20th Century Spanish Political Figures
Alcalá Zamora Torres, Niceto (1877-1949)
Political Figure. From a young age, he aligned with the Liberal Party and held several ministerial positions under the monarchy of Alfonso XIII. Disillusioned by the king’s support for the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, he transitioned to republicanism. He participated in the Pact of San Sebastian, leading its revolutionary committee. In April 1931, he became president of the provisional government of the Second Republic. As a practicing Catholic, he resigned when the Constituent Parliament approved articles concerning church-state relations. In December 1931, he was elected president of the republic, a position he held until April 1936 when ousted by leftist parties. At the onset of the Civil War, he went into exile and died in Argentina.
Alfonso XII (1857-1885)
King of Spain. Son of Elizabeth II. In 1868, following the September revolution, he went into exile with his mother. He studied at the Sandhurst military college in England, where, at the suggestion of Cánovas del Castillo, he issued a manifesto to Spain in 1874, promising to reconcile liberal advancements with Spanish Catholic tradition. After Martínez Campos’s pronouncement in December 1874, he was proclaimed King of Spain. He alternately supported the two dominant political leaders of the time: Cánovas (conservative) and Sagasta (liberal). He died of tuberculosis at 27.
Arias Navarro, Carlos (1908-1989)
Doctor of law and notary. In 1937, he served as a military prosecutor in Malaga. He was the Civil Governor of Leon, Navarre, and Tenerife. He held the position of Director-General of Security from 1957 to 1965 and was mayor of Madrid between 1965 and 1973. In June of that year, he was appointed Minister of the Interior in the Carrero Blanco government. Upon Carrero Blanco’s death, he was appointed prime minister and faced the final crisis of the Franco regime. King Juan Carlos initially confirmed him in office after Franco’s death. However, he was unable to implement the reform policies sought by the monarchy. In June 1976, the king forced his dismissal. He failed in his attempt to reach the Senate in the first democratic elections in June 1977 and retired from politics.
Azaña Díaz, Manuel (1880-1940)
Politician and writer. Born into a wealthy family, he studied law and became a senior official in the Ministry of Justice. He devoted himself to politics, joining the Republicans during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship in 1930 and participating in the Pact of San Sebastián. When the Second Republic was proclaimed in April 1931, he was appointed Minister of War in the Provisional Government. In late 1931, he was elected President of the Government, a position he held until 1933. He implemented comprehensive reform policies but failed to garner the support of the workers, earning him the hatred of the Right. After the February 1936 elections, he became Prime Minister again. However, in May of that year, after Alcalá Zamora’s dismissal, Azaña was elected President of the Republic. At the end of the Civil War, he went into exile in France, resigned as President, and died shortly after.
Calvo Sotelo, José (1893-1936)
Spanish politician. Born in Tuy, Galicia. During the monarchy of Alfonso XIII, he was involved in politics within the ranks of maurismo, serving as a deputy in the Cortes and a civil governor. He held senior positions during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship. As Director-General of Local Government, he wrote the Municipal Statute in 1924, which reorganized local life. As Minister of Finance from 1925, he created the Camps. With the advent of the Republic, he went abroad, returning in 1934. He was elected to the Cortes and became known for his constant criticism of leftist policies. His assassination in Madrid on July 13, 1936, by members of law enforcement, was a factor that accelerated the military uprising a few days later.
Calvo Sotelo, Leopoldo
Spanish politician. A civil engineer, he held various positions in major companies. After Franco’s death in December 1975, he was appointed Minister by Arias Navarro. In July 1976, he became a minister under Suárez and joined the UCD. In 1980, he became Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs. Following Adolfo Suárez’s resignation, he was elected Prime Minister in February 1981. Defeated in the 1982 elections, he left active politics.
Carrero Blanco, Luis (1903-1973)
Military and political figure. A naval officer, he became Franco’s closest collaborator for over thirty years. After holding several positions of trust, he was appointed minister in 1951 and remained in the government while continuing his military career, reaching the rank of admiral. In 1973, Franco appointed him Prime Minister, but six months later, he was killed in an attack by the terrorist group ETA.
Elvira Berdeguer, Antonio Norberto (1892-1936)
Born in Salorino, he graduated in Medicine from the University of Valladolid in 1917. Although professionally a country doctor, his legacy had nothing to do with medicine. His public actions unfolded within two social movements that developed in Extremadura in the first third of the twentieth century: regionalism and socialism, which sought, to varying degrees and with different orientations, a transformation of social and political relations. The focus of his concerns was the humble peasantry. He was a historical figure representative of the convulsive opening decades of the twentieth century. As a regionalist, he issued a Manifesto to Extremadura Public Opinion in 1920, in which he defended various economic and social reforms under the slogan “Extremadura for Extremadura.” Given the limited success of his campaigns, he approached the Spanish Socialist Party, becoming one of its most prominent broadcasters during the Second Republic. In 1935, he released a new manifesto to the UGT-led workers’ organizations in the province of Cáceres, urging their reconstruction. At the beginning of the Civil War, he was arrested and shot in Cáceres in December 1936.
