Luis González Bravo y López de Arjona (8 July 1811, in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, Spain – 1 September 1871, in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

, France) was a Spanish politician,

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, intellectual, speaker, author, arts mentor and promoter, and journalist graduated from law school, who served twice 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 ...

(president of the Council of Ministers) from 1843 to 1844 and in 1868. During his first term, his government officially recognized

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

as an independent state. He held other important offices, such as once serving as

minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

and twice as

minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. He was appointed ambassador of Spain to the United Kingdom in

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's rule, and ambassador of Spain to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. He was a member of the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...

, and occupied three times the post of Spanish

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

for

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 ...

, Jaén,

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

and 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 ...

. He was acting

minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

for five days. He was head of the Spanish civil troops " Milicia Nacional". He was Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

and Knight of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

(of King

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_d ...

, Carlos III). He founded four

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

in Spain, and was the noted Spanish poet

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida (17 February 1836 – 22 December 1870), better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (), was a Spanish Romantic poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented ...

's benefactor and patron.

Independence of Chile and Chile Peace Treaty

Chile y España, Tratado Paz y Amistad 1844

On 25 April 1844, as

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 ...

and

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

simultaneously, President Luis González Bravo, together with

Queen Isabella II of Spain 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 ...

made the peace negotiations and Treaty to recognise the Spanish American Independence of

as a country, for its official recognition by the Spanish Kingdom, called the ''Tratado de Paz y Amistad'', in the government of President of Chile Manuel Bulnes. The signing

plenipotentiaries A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ' ...

were Luis González Bravo for Spain, and General José Manuel Borgoño for Chile. It was the first Latin American independence peace treaty signed in Queen Isabella II's government since her

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

of accession to the throne.

Anti-monarchist Revolution and Exile

President Luis González Bravo was the first stable Prime Minister 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 successio ...

's effective kingdom starting in 1843, and also her kingdom's last Prime Minister, 25 years later in 1868. Prime Minister Luis González Bravo was one of the few politicians who remained consistently faithful to Queen Isabella II throughout her ruling years, standing by her from the beginning of her effective monarchy, to the last days of her reign in 1868. In September 1868, however, upon facing the first battle of the revolution, he advised Queen Isabella II to substitute him in the country's

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

for an experienced army general as Prime Minister, to better fight the ready to strike armed forces organized against her government. The Queen named Captain

José Gutiérrez de la Concha José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

as Prime Minister, who only lasted eleven days in power, from 19 September to 30 September 1868, his troops being defeated on 28 September, when the anti-monarchical revolution took over the country. Queen Isabella II and Prime Minister González Bravo were offered exile with their spouses and children in France by Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. The Queen was exiled in Paris, where she died in 1904. Luis González Bravo lived in

with his wife and two daughters, and died there from coronary heart disease in 1871. In France, as a last resort to rescue and preserve the

Bourbon monarchy The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, memb ...

in Spain in face of the anti-monarchist revolutionary takeover and Queen Isabella II's exile, he supported the Carlists two years before his death. Months later, in 1870, Queen Isabella II abdicated her crown in favour of her first son,

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

, so as to perpetuate the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

dynasty in Spain, which came back into power in 1874 with him leading the Spanish Monarchy Restoration.

Works, Journalism and Intellectual Academies

A talented and prolific columnist, Luis González Bravo founded four newspapers in Spain: ''El Guirigay'' (1837), ''La Legalidad'', ''El Contemporáneo'' (1860) and ''Los Tiempos''. He was also columnist for the newspapers ''El Español'' and ''El Eco del Comercio''. A fervent and generous literature supporter and philanthropist, he was legendary Spanish poet

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

, sponsor and benefactor. He also supported his brother actively, painter

Valeriano Bécquer Valeriano Domínguez Bécquer, (15 December 1833 – 23 September 1870) was a Spanish painter and graphic artist, who often worked in the costumbrismo style.Ateneo de Madrid The Ateneo de Madrid ("Athenæum of Madrid") is a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain that was founded in 1835. Its full name is ''Ateneo Científico, Literario y Artístico de Madrid'' ("Scientific, Literary and Artistic ...

(Athenæum of Madrid) since its foundation, and member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. He became a "C seat" Member of the Real Academia Española de la Lengua (Royal Academy of the Spanish Language) in 1863. Luis González Bravo is considered one of the best Spanish public speakers and orators of all time.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Bravo, Luis Prime Ministers of Spain Foreign ministers of Spain Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Spanish knights 1811 births 1871 deaths Moderate Party (Spain) politicians 19th-century Spanish politicians Ambassadors of Spain to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 19th-century diplomats