Juan Álvarez Mendizábal (born ''Juan Álvarez Méndez''; 25 February 1790 – 3 November 1853), was a Spanish
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as
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 ...
from 25 September 1835 to 15 May 1836.
Biography
He was born to Rafael Álvarez Montañés, a cloth merchant, and Margarita Méndez, of
converso origin.
[
Converso Non-Conformism in Early Modern Spain: Bad Blood and Faith from Alonso de Cartagena to Diego Velázquez
Kevin Ingram
Springer, 06 Dec 2018] He was given training in banking, first working in a bank and then in the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
administration during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
. At the time he became a member of "Taller Sublime", a Cádiz
masonic lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
.
In 1820, he was appointed military supplier of the troops that
Ferdinand VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_plac ...
had sent to America to suppress the revolts. Taking advantage of this situation he financed
Rafael del Riego
Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician, who played a key role in the outbreak of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish).
Early life
Riego was born on 7 April ...
's military uprising. During the
Trienio liberal Mendizábal renounced to the Public Administration, although he had actively participated in the revolts against
absolutism.
When Ferdinand VII renounced the
Constitution of 1812
The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constituti ...
and restored his absolute power in 1823, Mendizábal and many other revolutionary liberals went into exile: in the United Kingdom he opened a trade business.
In 1835, under
José María Queipo de Llano's presidency, he was appointed Minister of the Treasury. On 14 September he succeeded Queipo de Llano, keeping the Treasury portfolio during a delicate economic situation due to the
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
's military expenses.
Queen Regent Maria Christina thought a liberal prime minister would hold the rebellions. Mendizábal's political program included the ''Desamortización Eclesiástica'' ("