González Márquez, Felipe (1942)
Socialist politician and lawyer. In 1974, he was appointed Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party in Suresnes, France. In the 1977 elections, he was elected Member of Parliament and played a prominent role in the transition. In 1982, after his electoral victory, he was elected prime minister. During his thirteen years in office, he implemented a broad policy of reforms that modernized the country but could not prevent the corruption of some of his aides, which tarnished his work. The defeat in the 1996 elections led him to leave office and, shortly afterward, the general secretary of the PSOE.
Largo Caballero, Francisco (1869-1946)
Spanish politician. At a very young age, he joined the UGT and the Spanish Socialist Workers Party. He held various positions and, in 1918, was appointed general secretary of the socialist trade union confederation. Concerned with defending workers’ interests, he collaborated with the Primo de Rivera dictatorship. In 1931, after the arrival of the Second Republic, he was appointed Minister of Labor and implemented an intense policy of social reforms. In 1932, he became president of the PSOE and encouraged the radicalization of socialism. When the Civil War began in September 1936, he was appointed prime minister. Faced with conflicts with the Communists, he left office in May 1937. After the war, he went into exile in France but was taken prisoner during World War II and spent several years in German concentration camps.
Posse Iglesias, Pablo (1850-1925)
Socialist politician. From a very humble family, after his father’s death, his mother moved to Madrid and entered a hospice. He was a printer and came into contact with Republicans and Socialists. In 1870, he joined the Workers’ International, and two years later, after the division, he supported the Marxists against the Bakuninists. In 1879, he was one of the printers in hiding who founded the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, which was later refounded legally in 1888. In 1910, he was elected to the Cortes. He became the undisputed leader of Spanish socialism, chairing both the PSOE and the UGT.
Primo de Rivera, José Antonio (1903-1936)
Son of the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera. A lawyer, he founded the Falange in 1933, a liberal and anti-Marxist political group that, in 1934, became the Spanish Falange of the JONS by merging with like-minded groups. Despite not performing well in elections, he became a deputy in the Cortes in 1933 within the ranks of the CEDA. In March 1936, he was arrested, and at the beginning of the Civil War, he was transferred to Alicante, where he was shot in November 1936.
Primo de Rivera, Miguel (1870-1930)
A member of a prominent military family, he was born in Jerez de la Frontera. He entered the Military Academy and participated in the wars in Morocco, Cuba, and the Philippines. In 1919, he was promoted to lieutenant general and was named Captain General of Valencia, then Madrid, and finally Catalonia. While in this last post, he led a coup that ended the parliamentary system. Supported by King Alfonso XIII, he ruled with full power and in a paternalistic way for over six years but failed in his attempt to perpetuate himself in office. He resigned in January 1930 and went into exile in Paris, where he died in March of that year. He inherited the title of Marquis of Estella from his uncle, Fernando, also a distinguished military officer.
Suárez, Adolfo (1932)
Politician. In June 1976, King Juan Carlos appointed him prime minister to carry out political reform. He became the key figure in the Spanish transition, enabling the establishment of democracy. In 1977, he founded the UCD, the party that won the general elections in June of that year. He promoted a general agreement with the opposition forces and trade unions (the Moncloa Pacts), which facilitated the resolution of the country’s economic problems (inflation). He won the elections again in March 1979 and continued as Prime Minister. He resigned in early 1981, unable to cope with the dissolution of his party. In 1982, he founded a new party, the Social Democratic Centre. In 1990, he left active politics.
Tarradellas, Josep (1899-1988)
Politician. From a young age, he campaigned in Catalan organizations. In 1931, with the creation of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, he became its Secretary General. He was Minister of the Interior and Health of the Catalan autonomous government until 1933 when he resigned due to disagreements with the President of the Generalitat. He was prosecuted for the events of October 1934. In July 1936, at the beginning of the Civil War, he became part of the Catalan government, first as Director of Public Utilities and then as Minister of Finance. After the war, he went into exile in France. From 1954, he was the fourth President of the Government in exile. After the 1977 general elections, he negotiated with Suárez the restoration of the Generalitat. In October of that year, he returned to Spain and was President of the Catalan Government until the first regional elections in 1980.