Joaquín María López y López (15 August 1798 – 14 November 1855) born Joaquín María
López de Oliver, López de Platas y López de Cervera was a Spanish politician, writer and journalist who served twice as the
Prime Minister of Spain
The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...
in 1843, during the reign of Queen
Isabella II. López held other important political offices such as Minister of the Interior (1836–1837) and
Mayor of Madrid in 1840.
Life
Son of Alonso López de Oliver de Platas y Selva and Joaquín and Pascasia López de Cervera y Fernández de Palencia, he was born in 1798 and was married to his cousin Manuela López de Oliver de Platas y de Cervera y Fernández de Plasencia with whom he had seven children. He inherited a large number of
mayorazgos including Bulilla, Hoya Ubaca and Hoya Hermosa. The origins of Joaquín's family go back to the thirteenth century, when they are documented as an old noble Aragonese family which settled in the new areas conquered by King
James I of Aragon as a result of their economic support in the military campaigns in the
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia (; ; ), located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon.
The Kingdom of Valencia was formally created in 1238 when the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken in ...
, as well as having participated in the reconquest of the
Kingdom of Murcia by King
Alfonso X between 1242 and 1243. From their involvement in these campaigns the family received large estates in the area surrounding
Villena. Ever since the family actively took part in the politics of the region, protecting the city of Villena in favour of the
Catholic Monarchs against the Pachecos, as well as serving to
Philip II in the defence of
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
and
Philip IV.
Joaquín Maria studied Philosophy en the School of San Fulgencia de Murcia between 1811 and 1814, and law in the
University of Orihuela, where he gained a
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
in 1818 and a Licenciatura in 1821. While completing his studies he became chair of Moral Philosophy and Natural and Roman Law. Once the
Trienio Liberal finished he went into exile to Montpellier escaping from Absolutism repression. In Montepellier he studied Sciences and Medicine.
He began his political career as Síndico Personero in the Alicante's municipal government in 1833. In 1834 he became member of parliament for the province of
Alicante
Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
. He then was Minister of the Interior during the prime minstership of
José María Calatrava y Peinado, Mayor of
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
in 1840 and Prime Minister of Spain on two occasions. One of the most important events during his prime ministership was the decision of declaring
Queen Isabella II full-age and capable of reigning. Shortly after, he left politics only to return briefly between 1849 and 1853 to become Senator and Special Minister of the War Tribunal and Navy.
He was a prominent member of the
Progressive Party and was praised for his oratory and eloquent skills. He was a strong advocate for the role of women, the abolition of mayorazgos, the reformation of education and the instauration of universal democracy and rejected several times honours such as marquisates and honoroury salaries.
Works
*''El juramento''
*''Discursos pronunciados en las Cortes de 1836, 37 y 38''
*''Lecciones de elocuencia general, de elocuencia forense, de elocuencia parlamentaria y de improvisación''
*''Colección de discursos parlamantarios, Defensas Forenses y producciones literarias''
References
www.xtec.es Joaquín María LópezSenate. Personal dossier of D. Joaquín María López
1798 births
1855 deaths
Prime ministers of Spain
Mayors of Madrid
Progressive Party (Spain) politicians
Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain)
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