Benidorm City Council gives the 'European Award' to businessman Enrique Ballester Chofre

Benidorm City Council has agreed to award businessman Enrique Ballester Chofre the 2025 "European Award," a recognition granted by Benidorm City Council to individuals, institutions, or organisations distinguished for their contribution to the cohesion of the continent, coinciding with the celebration of Europe Day, commemorated on May 9. This was unanimously agreed by the Board of Spokespersons, who endorsed the proposal of the Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, who defined Enrique Ballester Chofre as "a model of integration and service to the community."

The mayor congratulated Enrique Ballester Chofre on behalf of the City Council and the entire public " a businessman, whose life story perfectly encapsulates some of the principles and values ​​we commemorate on Europe Day, such as solidarity, employment promotion, inclusion, and equal opportunities, and undoubtedly contributed to making our city a much better place."

Born on May 8, 1943, in Algiers, French Algeria, where his family had settled years earlier after completing a migration process common in those days, Enrique Ballester is "a Benidorm native born there," as the journalist Juan Díaz defined him. The son of Enrique Ballester Berenguer from Villena, and María Chofre Arlandis from El Verger. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Algiers, where he lived until the end of June 1962, amid the country's decolonisation process following the War of Independence. The Ballester Chofre family, like a million other Europeans, left Algeria for Marseille, and from there to Paris, where Enrique enrolled at the School of Commerce. After graduating and landing his first professional job in 1965, he moved to Benidorm, joining the real estate business his father had started shortly before, in the wake of the city's tourism and urban development. With his father, he would build several iconic developments and buildings from the second half of the 1960s, such as the Ensenada, Rincón Español, Odeman, Ílice, Copacabana, and Flecha complexes. Over the years, Enrique Ballester Chofre diversified his professional activity, expanding into other business sectors such as the automotive, nautical, restaurant, and leisure industries, creating more than a hundred jobs in Benidorm.

On a personal level, Enrique Ballester Chofre has raised and seen his family grow in the city, instilling in his four children and four grandchildren the love for Benidorm he has shown since making the municipality his home 60 years ago. During this time, he has always stood out for his altruistic nature and his commitment to social causes, highlighting his involvement with the Doble Amor Center and the promotion of actions of interest and community impact through the Rotary Club, an entity of which he was founding president in 1994 and which he led again in the period 2014-2015; as well as for his involvement in Benidorm's social and festive life, serving as mayor on several occasions and as president of the Festival Commission in 1987.

However, the proposal agreed upon by the Board of Spokespersons, which will be ratified at the next ordinary plenary session of the Municipal Corporation, states that "since arriving in the city six decades ago, Enrique Ballester Chofre has made Benidorm his home, his home, being a true example of integration and service to the community," reasons that make him worthy of this 'Europe 2025 Distinction'.

The presentation will take place at the institutional event commemorating Europe Day on May 9th.