Antonio Ibáñez Freire (25 September 1913 – 9 May 2003) was a Spanish politician and military commander. He was minister of the interior of Spain from April 1979 to May 1980.

Biography

He was born in Vitoria. After passing the Military Academy of Zaragoza, he was appointed lieutenant of infantry and participated in 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 ...

revolting against the

Second Spanish 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 Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

. Later, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Blue Division taking part in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in which he was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He was civil governor of the province of Santander in 1960 and occupied the same position in Vizcaya (1961) and

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 ...

(1963). In 1978, he was appointed Captain General of the Fourth Military Region. In April 1979, he was appointed minister of interior to the cabinet led by prime minister Adolfo Suárez. Freire replaced Rodolfo Martín as interior minister. Freire was in office until May 1980 and Juan José Rosón replaced him in the post.

Awards and decorations

* Military Medal (Spain), Individual and Collective awards * Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III * Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild * Grand Cross of Military Merit * Grand Cross of Naval Merit * Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit * Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic * Grand Cross of the Order of Cisneros * Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows * