The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has appointed Chief Commissioner Luis Jesús Esteban as the new Senior Chief of Police in Eastern Andalusia and Chief Commissioner María Elisa Fariñas as the new Senior Chief of Police in Extremadura.
Both appointments have been made on the proposal of the Director General of the Police, Francisco Pardo Piqueras. For the first time in the history of the body, a woman enters the position of superior chief after entering the National Police on the basic scale and going up for internal promotion.
Until now, Esteban was in charge of the Special Operations Group (GEO/GOES) of the National Police, while Fariñas was responsible for the Selective Processes Area of the Training and Development Division.
Senior Head of Eastern Andalusia
Luis Jesús Esteban was born in Zaragoza and joined the National Police in 1995 in the category of inspector. He became Chief Inspector in 2010 and Commissioner in 2016. He has been Chief Commissioner since the month of June last year 2023.
Throughout his professional career he has assumed different operational responsibilities, especially in the area of Citizen Security. Between 2003 and 2013 he was head of the Operative Group in the Superior Headquarters of Catalonia until he was appointed head of the local police station of Manacor. After his promotion as a commissioner, he served as provincial chief of operations in Huelva and later as head of the police stations of Algeciras and Salamanca. In 2022 he was appointed head of GEO/GOES, a position he currently held.
Luis Jesús Esteban has a degree in Law and has different decorations and recognitions to his professional career.
Senior Head of Extremadura
María Elisa Fariñas was born in Madrid and joined the National Police in 1984 on the basic scale. His first destination was the Superior Headquarters of Madrid. Since then, it has been ascending to the different scales by internal promotion.
In 1990 she became a police officer, in 1995 she became a sub-inspector and in 2002 she became an inspector. At that stage, he held different positions in the General Information Police Station and the General Citizen Security Police Station, as well as in the police stations of Vitoria, Puerto del Rosario and Torrejón de Ardoz.
In 2009, and after her promotion to head inspector, she was assigned to the General Commissariat of Aliens and Borders, where she remained until in 2016 she rose to the rank of commissioner and headed the local commissariat of Mérida. He then directed the San Blas-Vicálvaro District Police Station (Madrid).
In 2019 she was assigned to the Training and Improvement Division, where she was Head of the Selective Processes Area since 2021. Since the month of June 2023, she has been Chief Commissioner.
Elisa Fariñas is a graduate in Criminology and has different decorations and recognitions to her professional career. She is the first woman who, after entering the body from the basic scale, has acceded to the position of superior chief through internal promotion.