José Luna Meléndez (1893 – 1960) was a Spanish military colonel and politician of
Falangist ideology. During the
Franco dictatorship, he would come to hold the positions of Deputy Secretary General of
Falange as well as attorney in the Francoist Courts.
Biography
Military by profession, he reached the rank of colonel. After retiring from the army, he was one of the founding members of the
Spanish Falange
The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...
. He presented a candidacy for
Cortes during the 1936 elections, although he did not obtain a deputy certificate. After the Falange was outlawed, he was arrested by the republican authorities and imprisoned. As the leader of the Falange de Cáceres, he gave his support to the military conspiracy against the
Second Republic.
After the start of the
Civil War, Luna rejoined the Falange and played a prominent role in the repression in the Extremaduran rearguard. During the war, he maintained a strong autonomous power as territorial head of the Falange in
Extremadura. At the end of 1939, he was designated a member of the National Council of FET and JONS.
After the crisis of May 1941, he would be appointed Deputy Secretary General of the party, replacing the ousted
Pedro Gamero del Castillo. Loyal to
Ramón Serrano Suñer, during this time he stood out as an exalted Falangist. He would be removed from his posts in September 1942, after the
Begoña attack, like ministers
Valentín Galarza
Colonel Valentín Galarza Morante (1882 in El Puerto de Santa María – 1951 in Madrid) was a Spanish officer and right wing politician. He was associated with the monarchist tendency within the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Junt ...
and
José Enrique Varela. Despite his complete obedience to
Franco
Franco may refer to:
Name
* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ...
, his dismissal was decided on the grounds that he had been involved in the incident. He was replaced by Manuel Mora Figueroa, a veteran of the
Blue Division.
Despite his fall from grace, between 1946 and 1960, he was a solicitor in the Francoist courts.
He died in
Madrid in 1960.
[Necrológica. Sepelio de los restos de don José Luna Meléndez](_blank)
in Spanish), ''ABC'', p.86 (18 September 1960)
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meléndez, Jose Luna
1893 births
1960 deaths
Spanish colonels
Spanish politicians