Manuel de Irujo Ollo (25 September 1891 – 1 January 1981) was a lawyer and politician from
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
, Spain, who became the leader of the
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...
during the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
. He was a liberal democrat with a profound faith in Christianity. He was Minister of Justice in 1937 during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
(1936–1939). He went into exile after the Republican defeat. He returned from exile in 1977 and was elected to the Senate.
Life
Early years (1891–1918)
Manuel de Irujo Ollo was born in
Estella
Estella may refer to:
People
* Diego de Estella (1524–1578)
* Estella Sneider (born 1950)
*Estella Warren (born 1978), Canadian actress
*Estella, the ''nom de guerre'' of Italian labor leader Teresa Noce
Fictional
*Estella Havisham, a charact ...
, Navarre, on 25 September 1891.
He was the son of the lawyer
Daniel Irujo y Urra, professor in the
University of Deusto
The University of Deusto ( es, Universidad de Deusto; eu, Deustuko Unibertsitatea) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The Un ...
and a Navarre nationalist.
His ancestors had lived in Navarre since the 16th century.
His paternal grandfather was
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 ...
mayor of
Tafalla
Tafalla is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. The Postal code is 31300.
Tafalla is an industrial and agricultural town. It produces beef, mutton, pork and chicken.
History Pr ...
at the start of 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 ...
, and left that liberal-dominated town to settle in Estella.
There his father married the daughter of a liberal family.
His maternal grandmother was born in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, daughter of the president of the ''Audencia'' of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, the high court of the territory.
Manuel de Irujo was brought up to accept liberal, Catholic, Christian-democratic principles.
He attended the Jesuit college at
Orduña, studied Philosophy and Law at the University of Deusto and obtained a doctorate at the
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...
.
He joined the
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...
(''Partido Nacionalista Vasco'', PNV) in 1908.
He returned to Estella when his father died, and acted as father to his younger brothers for several years.
He founded the Estella Basque Center, and began to practice law in that city.
He married, but was widowed in 1918.
Provincial politician (1919–1932)
Irujo was elected provincial deputy for Navarre in 1919, but this was annulled.
He was a provincial deputy from 1921 to 1923.
He proposed a reform to allow land acquisition by tenants, but this failed to be enacted due to opposition by landlords.
The Navarre Savings Bank (''Caja de Ahorros de Navarra'') was founded on his initiative.
He was reelected provincial deputy in 1923, but lost his seat that year with the dictatorship of
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...
, and was imprisoned for a period.
After the resignation of Primo de Rivera in 1930 Manuel de Irujo rejoined the Navarre provincial government for almost a year.
He was a member of the Society of Basque Studies, and in 1932 was appointed to the permanent council of the society.
National deputy (1933–1939)
Irujo was elected deputy for
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
in the national elections of 19 November 1933.
In 1934 he defended the Basque municipalities before the Supreme Court for their actions during the rebellion that year. He had personally been involved in the rebellion.
In January 1936 he and other PNV leaders were invited to Rome by the Vatican Secretariat of State, but did not reach an agreement.
He was reelected to parliament the next month.
On hearing of the military revolt in July 1936 at the start of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
(1936–1939) Irujo and the nationalist deputy Lasarte delivered a note to the civil governor in which, on behalf of their parliamentary group, they invited the armed forces and civilians to assist the legitimate legal powers against the military fascist movement.
The note was broadcast on the radio, but the PNV leadership at first rejected it.
As one of the leaders of the loyalist forces, Irujo played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the surrender of the garrison of Loiola in
San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
.
He was one of the members of the council that directed the Basque Militias and was President of the Basque Defense Council for the central part of the province.
He proposed immediate formation of a Basque government, which was accepted by the Gipuzkoa Defense Council but not by the
Biscay
Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao.
B ...
Defense Council, which argued that the Basque Statute must be approved to form the government.
The PNV quickly assumed control of the
Basque Country, but found themselves fighting both against the rebels and against members of the radical left, whom Irujo called "extremist elements brought into the house".
