Laureano Figuerola y Ballester (4 July 1816, in

Calaf Calaf () is the main town in the northern portion of the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Catalonia, Spain, situated on the Calaf Plain. The town holds an important weekly livestock market. It is served by the main N-II road from Barcelona to Lle ...

– 28 February 1903, in

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 ...

) was a Spanish lawyer, economist and politician who served as the Ministro de Hacienda y Administraciones Públicas (now the Ministro de Economía, Industria y Competitividad) during the

Sexenio Democrático The Sexenio Democrático or Sexenio Revolucionario (English: The six democratic or revolutionary years) is a period of 6 years between 1868 and 1874 in the history of Spain. The ''Sexenio Democrático'' starts on 30 September 1868 with the over ...

. He is best known for officially establishing the peseta as Spain's currency.

Biography

After completing his studies In philosophy, he took a Bachelor's degree in Law in 1838, then received his doctorate from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

in 1840. He became a substitute professor of constitutional law there and, in 1845, was promoted to Professor of Administrative Law and Political Economics. In 1853, he became a Professor of Political Economics and Law at the

Central University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...

. Four years later, he became one of the first members of the

Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas The Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas (RACMP, English: Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences) is a forum for the sharing of social, economic, philosophical, political and juridical knowledge. It was created on 30 September 1 ...

(RACMP) and, together with several associates, including

José Echegaray José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (19 April 183214 September 1916) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, statesman, and one of the leading Spanish dramatists of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Lit ...

and

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 ...

, was a founder of the "Sociedad Libre de Economía Política", an organization devoted to the principles of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

. After the

Revolution of 1868 The Glorious Revolution ( es, la Gloriosa or ) took place in Spain in 1868, resulting in the deposition of Queen Isabella II. The success of the revolution marked the beginning of the with the installment of a provisional government. Backgrou ...

Francisco Serrano y Dominguez Francisco Serrano Domínguez Cuenca y Pérez de Vargas, 1st Duke of la Torre, Grandee of Spain, Count of San Antonio (17 December 1810 – 25 November 1885) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He was Prime Minister of Spain in 1868–6 ...

, head of the Provisional Government, named him Ministro de Hacienda, a position he held until early the following year. One of his most important acts was signing the ordinance establishing the peseta as the sole official currency. He headed the same ministry from late 1869 until 1870, when Amedeo I ascended to the throne. His position 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 N ...

had become difficult during his second term as minister, due to opposition from

Pi y Margall Francesc Pi i Margall (Spanish: Francisco Pi y Margall) (29 April 1824 – 29 November 1901) was a Spanish federalist and republican politician and theorist who served as president of the short-lived First Spanish Republic in 1873. He was al ...

and others, including businessmen in the industrial sector. Despite the support of his friend,

Juan Prim Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ca, Joan Prim i Prats ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until ...

, he felt it was best to tender his resignation. He was then elected President of the Board of Directors for the

Institución Libre de Enseñanza La Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE, English: ''The Free Institution of Education''), was an educational project developed in Spain for over half a century (1876–1936). The institute was inspired by the philosophy of Krausism, first introdu ...

, created by Royal Decree in 1876. He was also one of the first members of the Faculty Board, together with

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Joaquín Costa Joaquín Costa (September 14, 1846, Monzón, Huesca Province – February 8, 1911) was a Spanish politician, lawyer, economist and historian. The son of an Aragonese farmer and his first wife, Costa was self-educated and campaigned to end what ...

and

Francisco Giner de los Ríos Francisco Giner de los Ríos (10 October 1839 in Ronda, Spain – 18 February 1915 in Madrid) was a philosopher, educator and one of the most influential Spanish intellectuals at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Biog ...

, among others. In 1885, he was elected a Councillor (

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

) for the

Ayuntamiento of Madrid The City Council of Madrid ( es, Ayuntamiento de Madrid) is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Madrid, the capital and biggest city of Spain. The City Council is composed by three bodies; the Mayor who leads the City Council an ...

. From 1898 until his death, he served as President of RACMP.

Sources

"Laureano Figuerola en el campo del honor"
by Francisco Cabrillo. * Alberto Rull Sabater: ''Diccionario sucinto de Ministros de Hacienda (s.XIX-XX)'', 1991: Madrid. Instituto de Estudios Fiscales * Miguel Martorell Linares and Francisco Comín: “Laureano Figuerola: el ministro de Hacienda de la Revolución Gloriosa”, in: Francisco Comín, Pablo Martín-Aceña and Rafael Vallejo (eds.): ''La Hacienda por sus ministros. La etapa liberal de 1845 a 1899'', Zaragoza, PUZ, 2006, pp. 299–339,

External links

Biography of Figuerola
the

Charles III University of Madrid University Charles III of Madrid ( es, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) (UC3M) is a public university in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Established in 1989, UC3M is an institution with a distinctly international profile. It offers a broad rang ...

website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Figuerola, Laureano 1816 births 1903 deaths Economy and finance ministers of Spain University of Barcelona alumni Academic staff of the University of Barcelona People from Anoia Presidents of the Senate of Spain