politics. Her father, Luis Berenguer, served as a regional minister of Public Administration in the socialist government led by Joan Lerma. In the run-up to recent local elections, she was considered a potential socialist mayoral candidate for Alicante, though the nomination ultimately went to Ana Barceló, who now serves as PSOE spokesperson in the Alicante City Council.