Diego Martínez Barrio (25 November 1883, in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

– 1 January 1962) was a Spanish politician during 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 ...

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regula ...

between 9 October 1933 and 26 December 1933 and was briefly appointed again by

Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the last President of the Repu ...

on 19 July 1936 - two days after the beginning of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. From 16 March 1936 to 30 March 1939 Martínez was President of the Cortes. In 1936, he was briefly the interim President of the Second Spanish Republic, from 7 April to 10 May.

Biography

Barrio was born in

. A member of the

Radical Republican Party The Radical Republican Party ( es, Partido Republicano Radical), sometimes shortened to the Radical Party, was a Spanish Radical party in existence between 1908 and 1936. Beginning as a splinter from earlier Radical parties, it initially played a ...

, he was the Minister in the

Alejandro Lerroux Alejandro Lerroux García (4 March 1864, in La Rambla, Córdoba – 25 June 1949, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party. He served as Prime Minister three times from 1933 to 1935 and held severa ...

government but later he left the party for dissatisfaction with the politics of Lerroux. Martínez consequently founded and led the Republican Union and participated in the

Spanish Popular Front The Popular Front ( es, Frente Popular) in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral alliance and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organizations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's el ...

, being elected to government in 1936. He led the integration of the Republican Union into the Popular Front, being elected the speaker of the

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...

(Spanish Parliament). In February 1939, he rejected to replace Manuel Azaña as president of the Republic. Following the resignation of

Santiago Casares Quiroga Santiago Casares y Quiroga (8 May 1884, in A Coruña, Galicia – 17 February 1950, in Paris) was Prime Minister of Spain from 13 May to 19 July 1936. Biography Leader and founder of the Autonomous Galician Republican Organization (ORGA), a Ga ...

two days after the outbreak of the civil war, he was appointed prime minister on 19 July 1936. As part of his intention to avert war, his cabinet ignored the left wing of the Popular Front, but he would last just a few hours, and he resigned later the same morning, after an unsuccessful appeal to Nationalist General

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal, 1st Duke of Mola, Grandee of Spain (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936, which started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...

to avoid war, and was succeeded by

José Giral José Giral y Pereira (22 October 1879 – 23 December 1962) was a Spanish people, Spanish politician, who served as the 75th Prime Minister of Spain during the Second Spanish Republic. Life Giral was born in Santiago de Cuba. He had degree ...

. He fled the country after

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 ...

came to power in 1939. He was the Grand Master of the Grande Oriente Español from 1929 to 1934. After the fall of the Republic, he went into exile, first to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and then to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where, in 1945, he was designated

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Republic in exile until 1962.Thomas, Hugh. (2001). ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. p. 923. Martínez finally returned to

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he died. In 2000, his remains were moved to

References

Bibliography

*Beevor, Antony. ''The battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war.'' Penguin Books. 2006. London. . *Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez Barrio, Diego 1883 births 1962 deaths People from Seville Radical Republican Party politicians Republican Union (Spain, 1934) politicians Presidents of Spain Prime Ministers of Spain Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Politicians from Andalusia Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Spanish Freemasons Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico Interior ministers of Spain Seville city councillors Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Deputy Prime Ministers of Spain Exiled Spanish politicians Government ministers during the Second Spanish Republic