Segismundo Moret y Prendergast (2 June 1833 – 28 January 1913) was a Spanish politician and writer. He was the

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 Spain, Constitution of 1978 a ...

on three occasions and the

president of the Congress of Deputies The president of the Congress of Deputies ( es, Presidente del Congreso de los Diputados) is the speaker of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament). The president is elected among the members o ...

on two occasions.

Biography

Moret was born 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, ...

on 2 June 1833. His mother's family, the Prendergasts, were of

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 ...

descent. He studied at the ''Universidad Central'' in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, where, in 1858, he became professor of political economy while he continued his studies in jurisprudence. In 1863, Moret was elected representative to parliament as an independent representing the town of

Almadén Almadén () is a town and municipality in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real, within the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The town is located at 4° 49' W and 38° 46' N and is 589 meters above sea level. Almadén is approximately 3 ...

in the province of Ciudad Real. He was re-elected in 1868 after the Revolution of 1868 and took part in the writing of the new

Spanish Constitution of 1869 The Spanish Constitution of 1869 ( es, Constitucion Española), enacted on 1 June 1869, was the sixth constitution of the constitutions of Spain to emerge from the turbulent period in Spanish history of 1814-1873. The constitution was adopted by ...

. He was noted for his eloquence. As Minister of Overseas in the government presided by General Prim in 1870, Moret, himself a member of the Spanish Abolitionist Society, pushed for the abolition of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and the creation of a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

for

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. In 1871, he was Minister of the Treasury (''hacienda'') in the first government of King Amadeo I, and in 1872, he was appointed ambassador in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

but resigned months later months and accepted a directorship in a large British bank. With the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne in 1875, Moret returned to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where he founded the ''Partido Democrático-Monárquico'' party. He was again elected deputy for Ciudad Real in 1879 and rallied to the monarchy in 1882. In 1883, he was appointed Minister of the Interior (''Gobernación''), and after 1885, he joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in which he cooperated with

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar (21 July 1825 – 5 January 1903) was a Spanish civil engineer and politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of th ...

as Minister of State (''estado'', foreign affairs, 1885–1888), Interior (''Gobernación'', 1888, 1901, 1902), Development (''Fomento'') (1892), State (''Estado'', foreign affairs, 1892, 1894) and Overseas Colonies (''Ultramar'', 1897–1898). When Sagasta died, he participated in the quarrels for the control of the party. In 1897, as Minister for Overseas Colonies (''Ultramar''), Moret decreed the autonomy for

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

in a vain attempt to avoid their secession. He opposed the war against the United States in 1898. In 1902, he collaborated in the creation of the Institute of Social Reform, which was a precursor of the future Ministry of Labour. In 1905, after the resignation of Montero Rios, Moret became prime minister but was forced to resign in July 1906 after he had lost his majority in the parliament (''Cortes Generales'') although he became again prime minister briefly the same year (30 November – 4 December). After the bloody confrontations of the " Tragic Week" in 1909 in Barcelona, Moret was again appointed prime minister after the resignation of

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 ...

while he was also Minister of the Interior. He was forced to resign in February 1910 when he was replaced by José Canalejas. He denounced the Canalejas Ministry as "a democratic flag being used to cover reactionary merchandise".Professor J. C J. Metford: ''The Spanish Anarchist Movement, 1908-75'', Mastermind Quiz Book, 1984 In 1912, after the assassination of Prime Minister Canalejas and the appointment of a new prime minister, Álvaro Figueroa Torres, Count of Romanones, Moret was elected as the 155th

, which he was until his death, on 28 January 1913. It was his second term as speaker of the Spanish lower house; from July 15, 1901 to April 3, 1902, he had served as the 147th speaker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moret, Segismundo 1833 births 1913 deaths Politicians from Cádiz Prime Ministers of Spain Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Economy and finance ministers of Spain Foreign ministers of Spain 19th-century Spanish politicians Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Liberal Party (Spain, 1880) politicians Leaders of political parties in Spain Spanish people of British descent Complutense University of Madrid Complutense University of Madrid alumni Presidents of the Ateneo de Madrid Interior ministers of Spain Overseas ministers of Spain Spanish abolitionists Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Ambassadors of Spain to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Biography

See also

References