Captain General ( es, link=no, Capitán General) has been the highest rank in the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

(''Ejército de Tierra'') since the 18th century. A five-star rank with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

code

OF-10 A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is t ...

, it is equivalent to a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

of the armies of numerous countries, a general of the Army of the United States, a

captain general of the Spanish Navy Captain general of the Navy ( es, Capitán general de la Armada) is a Five-star rank, five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of the Spanish Spanish Navy, Navy (''Armada Española''). The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10, the routine ...

''(Armada Española)'' or a Captain general of the Air Force in the

Spanish Air and Space Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

''(Ejército del Aire y del Espacio)''. A Captain General's insignia consists of two command sticks under five four-pointed stars below the Royal Crown. A personal rank of ''captain general'' was created in the Spanish Army (and Navy) as the highest rank in the hierarchy, not unlike the

Marechal de France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

. Since King Charles IV's reign (1788–1808), the monarchs used captain general insignia when wearing uniform. Briefly abolished by the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

(except one honorary promotion), it was restored by Nationalist Spain in 1938;

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

himself was the only officer of this rank. The effective rank was reserved to the reigning

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

. A few posthumous honorary promotions and honorary promotions of retired officers to this rank were also made, such as

José Moscardó Ituarte José Moscardó e Ituarte, 1st Count of the Alcázar of Toledo, Grandee of Spain (26 October 1878 – 12 April 1956) was the military Governor of Toledo Province during the Spanish Civil War. He sided with the Nationalist army fighting the Republ ...

(1956),

Agustín Muñoz Grandes Agustín Muñoz Grandes (27 January 1896 – 11 July 1970) was a Spanish general, and politician, vice-president of the Spanish Government and minister with Francisco Franco several times; also known as the commander of the Blue Division between ...

(1957),

Camilo Alonso Vega Camilo Alonso Vega (29 May 1889 – 1 July 1971) was a Spanish military officer and minister. Early life A childhood friend of Francisco Franco, as a Captain he entered in the Foreign Legion and fought in the Rif War. He was initially assigned ...

(1969) or

Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, 1st Marquess of Gutiérrez Mellado (30 April 1912 – 15 December 1995) was a Spanish Army officer and politician who played a relevant role during the Spanish transition to democracy especially with regard to demo ...

(1994). Some members of the

Spanish Royal Family The Spanish royal family consists of King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, their children (Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía of Spain), and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at Zarzuela Palace i ...

were promoted to the rank after periods of service and Queen Isabella II appointed her consort,

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

(1846). Two foreign monarchs,

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

of the United Kingdom and

William II of Germany Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empi ...

, and four distinguished foreign military officers also held the honour.

Insignia history

File:Je1889.png, File:Je1931.png, File:Je1936.png, File:Vintagedivi2.png, File:Vintagedivi1.png, File:Je1976.png, File:Je1990.png, File:Spain-Army-OF-10.svg,

List of Captains general

Notes

References

Citations

Sources