Salustiano de Olózaga y Almandoz (8 June 1805, in

Oyón-Oion Oyón in Spanish or Oion in Basque is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. The town was formed by the incorporation of the towns Barriobusto and Labraza. It is located just 5km nor ...

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

– 26 September 1873, in

Enghien-les-Bains Enghien-les-Bains () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the département of Val-d'Oise. Enghien-les-Bains is famous as a spa resort and a well-to-do suburb of Paris, developed in ...

, France) was a Spanish politician, diplomat, lawyer and writer 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 ...

and was appointed three times ambassador to France.

Family and Surroundings

Olózaga was born into a comfortable liberal family who lived in the

Rioja Alavesa Rioja Alavesa ( eu, Arabako Errioxa), officially Cuadrilla de Laguardia-Rioja Alavesa is one of seven ''comarcas'' that make up the province of Álava, Spain. It covers an area of 315.83 km² with a population of 11,360 people (2010). The capit ...

part of

Northern Spain Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Isl ...

. His grandfather, Ramón Antonio obtained in 1791 the recognition of his

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

thanks to the rule of universal hidalgocy. His grandfather would go on to serve as

regidor A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''. Mexico In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a munici ...

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed be ...

. Olózaga's father was a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

who worked for the city of

Arnedo Arnedo is the third largest town in La Rioja, Spain. It is located near Calahorra, and has a population of about 15,000 people. Its economy is based on the shoe industry. History The area of Arnedo has been inhabited as early as the Neolithic A ...

earning a comfortable wage. Soon after being born, he moved to the family house in

where he would learn his first letters and words. Years later Olózaga would go on to say that he learned these reading from the

Spanish 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 Constitut ...

, updating it as more articles where passed in parliamentary sessions. His Latin teacher was Marcelino Magro, a liberal cathedraticum who was originally from

Cuenca, Spain Cuenca () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca. Etymology Its name may derive from the Latin ''conca'' meaning "river basin", referring ...

but had taken refuge in Arnedo. Marcelino Magro would use texts from Latin authors as his learning materials, instead of the

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

as was normal at that time. At this time he would be successful in the Latin tournament held by the

franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

in the Convento de Vico. The winner obtained the right for the rest of the students to chant their town. That chant of ''"Viva Arnedo!"'' would stay with him for his entire life, such that in his death bed he still wrote a letter to his son remembering that moment.

References

Prime Ministers of Spain 1805 births 1873 deaths Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Progressive Party (Spain) politicians Ambassadors of Spain to France Civil governors of Madrid {{spain-diplomat-stub