Famous Majorcans include writer and philosopher Ramon Llull and Junípero Serra, the Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California. In the 1800s, the military commander Joaquín Jovellar y Soler as well as-time Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Maura. Sportsmen through the island include basketball player Rudy Fernández, in addition to former world no. 1 tennis players Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moyá. Rafael Nadal’s uncle may be the former Spanish international footballer, Miguel Ángel Nadal. In 2006, Majorca’s Jorge Lorenzo won the earth 250cc grand prix motorcycle title plus the 2010 MotoGP World Championship . Former Everton footballer, Duncan Ferguson now resides in Majorca. Cynthia Lennon, former wife of John Lennon on the Beatles also lives in Majorca.
The region hosts dance artist/producer DJ Sammy and contemporary painters including Miquel Barceló, José María Sicilia, and Astrid Colomar. Maria del Mar Bonet and her brother Joan Ramon Bonet, both members on the number of Mallorcan language singers often known as Els Setze Jutges within the 1960s, are from Majorca, as is also the contemporary pop group Antònia Font.
Abraham Cresques became a 14th-century Jewish cartographer from the Majorcan cartographic school from Palma; Cresques is credited using the authorship of the famous Catalan Atlas.
The members in the Spanish Royal house spend their summer holidays in Majorca the place that the Marivent Palace can be found. The Marivent Palace will be the royal family’s summer residence. While many royal residences are administered by Patrimonio Nacional, the Marivent Palace, in Palma de Mallorca, one of many Spanish royal sites, is within the good care of Government with the Balearic Islands. As being a private residence it is rarely employed for official business. Typically, the whole family meets there and also the Fortuna yacht, where they experience sailing competitions. However, unofficial business does occur (though rarely) on the Marivent Palace such as when Hugo Chávez, current (2009) President of Venezuela, visited King Juan Carlos in the Marivent Palace in 2008 to mend their relationship and normalize diplomatic relations following the King (now famously) told him, “Have you thought to still?” during the Ibero-American Summit in November 2007.

Majorca’s own language is Mallorcan, your neighborhood selection of Catalan language. Both official languages of Majorca are Mallorcan and Spanish. The neighborhood dialect is Mallorquí, even though the dialects are slightly different for most villages. Mandatorily, Majorcan students are bilingual in Catalan and Spanish, with many understanding of English. A significant amount of the tourist population speaks German as a native language, so much in fact that in Germany, Majorca is jokingly referred to as the 17th Federal State. In 2012 the governing party announced its intention to absolve preferential treatment for Catalan inside schools to create parity on the actual two languages from the island.

Since the 1950s Majorca has become a major tourist destination, along with the tourism business is among the most main method to obtain revenue for the island. In 2001, this tropical isle received numerous tourists, and also the boom inside tourism industry has provided significant growth in the economy of the us. Over fifty percent on the population works in the tourist sector, which is the reason approximately 80% of Majorca’s GDP. The currency currently employed in Majorca would be the euro.

The Balearic Islands, which Majorca forms part, is just about the autonomous communities of Spain. It can be governed by a right-wing Partido Popular, with José Ramón Bauzà as President.
There exists a government for that island, called Consell Insular de Mallorca (Majorca Insular Council), with responsibility for culture, roads, railways and municipal administration. The latest president (from June 2011) is Maria Salom, of Partido Popula.