Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis (1905–1972) was a Spanish

Falangist Falangism ( es, falangismo) was the political ideology of two political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS) and afterwards the Fal ...

politician. He was an important figure in the early history of the movement but later fell out of favour.

Falangism

Dávila was a cousin of

José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish politician who founded the falangist Falang ...

and as such was given the responsibility of expanding the operations of the Falange in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

and

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, ...

in 1933. He soon rose to the rank of ''jefe territorial'' for

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

. He was a close ally of José Sáinz Nothnagel and was arrested with him in May 1936 at José Antonio's house.

Power struggle

Following the execution of

, Dávila joined with his ally Agustín Aznar in a power struggle for the leadership of the Falange. The two men led the ''legitimistas'' group within the movement which opposed the leadership of Primo de Rivera's nominated successor

Manuel Hedilla Manuel Hedilla Larrey (born July 18, 1902 in Ambrosero, Cantabria – died February 4, 1970 in Madrid) was a Spanish political figure who was a leading member of the Falange and an early rival for power towards Francisco Franco. He was a mechan ...

. Dávila's presence was especially important to this group due to his familial connection and he was central in maintaining the cult of ''El Ausente'' (the absent), as Primo de Rivera was to be known. In the struggle that followed the ''legitimista'' militia seized power for themselves and on April 16, 1937 set up a

triumvirate A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

made up of Dávila, Aznar and José Moreno at the head of the Falange. However, with the help of

nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

agent

Carl von Haartman Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

, Hedilla's forces recaptured the Falange HQ from Dávila and before long

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

stepped in, ostensibly to support Hedilla but in fact to create the

Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...

and thus effectively eliminate the Falange and its leaders as threats to his position. Dávila was imprisoned following the incident although his close friend

Gonzalo Queipo de Llano Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra (5 February 1875 – 9 March 1951) was a Spanish military leader who rose to prominence during the July 1936 coup and then the Spanish Civil War and the White Terror. Biography A career army man, Queipo de Lla ...

intervened to secure his release.

Later years

In a snub from Franco, he was not named as a National Delegate until 1938 at a time when a number of pro-

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

were added to this office. He was replaced as delegate to the Frente de Juventudes in 1941 by José Antonio Elola-Olaso as the influence of Dávila's ally

Ramón Serrano Súñer Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...

began to wane.Wayne H. Bowen, ''Spaniards and Nazi Germany: Collaboration in the New Order'', 2000, p. 100 Between 1952 and 1954 he served as the President of the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation ( es, Real Federación Española de Fútbol; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. It is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. It was founded on 14 October 19 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davila y Fernandez de Celis, Sancho 1905 births 1972 deaths Spanish Falangists Spanish fascists Presidents of the Spanish Football Federation FET y de las JONS politicians