Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and

Grandee Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neith ...

who was

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 ...

on several occasions.

Early life

He was born at

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, a son of Carlos O'Donnell y Anethan (born 1768) and Josefa Jorris y Casaviella. He was a paternal grandson of José O'Donnell y O'Donnell and Marie Anne d'Anethan. He was of distant

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

paternal ancestry. He is the 11th generation descendant of

Calvagh O'Donnell Calvagh O'Donnell (Irish language, Irish: ''Calbhach Ó Domhnaill''; born c. 1515 - died 26 November 1566), eldest son of Manus O'Donnell, was an Irish King of Tyrconnell of the mid-16th century. He was Rí, king and chief of the O'Donnell dynas ...

, ''

Rí Rí, or commonly ríg (genitive), is an ancient Gaelic word meaning 'king'. It is used in historical texts referring to the Irish and Scottish kings, and those of similar rank. While the Modern Irish word is exactly the same, in modern Scottish ...

'' of

Tír Chonaill Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...

, a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

territory in the west of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in the north of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He had an uncle, Francisco, and an aunt, Beatriz, who married Manuel Pombo y Ante (1769–1829), and had issue. cites:

Career

O'Donnell was a strong supporter of the liberal

Cristinos The Christinos (Spanish: Cristinos) (sometimes called the ''Isabellinos'' or the ''Liberales'') was the name for the supporters of the claim of Isabel II to the throne of Spain during the First Carlist War. The Christinos drew their name from Mar ...

and the regency of Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies during the 1830s. When General

Baldomero Espartero Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Álvarez de Toro (27 February 17938 January 1879) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He served as the Regent of the Realm, three times as Prime Minister and briefly as President of the Congress of Deputies. ...

seized power in 1840, O'Donnell went into exile with Maria Christina, and was involved in an attempted coup against Espartero in 1841. O'Donnell was soon back in power and was sent to Cuba as Captain General in October 1843. O'Donnell was responsible for the 1844 massacre known as the repression of "La Escalera". Thousands of slaves and free-coloured people in Cuba were confined in dungeons, were tortured and executed in what became known as the 'year of the lash'. In 1854, he made a ''

pronunciamiento A ''pronunciamiento'' (, pt, pronunciamento ; "proclamation , announcement or declaration") is a form of military rebellion or ''coup d'état'' particularly associated with Spain, Portugal and Latin America, especially in the 19th century. Typol ...

'' against the government and was named

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 ...

for a time. He served as War Minister of the Espartero government. Mausoleo de Leopoldo O'Donnell (Madrid) 04

The

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

caused an increase of grain prices due to the blockade of Russia, causing a famine in Galicia during 1854. Riots against

power loom A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...

s spread through Spain, and General O'Donnell intervened, marching on

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Espartero resigned power in O'Donnell's favour on 14–15 July 1856, and 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 successio ...

asked him to form a government as the 44th

. For his new administration, O'Donnell formed the

Unión Liberal The Liberal Union ( es, Unión Liberal) was a political party in Spain in the third quarter of the 19th century. It was founded by Leopoldo O'Donnell in 1858 with the intent of forging a compromise and taking a centrist position between the two ...

Party, which was designed to combine Progressive, Moderate, and

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

factions. O'Donnell attempted to define moderate policies for Spain with this new party, advocating ''

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...

'' policies and confiscating church land. He was soon dismissed after only a few months in power on 12 October, and two years of reaction followed. In later governments, O'Donnell was more careful. His two later administrations worked laboriously to attract foreign investment to improve Spain's railroad infrastructure. He failed to achieve much economic growth, however, and increased industry only in Basque country and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, both of which already had substantial industrial centres. He was a proponent of a new and aggressive imperial policy, intended principally to expand Spanish territory in Africa, particularly after French successes in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

General O'Donnell, jefe del Gobierno (1865)

In the first administration he was twice at the same time the 136th

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

and the 48th Prime Minister of Spain between 30 June 1858 and 2 July 1858, and again as the 138th Minister of Foreign Affairs between 21 October 1860 and 18 January 1863, remaining again solely as Prime Minister until 26 February 1863. His second term as the 53rd Prime Minister started on 21 October 1860. He took a brief respite from his government in 1860 to command the Spanish army at the battle of Tetuan during its Spanish-Moroccan War, overseeing the capture of

Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...

. He was rewarded for his abilities in the campaign with the title

Duke of Tetuán Duke of Tetuán ( es, Duque de Tetuán) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1860 by Isabella II to Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Count of Lucena and Prime Minister of Spain for several l ...

. In 1866, he repressed a revolt commanded by General

Juan Prim Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ca, Joan Prim i Prats ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until ...

, and was subsequently dismissed by the queen for the brutality of his regime on 11 July 1866. He was the 103rd

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

of the

Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

Family

He was succeeded in his titles by his nephew, son of his brother Carlos O' Donnell y Jorris and wife María del Mar Alvarez de Abreu y Rodríguez de Albuerne, Carlos O' Donnell y Alvarez de Abreu (1834 – 1903), 2nd Duke of Tetuán, 2nd Count of Lucena and also 9th Marquess of Altamira, married in

on 1 June 1861 to María Josefa de Vargas y Díez de Bulnes (

, 25 July 1838 – 5 November 1905).

Notes

References

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External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Leopoldo 1809 births 1867 deaths Counts of Lucena Dukes of Tetuan Governors of Cuba Grandees of Spain Leaders of political parties in Spain Liberal Union (Spain) politicians Military personnel of the First Carlist War Leopoldo People from Santa Cruz de Tenerife People of the Chincha Islands War Prime Ministers of Spain Spanish captain generals Spanish people of Irish descent Viscounts of Spain Spanish military personnel of the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60) Spanish nobility