Agustín Argüelles (18 August 1776 in Ribadesella,

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

– 26 March 1844 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

) was a Spanish

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He served as the 81st and 94th president of the Congress of Deputies.

Biography

He studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo ( es, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón ...

and worked as secretary of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. In 1809, he was appointed secretary of the

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

Royal Junta of the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

and Legislation. He was a member of the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous ones. The General ...

and was selected for the Constitutional commission, playing thus a key role in the drafting of the

Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constituti ...

. Siding with the liberal faction of the Parliament, he promoted freedom of the press,

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

and physiocracy, the abolishment of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

, the prosecution of

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and the abolishment of the jurisdictional power of manors. He showed a notable oratorial skill during the parliamentary debates. When in 1814 the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

finished and

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

returned to Spain as

absolute monarch Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...

, Argüelles was imprisoned in

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

and later in Alcudia ( Majorca). After the Riego's coup d'état in 1820, he was appointed minister of the Interior and led the moderate wing of the liberal party. He resigned in 1821 and was elected member of the Parliament in 1822. After the absolutist reaction of 1823, he exiled to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and turned back in 1834, when Queen Regent Maria Christina signed the ''' Estatuto Real'''. He was elected member of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and also turned to his original progressive liberal positions back, giving support to Mendizábal cabinet of 1835 and his ecclesiastical confiscation policy. After the revolution of 1836, he was appointed member of the commission for composing the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

that was promulgated in 1837. Thanks to him and to Olózaga, the Constitution was progressive liberal but not so much as 1812's, as they hoped moderate liberals would accept it. When Queen Regent Maria Christina resigned in 1840, the Parliament debated whether to appoint one or three

regents A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

, including Argüelles. Finally, General Espartero was elected as the only Regent, but Argüelles was appointed legal guardian of Queen

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

(although Maria Christina protested the decision from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

) and president of the Parliament. He ceased to be legal tutor in 1843, when Espartero resigned as Regent and Parliament decided to declare

come of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be ...

13-year-old queen. He was a freemason.

Legacy

The Argüelles neighborhood of

is named after him, as is the Argüelles metro stop.

Writings

* with Olózaga, José: ''De 1820 a 1824: reseña histórica'', Madrid: A. de San Martín, 1864 *''Discurso preliminar de la Constitución de 1812'', Madrid: Centro de Estudios Constitucionales, 1989 *''Examen histórico de la reforma constitucional de España'', Oviedo: Junta General del Principado de Asturias, 1999 *''La reforma constitucional de Cádiz'' (annoted by Jesús Longares), Madrid: Iter, 1970

External links

Parliamentary speeches during the Cortes of Cádiz

Bibliography

*Ramos Argüelles, Antonio: ''Agustín Argüelles (1776-1844), "Padre del constitucionalismo español"'', Madrid: Atlas, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arguelles, Agustin 1776 births 1844 deaths People from Ribadesella University of Oviedo alumni Spanish Freemasons Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain)