Redaccion
The Benidorm City Council has agreed to award businessman Enrique Ballester Chofre with the ‘Distinction Europe’ 2025, an award granted by the Benidorm City Council to individuals, institutions, or organizations distinguished for their contribution to the cohesion of the continent coinciding with the celebration of Europe Day, commemorated on May 9th. This decision was unanimously agreed upon by the Board of Spokespersons, who endorsed the proposal of the Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, describing Enrique Ballester Chofre as an «example of integration and service to the community.»
The Mayor publicly conveyed his congratulations on behalf of the Corporation and the entire citizenship to Enrique Ballester Chofre, «an exemplary person and businessman, whose life trajectory perfectly embodies some of the principles and values that we commemorate on Europe Day, such as solidarity, job creation, inclusion, and equal opportunities, undoubtedly contributing to making our city a much better Benidorm.»
Born on May 8, 1943 in Algiers, in French Algeria, where his family had settled years earlier after completing a common migratory process at that time, Enrique Ballester is «a Benidormer born there, from parents from here,» as journalist Juan Díaz once described him. Son of Enrique Ballester Berenguer, from Villena, and María Chofre Arlandis, from El Verger, his childhood and adolescence unfolded in Algiers, where he lived until the last days of June 1962, amidst the country’s decolonization process following the War of Independence. The Ballester Chofre family, like a million other Europeans, left Algeria for Marseille and then Paris, where Enrique enrolled in the School of Commerce. After graduating and starting his professional career in 1965, he settled in Benidorm, joining the real estate activity initiated shortly before by his father in line with the city’s tourist and urban development. Together, they built some iconic developments and buildings in the late 1960s, such as Ensenada, Rincón Español, Odeman, Ílice, Copacabana, or Flecha. Over the years, Enrique Ballester Chofre diversified his professional activities, venturing into other business sectors like automotive, nautical, catering, and leisure, creating over a hundred job positions in Benidorm.
On a personal level, Enrique Ballester Chofre has raised his family in the city, instilling in his four children and four grandchildren the love for Benidorm that he has shown since making the municipality his home sixty years ago. Throughout this time, he has always stood out for his altruistic nature and commitment to social causes, notably his involvement with the Doble Amor Center and the promotion of community-interest initiatives through the Rotary Club, of which he was a founding president in 1994 and later served as president again in the 2014-2015 period. He has also been actively engaged in Benidorm’s social and festive life, serving as a mayoral figure on several occasions and as president of the Festivities Committee in 1987.
Therefore, the proposal endorsed by the Board of Spokespersons, to be ratified in the upcoming ordinary session of the municipal Corporation, states that «since arriving in the city six decades ago, Enrique Ballester Chofre has made Benidorm his land, his home, being a true example of integration and service to the community,» reasons that make him deserving of this ‘Distinction Europe 2025’.
The presentation of this recognition will take place during the institutional event on Europe Day that the Benidorm City Council will celebrate on May 9th.
