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 Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, S ...

and briefly as acting

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

during the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

in the late 1970s. He had earlier been a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and under the

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

Biography

As an active soldier, Santiago participated in the Second Moroccan War in the 1920s and in 1936 joined the Spanish Nationalists in the

, rising to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

. In

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

, 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 (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...

after Spanish forces had massacred members of a native independence movement in the "

Zemla Intifada The Zemla Intifada (or the Zemla Uprising) is the name used to refer to disturbances of 17 June 1970, which culminated in a massacre (between 2 and 11 persons were killed) by Spanish Legion forces in the Zemla district of El Aaiun, Spanish Sah ...

". 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 Carlos Arias Navarro, 1st Marquess of Arias Navarro (11 December 1908 – 27 November 1989) was the Prime Minister of Spain during the final years of the Francoist dictatorship and the beginning of the Spanish transition to democracy. Arias ...

. 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 Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...

, Santiago remained the principal

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

but gave up 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

Political Reform Act The Political Reform Act (Law 1/1977, of 4 JanuaryLaw 1/1977, ...

and its call for open elections; his resignation was accepted on 21 September 1976. Out of office, Santiago continued to meet with conservative military officials disturbed by Spain's democratization and liberalization. In September 1977, he met with a group of army leaders—including Jaime Milans del Bosch—who secretly wrote a letter to

King Juan Carlos I Juan 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 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Sp ...

asking him to undertake "actions to rescue the destiny of the Fatherland". Bosch would later be implicated in the "

23-F A coup d'état was attempted in Spain in February 1981 by elements of the Civil Guard (Spain), Civil Guard and the Spanish Armed Forces, Spanish military. The failure of the coup marked the last serious attempt to revert Spain to a Francoist gov ...

" coup attempt on 23 February 1981. Santiago died in Madrid on 6 November 1994.

Personal life

He married María Ignacia Morales de Los Ríos y Palacio at San Fermín de los Navarros in Madrid on 6 January 1934 who was the daughter of Santiago Morales de Los Ríos y Chávarri (b. Madrid, Salvador y San Nicolás, 1 May 1886 - ?) and 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 and Ana de Palacio. Santiago's wife died in 2006, and they had five children: * 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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, Fernando de 1910 births 1994 deaths Military personnel from Madrid FET y de las JONS politicians People from Francoist Spain Spanish generals Prime ministers of Spain Spanish Sahara Politicians from Madrid Deputy prime ministers of Spain