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 ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regula ...

in 1843, during the reign of Queen

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

. López held other important political offices such as Minister of the Gobernation (1836–1837) 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 ...

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, 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 King Philip II in the defence of Malta and King 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 The University of Orihuela was located at the Convent of Santo Domingo, in Orihuela. It was the second university in the ancient Kingdom of Valencia, founded 40 years after the University of Valencia. The official name of the institution was Pont ...

, where he gained a Bachiller en Leyes 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. He then was Minister of Gobernación during José María Calatrava's presidency, Mayor of Madrid in 1840 and President of Spain in two occasions. One of the most important events during his presidency was the decision of declaring Queen Elisabeth 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 by 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 LópezSeante. 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) {{Madrid-politician-stub