Santiago Alba y Bonifaz (23 December 1872, in Zamora – 8 April 1949) was a Spanish

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 ...

and lawyer. He served as Minister of the Navy, Minister of Education and Science, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Housing, and Minister of Foreign Affairs during the reign of

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

. Born to a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

family with important political connections, he was the son of Obdulia Bonifaz (a relative of

Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla (22 March 183313 June 1895) was a Spanish politician. He served as Prime Minister of Spain for a little over ten weeks, in the summer of 1871, and again for eight months, between June 1872 and February 1873. Biography Born ...

) and of César Alba García Oyuelos, a prominent

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

lawyer. Alba grew up in Valladolid and studied at the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, receiving a law degree. He also began working for the ''La Opinión'' as editor-in-chief, and later bought the newspaper ''

El Norte de Castilla ''El Norte de Castilla'' ("The North of Castile") is a Spanish-language daily newspaper based in Valladolid, Spain. After ''Faro de Vigo'', founded in 1853, ''El Norte de Castilla'' is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the country, tracing i ...

'' in 1893, where he had also worked as a manager. Upon the death of her husband, Alba's mother inherited an estate in

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

, in the town of Noja. When Alba became the first Marquis of Albaicín, the estate became the Palacio del Albaicín. In 1918, after suffering from an accident in which his car crashed into a tree, he spent some time there recuperating.''Revista Nuevo Mundo''. 13 de Septiembre de 1918
/ref> He married Enriqueta Delibes in 1897 and began his political career in the elections of 1901, as a representative of the party Unión Nacional, earning a seat in the

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...

as deputy for Valladolid province. He won the seat again in the 1903 elections—after switching to the Partido Liberal—but would give up his seat to become Subsecretary of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and in the elections of 1905, he would again give up his seat in order to become

Governor of the Bank of Spain The Governor of the Bank of Spain ( es, Gobernador del Banco de España) is the head of the Bank of Spain, the central bank of the Kingdom of Spain. The Bank of Spain is integrated in the European System of Central Banks and, as such, the Governor ...

. In succeeding elections, which were held until 1936, he would again be elected deputy representing Valladolid, Granada, or Zamora provinces. From 1933 to 1936, he was President of the Cortes.

Ministry

He served as Minister of the Navy from 30 November to 4 December 1906 in the government of

Segismundo Moret Segismundo Moret y Prendergast (2 June 1833 – 28 January 1913) was a Spanish politician and writer. He was the prime minister of Spain on three occasions and the president of the Congress of Deputies on two occasions. Biography Moret was bor ...

. He was Minister of Public Education and Belles Artes on two occasions: from 12 March to 31 December 1912 under José Canalejas; and from 22 March to 10 October 1918 under

Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, and studied law in Madrid. In 1878, Maura married Constanc ...

. He was Minister of the Interior on two occasions: from 31 December 1912 to 27 October 1913 and from 9 December to 30 October 1916, both times under the

Count of Romanones Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. He served as Minister of Housing from 30 April 1916 to 11 June 1917 under Romanotes and García Prieto, and adopted the ideas of the movement known as Regeneracionismo. He enacted two programs. The first, proposed “in defense of Spanish values,” prohibited the issuing, introduction, and announcement in the Spanish market of debt securities and bonds associated with foreign governments. The second program reformed laws for tenants in Spain. He later presented to the Cortes some 22 projects concerning administrative and financial reorganizations and reforms, tax law reforms, monopolies, and economic development. He also successfully enacted a government loan worth billions of pesetas. During his second term as Minister of Housing (9 November - 5 December 1918), he concerned himself with food supply and transportation issues caused by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He proposed some agrarian reforms, but these were not carried out. He then served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 7 December 1922 to 15 September 1923 in a new cabinet under García Prieto. During 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 ...

, Alba exiled himself to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

but returned in Spain in 1930. He refused to serve as head of the government after the fall of

Dámaso Berenguer Dámaso Berenguer y Fusté, 1st Count of Xauen (4 August 1873 – 19 May 1953) was a Spanish general and politician. He served as Prime Minister during the last thirteen months of the reign of Alfonso XIII. Biography Berenguer was born in Sa ...

. At the outbreak 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, link ...

in 1936, he again exiled himself, this time 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 returned to Spain in 1945 but no longer involved himself in politics.

References

1872 births 1949 deaths People from Zamora, Spain Liberal Party (Spain, 1880) politicians Economy and finance ministers of Spain Government ministers of Spain Governors of the Bank of Spain Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Politicians from Castile and León Interior ministers of Spain Civil governors of Madrid Exiled Spanish politicians {{CastileLeón-politician-stub