From the social point of view, he has mostly supported a moderate agenda in numerous issues, such as gay rights, but not same-sex marriage[5] and free debate on his party concerning abortion.

[11] Before acquiring political responsibilities in Catalonia, Mas [12] held different posts in both the private and public sectors, especially relating to the internationalization of Catalan enterprises.

[19][20] The Catalan elections that took place on 28 November 2010 were to finally determine the political future of Mas, who was for the third time CiU's candidate to the presidency.

During the campaign Mas had promised to put into place the government of 'the best' people, including the possibility of appointing ministers ('Consellers') from outside his political coalition, Convergència i Unió, if their talent justified doing so.

[23] The agreement with the PSC proved fragile, which forced Mas to seek new allies in the regional parliament, this time engaging in talks with the Popular Party (PP).

[24] In September 2012, less than 2 years into his first term and only months after having closed a de facto agreement with the PP, Artur Mas declared in a speech to Parliament that it was time for the people of Catalonia to exercise the right of self-determination.

[27] Hence, on 25 September 2012, Mas announced snap elections for the Parliament of Catalonia to be held on 25 November and argued, referring to the demonstration, that "the street vocal must be moved to the polls".

Mas was charged by the attorney general with perverting the course of justice, misuse of public funds and abuse of power, with regards to the role he assumed in the unofficial referendum.

[37][38] A trial was opened, Mas rested accused of abuse of power and disobedience, as a result facing a ban from holding public office of up to 10 years.

[41] In February 2012, in an interview to La Vanguardia, Mas made a statement saying that "the cultural DNA of Catalans is intertwined with our long belonging to the Franco-Germanic world.

Due to internal tensions within the coalition regarding the separatist turn led by Mas, CDC and Unió did not agree to reform CiU, hence putting an end to 37 years of cooperation between both parties.

The only prospective partner willing to negotiate with Junts pel Sí was the far-left separatist party Popular Unity Candidacy[45] (CUP).

In January 2016, after three months of what was defined as "rancorous infighting" in the separatist camp, Mas eventually stepped down at the eleventh hour from his candidature for the presidency in order to allow a government to be formed and a third consecutive snap election to be avoided.

[47] At that point, Mas also resigned from his seat in the parliament, remarking that he would place his “personal efforts in rebuilding what Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) means and represents in Catalonia”.