Alejandro Mon y Menéndez (26 February 1801 in

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...

Principality of Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive ...

, Spain – 1 November 1882) was a Spanish politician and jurist who was

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 ...

in 1864, during the reign of Queen

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the success ...

Early life

Mon was born in

and was the eldest son of Miguel Mon y Miranda and Francisca Menéndez y de la Torre. His only sister, Manuela, was married to the Asturian

Pedro José Pidal, 1st Marquis of Pidal Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

, another prominent politician who served several times as prime minister. He studied law in the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo ( es, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón ...

, where he became interested in politics and approached the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...

Political career

In the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Queen

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies ( it, Maria Cristina Ferdinanda di Borbone, Principessa delle Due Sicilie, es, link=no, María Cristina de Borbón, Princesa de las Dos Sicilias; 27 April 1806 – 22 August 1878) was Queen of Spain from 182 ...

(1833–1840), Mon was appointed for his first high political office,

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1837 to 1838, in a moderate cabinet headed by Narciso Fernández de Heredia, 2nd Count of Heredia-Spínola. During the

of the progressivist

Baldomero Espartero Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Álvarez de Toro (27 February 17938 January 1879) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He served as the Regent of the Realm, three times as Prime Minister and briefly as President of the Congress of Deputies. ...

(1840–1843), he was in none of the cabinets but remained active in political life. When the moderates came back to power in 1844, a period started known as the '' Moderate Decade'', Mon was called by the new prime minister,

Ramón María Narváez, 1st Duke of Valencia 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 ...

, again as minister of finance. He held this post from 1844 to 1845 and carried out the tax reform of 1845, which established the basis of the current tax system of Spain. It was executed in collaboration with Ramón de Santillán, and it is popularly known as the ''Mon-Santillán reform''. After the downfall of the moderates, the unionist

Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and Grandee who was Prime Minister of Spain on several occasions. Early life He was born at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Cana ...

, offered him several ministerial portfolios, which he always declined. Mon preferred to be in posts away from the first line of political life, such as ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

or to France. However, he returned to active politics in 1864, when he replaced Lorenzo Arrazola y García as prime minister, but his cabinet lasted only nine months because of the social and political instability. Five years later, the Spanish Glorious Revolution took place.

Retirement

Mon lived long enough to see the reign of

Amadeo I of Spain Amadeo ( it, Amedeo , sometimes latinized as Amadeus; full name: ''Amedeo Ferdinando Maria di Savoia''; 30 May 184518 January 1890) was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The first and only King of Spain to come fro ...

, the

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after th ...

and finally the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

of King

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 188 ...

, which he supported as a personal friend of

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...

. However, he was not active politically during the Restoration but kept only the honorary post of

life senator A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

. He retired to his home town, Oviedo, where he died in 1882.

References

*Comin, Francisco, ''Alejandro Mon y Menéndez (1801−1882). Pensamiento y reforma de la Hacienda'', Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, Madrid, 2001. *Fernández de la Mora, Gonzalo (2001)
Mon en su siglo
in galeon.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mon Y Menendez, Alejandro Prime Ministers of Spain Economy and finance ministers of Spain Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) People from Oviedo 1801 births 1882 deaths Liberal Union (Spain) politicians Moderate Party (Spain) politicians 19th-century Spanish politicians Ambassadors of Spain to France Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See 1864 in Spain University of Oviedo alumni