Fernando María Castiella y Maíz (1907–1976) was a Spanish diplomat and politician, who served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

(1957–1969) 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 ...

Biography

Born in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

on 9 December 1907. He read Law and held a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from the University of Madrid. He also undertook postdoctoral specialisation at the

Universities of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and at The Hague Academy of International Law. He was appointed ''

Catedrático Academic ranks in Spain are the titles, relative importance and authority of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview According to the Spanish Organic University Law, the following are the academic ranks in ...

'' of Public International Law at the University of Madrid in 1935. A Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right activist during the Second Republic, he often wrote in ''

El Debate ''El Debate'' is a defunct Spanish Catholic daily newspaper, published in Madrid between 1910 and 1936. It was the most important Catholic newspaper of its time in Spain. History and profile ''El Debate'' was founded in 1910 by Guillermo de Rivas ...

'' about international issues and was vice-president of the Catholic Students' Confederation. When the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

started he fled from Madrid to the Nationalist zone, joining the Nationalist Army as official of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he joined the Blue Division, a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

on the Eastern Front. With José María de Areilza, and wrote ''Reivindicaciones de España'' (Madrid: Instituto de Estudios Políticos, 1941), that drafted an expansionist programme over

French African colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire. During the 19th and 20th centuri ...

. The book was written at the height of the Third Reich's power and Franco had considered entering war on Hitler's side. He promoted the establishment of the Faculty of Political Science and Economics of the University of Madrid and he was the first dean. He was appointed

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

(1948-1951) and to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

(1951-1957), where he negotiated the Concordat of 1953. Franco appointed him minister of Foreign Affairs on February 25, 1957. He set out to improve the relationship with the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. He tried with no success to become member of

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 ...

and associate member of the

European Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

. He also tried to improve the terms of the defence and cooperation appointments with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

but also with little success. He succeed, nevertheless, to be one of the co-founder countries of the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(1961). Politically moderate aperturist, in 1961, he wrote a draft bill of

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

, although it was not passed until 1967. He tried vehemently to see the return of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

to Spanish

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

claiming the case was eligible for a decolonization process. He had for some decades ago written a book on Gibraltar on a such issue, but was nonetheless unsuccessful in his endeavours. After his tenure as minister, he taught Private International Law to Ph.D. students at the Complutense University in Madrid. He died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

on 25 November 1976.

Works

;Authored works * ;Co-authored works *

Bibliography

*Manuel Espadas: ''Franquismo y política exterior'', Madrid: Rialp, 1988 *

Javier Tusell Javier Tusell Gómez (26 August 1945, Barcelona - 8 February 2005, Barcelona) was a Spanish historian, writer and politician who served as a professor of modern history at the National University of Distance Education (UNED).Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia; Biblioteca Nueva, 2000 *Marcelino Oreja Aguirre; Rafael Sánchez Mantero: ''Entre la Historia y la Memoria, Fernando Maria Castiella y la Politica Exterior de España (1957-1969)'', written on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. Edited by the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Madrid 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castiella, Fernando Maria 1907 births 1976 deaths People from Bilbao Complutense University of Madrid alumni University of Paris alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of Geneva alumni The Hague Academy of International Law people Foreign relations of Francoist Spain Foreign ministers of Spain Ambassadors of Spain to Peru Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Government ministers during the Francoist dictatorship Spanish expatriates in France Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom Spanish expatriates in Switzerland Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Blue Division personnel