On 5 September 1936 the PNV leader,
José Antonio Aguirre, was offered the Ministry of Public Works in the new Republican government headed by
Francisco Largo Caballero
Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist. He was one of the historic leaders of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and of the Workers' General Union (UGT). In 1936 and 19 ...
. This was followed by negotiations over what the government would offer the Basques in exchange for their participation. The PNV demanded immediate approval of the Basque Statute as a condition, and when this was agreed Irujo took office as Minister Without Portfolio on 26 September 1936.
The Basque Statute was approved by parliament on 1 October 1936.
Irujo was Minister without Portfolio until 17 May 1937.
On 17 May 1937 Irujo was appointed Minister of Justice in the government of
Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...
.
Negrín supported Irujo in his efforts to normalize the judicial process and courts.
Irujo accepted the post on condition that the freedom of conscience was respected, as guaranteed by the constitution, that public worship was restored and that steps be taken to free imprisoned priests and members of religious orders. This stance became hard to maintain when the episcopate's Collective Letter was circulated in August 1937, since it supported General
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
and apparently incited people to rebel against the Republic.
Irugo, who had deep Christian beliefs, wrote in a letter to a friend, "I am well aware that there have been martyrs in both zones; I am aware too that the Church, whatever else it may be, will become a martyr in the Republican zone and join the firing-squads in the Francoist zone."
In June 1937 Irujo offered to resign by order of the Basque government due to the undefended position in which the Republican government had left the Basque Country.
Irujo definitely resigned as Minister of Justice in December 1937 over the implementation of the emergency courts.
He was replaced by Mariano Ansó Zunzarren on 10 December 1937.
He was again Minister without Portfolio from 10 December 1937 to 16 August 1938.
He agreed to accept this position at the request of Aguirre, who thought the PNV should continue to participate in the cabinet.
Irujo resigned from the government on 16 August 1938 due to his opposition as a Christian to the death penalty.
Later career (1939–1981)
Irujo went into exile after the defeat of the Republic in the Spring of 1939. He became one of the leaders of the International League of Friends of the Basques. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(1939–1945) he chaired the Basque National Council in London in 1941 in the absence of Aguirre, and signed an agreement with General
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
on the Europe of Tomorrow.
He proposed a constitution for a
Basque Republic
The Basque Republic was a project for an independent Basque Country (historical territory), Basque Country proposed in 1941 by Manuel de Irujo, at that moment the main representative of the Basque Government in London.
Precedents
:''See also :ca: ...
as a
buffer state
A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...
between a future
liberated France and a reduced or confederated Spain, supposing that the Allies would defeat Franco.
In 1942 he was one of the founders of the
Cultural Union of the Countries of Western Europe. He joined the
Union of European Federalists
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a European non-governmental organisation, campaigning for a Federal Europe. It consists of 20 constituent organisations and it has been active at the European, national and local levels since 1946.
Hi ...
. In 1944 he was a member of the committee for an
Iberian Community of Nations, and in 1945 was one of the authors of the ''Comunidad Ibérica de Naciones'', advocating an Iberian federation bringing together the Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan and Basque nations. In 1945 he was named Minister of Industry, Commerce and Navigation in the Republican government in exile, and from 1946 to 1947 was Minister of Justice in this government.
Irujo continued to be active in discussions over the federal constitution of Europe in the years that followed. At the congress of the
European Federalist Movement in 1972 he was appointed honorary president of the Peninsula Federal Council of the European movement. On 25 March 1977 he returned from exile and was elected senator for Navarre. He was elected on the PNV platform to the provincial parliament of Navarre as representative for
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
in 1979. Manuel de Irujo Ollo died on 1 January 1981 at the age of 89.
Publications
Publications by Manuel de Irujo include:
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Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Irujo Ollo, Manuel de
1891 births
1981 deaths
Politicians from Navarre
Justice ministers of Spain
Basque Nationalist Party politicians
University of Salamanca alumni
Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic