Fernando de Santiago y Díaz de Mendívil (23 July 1910 – 6 November 1994) was a conservative politician who served as deputy prime minister of Spain and briefly as acting
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
during the
Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
in the late 1970s. He had earlier been a
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
in 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 ...
and under the
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
of
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 ...
.
As an active soldier, Santiago participated in the Second Moroccan War in the 1920s and threw in with the Spanish Nationalists in the 1936 Civil War, rising to the rank of
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
. In
Francoist Spain
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
, he served as a professor and later director of the ''Escuela Politécnica Superior del Ejército'' (Superior Polytechnic Army College).
In the waning years of Franco's rule, from 4 March 1971 to 24 April 1974, the dictator gave Santiago a task as political as it was military: serve as governor-general of
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
after Spanish forces had massacred members of a native independence movement in the " Zemla Intifada". Santiago presided over the introduction of limited home-rule in the region, which was eventually decolonized a few years later.
Following Franco's death on 20 November 1975, Santiago was named ''Vicepresidente del Gobierno para la Defensa'' (deputy prime minister for defense) of Spain's first post-Franco government, under Prime Minister Carlos Arias Navarro. Following Arias' resignation, Santiago briefly served as interim prime minister, from 1 to 3 July 1976.Spanish:'' Portal Fuenterrebollo: Gobiernos Transición accessed April 30, 2007.
Under the administration of Adolfo Suárez, Santiago remained the principal
deputy prime minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
but
gave up
"Gave Up" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Written by frontman Trent Reznor and co-produced by Flood, the song serves as the sixth track of Nine Inch Nails' 1992 EP, '' Broken''. The song is noted for its multiple music ...
oversight of the defense ministry. While Arias Navarro had been considered a Francoist, Suárez would turn out to be a reformer, putting Spain on the road to democracy. Santiago would become a harsh critic of Suárez' government. He submitted a resignation letter shortly after Suárez announced he would support the
King Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
asking him to undertake "actions to rescue the destiny of the Fatherland". Bosch would later be implicated in the "
23-F 3F or 3-F may refer to:
* Fagligt Fælles Forbund
* Fangio, Farina, Fagioli - drivers of the Alfa Romeo factory team
* 3 Fonteinen - Belgian brewery, specializing in gueuze and kriek
* 0x3F, ASCII code for question mark
The question mark (al ...
" coup attempt on 23 February 1981.
He married at San Fermín de los Navarros in Madrid on 6 January 1934 María Ignacia Morales de Los Ríos y Palacio, daughter of Santiago Morales de Los Ríos y Chávarri (b. Madrid, Salvador y San Nicolás, 1 May 1886 - ?) and wife (m. Madrid, Santa Teresa, 12 December 1910) Ana María de Palacio y Velasco (29 April 1890 - ?), daughter of the 6th Marquess of Casa Palacio and wife the 1st Marchioness of Villarreal de Álava and grandaunt of
Loyola de Palacio
Ignacia de Loyola de Palacio y del Valle Lersundi (16 September 1950 – 13 December 2006) was a Spanish politician. She was among the first women to rise to political prominence in Spain during the early years of reconstituted democracy. She ...
and Ana de Palacio, and had issue:http://www.geneall.net/H/per_page.php?id=1055302 His wife died in 2006.
* Ana María de Santiago y Morales de Los Ríos
* María Ignacia de Santiago y Morales de Los Ríos
* María Fernanda de Santiago y Morales de Los Ríos
* María del Dulce Nombre de Santiago y Morales de Los Ríos
* Fernando de Santiago y Morales de Los Ríos