, 31 July 1959) is a Spanish politician who belongs to the governing Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...

 (PSOE).

Married with one son, Pla graduated in law and also gained a diploma in public administration. He then worked in the Generalitat Valenciana

Generalitat Valenciana

The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organised....

, the Valencian regional administration, and later became secretary general of the Valencian regional branch of the PSOE. He became involved in national politics in 1996 when he was selected as part of the PSOE list for the national parliament as a candidate for Valencia province

Valencia (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Valencia is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is the third largest district in Congress in terms of the numbers of deputies elected, as it elects sixteen deputies out of the total...

. Placed seventh on the list, in a district where the party had won six seats at the previous election, he was unsuccessful, as the party failed to gain any seats, however he joined the national parliament in 1999 as a substitute for a retiring member. He was re-elected in 2000 but stood down in June 2003, after being elected to the Corts Valencianes

Corts Valencianes

The Corts Valencianes are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of Benicarló in Valencia; however it can meet at any location in Valencian territory. The Corts has its origins in bodies...

, the Valencian regional parliament.

In 2001 he successfully sought the PSOE nomination for President of the Generalitat Valenciana, defeating party rival Cipria Ciscar

Ciprià Ciscar

Ciprià Císcar Casabàn is a lawyer and Spanish politician who belongs to the governing Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and served as federal secretary of the PSOE from 1994 to 2000....

 in the PSOE primaries, however in 2003, he lost the election to Francisco Camps

Francisco Camps

Francisco Enrique Camps Ortiz is a Spanish politician belonging to the Partido Popular who served as President of the Generalitat Valenciana, the Valencian regional administration, in the period 2003-2011.-Biography:...

 of the Partido Popular

People's Party (Spain)

The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...

. He also stood in 2007 for the Valencian Presidency, but again lost to Francisco Camps.