Gonzalo Figueroa y Torres (19 August 1861 - 18 October 1921) was a Spanish politician of the Restoration, and

Mayor of Madrid The Mayor of Madrid presides over the Madrid City Council, the government body of the capital city of Spain. The mayor has the duty of boosting the local policies, it directs the action of the other executive bodies, leads the Local Executive Admin ...

between 1904 and 1905. He held noble titles such as ''Count of Mejorada del Campo'' and ''Duke of Las Torres''. He is best known for being the very first Spanish representative in the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

and as the fundamental head behind the foundation of the

Spanish Olympic Committee The Spanish Olympic Committee ( es, Comité Olímpico Español, COE) is responsible body for Spain's participation in the Olympic Games. Members of the committee are 35 sports federations, which elect the Executive Council composed of the pres ...

in 1912.

Early life

He was born in Madrid on 19 August 1861, as the son of Ignacio Figueroa y Mendieta, and the brother of Álvaro (the Count of Romanones),

José Figueroa y Torres José Figueroa y Torres (8 March 1857 - 11 June 1901), also known by his noble title of Viscount of Irueste, was a Spanish politician of the Restoration. He was a football pioneer in Madrid, being the fundamental head behind the foundations of the ...

(Viscount of Irueste) and (Duke of Tovar). He was part of one of the most influential families in Spain during the Restoration period.

Political career

He premiered as a

deputy 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, Spai ...

in the Cortes for Baeza in the 1891 Spanish general election. He was senator for the

province of Guadalajara Guadalajara () is a province of Spain, belonging to the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. As of 2013 it had a population of 257,723 people. The population of the province has grown in the last 10 years. It is located in the centre of ...

in two legislatures (1896–1898 and 1898–1899) and, from 1899, a senator for life, holding this position until his death in 1921. In 1904, he replaced the Marquis of Lema as

. He combined all this political activity with an intense dedication to big business, through the firms of the Figueroa house, participating, among others, in the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

and

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

al industries, and even in banking, as he was one of the founders of the Banco Español de Crédito (now Banesto). Among his noble titles, he held those of ''Viscount of Irueste'', ''Count of Mejorada del Campo'', ''Marquis of Villamejor'' and ''Duke of Las Torres'', the latter granted on 4 April 1907. He was also a gentleman of the Chamber of His Majesty King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

, as well as Knight of the Order of Santiago and Master of the Royal Order of Granada.

Olympic career

He was chosen as the first Spanish representative in the International Olympic Committee by Prince Carlos de Borbón. He sent the letter of acceptance to

Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; ...

on 21 February 1902. In 1906 he was part of the

that organized the

1906 Olympic Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...

. With the arrival of the Government of his brother Álvaro, who served as

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 ...

three times between 1912 and 1918, he managed to create the

on 23 November 1912, of which he was president until his death.

Financier

In his role as patron, he financially assisted works of culture and social action throughout his life, notably, the personal and financial support that he always gave to the projects of

Saint Pedro Poveda College Saint Pedro Poveda College (more commonly known as Poveda, formerly known as the Poveda Learning Centre and Institución Teresiana) is a private, Roman Catholic co-educational school run by the Teresian Association of Lay Missionaries, which was ...

. After having contributed to the support of the schools of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Guadix (1902), he favored the academies of the Teresian Association, of whose first patronage he accepted to be president (1918-1921).

Death

When his health began to deteriorate, he moved to Switzerland to rest, accompanied by his wife, María Manuela O'Neill y Salamanca, whom he had married in Madrid, on 8 September 1892, and their minor daughters. The ''Duke of Las Torres'' died in October 1921 in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland, at the age of 60. His remains were transferred to Madrid and, from the capital, to Guadalajara, where they were buried in the Palace of the Dukes of the Infantado.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Figueroa y Torres, Gonzalo 1861 births 1921 deaths Politicians from Madrid International Olympic Committee members Counts of Spain Spanish monarchists Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Members of the Senate of Spain Mayors of Madrid Madrid city councillors