Alexandre Bóveda Iglesias (

Ourense Ourense (; ) is a city and the capital of the province of province of Ourense, Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path o ...

, 7 June 1903 - executed in A Caeira, Poio, 17 August 1936), commonly known as Alexandre Bóveda, was a Spanish politician and financial officer from Galicia. He is considered one of the most important Galicianist intellectuals during the

Spanish Second Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

. He was one of the founders and key member of the ''Partido Galeguista'' (Galicianist Party), origin of contemporary

Galician nationalism Galician nationalism is a form of nationalism found mostly in Galicia, which asserts that Galicians are a nation and that promotes the cultural unity of Galicians. The political movement referred to as modern Galician nationalism was born at ...

Biography

Bóveda studied French and commerce in the city of

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

. He also worked as a school teacher in his natal city of

. He was a regular reader of the Galicianist journal ', and he soon felt the need to express his own ideas. He started publishing in the magazine ''La Zarpa'', where he stood out as a great communicator. He also published in the Galicianist newspaper ''A Nosa Terra''. In 1924 he passed examinations in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

for a managerial position at the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Finance. He was offered a post in the Spanish capital by José Calvo Sotelo, but Bóveda opted for moving back to Galicia, where he worked at the delegation of the ministry in Ourense. After passing further examinations for a more senior position in accountancy, Bóveda eventually moved to

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

in 1926. Pontevedra was at that time the central point of all Galicianist activity and cultural life in the country. Soon, Bóveda got acquainted with intellectuals such as Castelao and Losada Diéguez, deepening in his Galicianist political convictions. In 1930 Boveda becomes the first director of the ''Caixa de Aforros Provincial de Pontevedra'' (

Credit Union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

of Pontevedra). In 1928 and 1929 he is awarded with two professional grants from the provincial government to travel to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and the Basque Country in order to further study the functioning of credit unions. In 1931 he is one of the founding members of the ''Partido Galeguista'' (Galicianist Party), a party with clear

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

ideals. In 1932 he participated in the first meeting for the drafting of the

Galician Statute of Autonomy The Statute of Autonomy of Galicia of 1981 () is the current basic institutional norm of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. The Xunta de Galicia, Galician Government, Parliament of Galicia, Parliament and High Court of Galicia are regulated by it. Genes ...

, held in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. Bóveda was greatly involved in this project, to the point that Castelao considered him the person "without whom there would have not been a Statute".Castelao, ''Sempre en Galiza'', 1944 In 1933 he was designated as "core member" by the ''Comité de Autonomía'' (Committee for Autonomy). In fact, Castelao and other members of the ''Partido Galeguista'' (Galicianist Party) stated that Bóveda was the "motor" behind the whole process. Castelao and Bóveda were close personal friends. Castelao often labelled Bóveda as a "man of action", and unquestionably his "right-hand man" in setting up the Galicianist Party and moving the Statute of Autonomy forward. In 1934, and probably linked to his political activities, he was transferred to the tax office of the southern Spanish city of

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. Yet, he managed to return to Galicia in 1935, where he worked at the tax office in

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

. In 1936 he actively participated in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

. He was a candidate for the ''Frente Popular'' alliance (Popular Front, which included the Galicianist Party), representing the province of Ourense. That same year he moved back to work at the tax office of Pontevedra. However, 1936 was also the year of the July coup and the consequent start of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, eventually won by the Nationalist faction. Alexandre Bóveda was captured on July 20, accused of treason to Spain because of his Galician nationalist ideals, and sentenced to death. He was executed on 17 August 1936 in the place of A Caeira, Poio (near Pontevedra). At present, the date is celebrated in Galicia with the name ''Día da Galiza mártir'', where those who died for Galicia ("martyrs") are honoured. A monument was erected in the same spot where he was killed, that being the place where the official ceremony takes place every August 17, with local authorities and local representatives from the Galician government attending.

Notes

External links

Fundación Alexandre Bóveda
- foundation dedicated to his life and work (in Galician)

Biography

Notes

External links

Further reading

See also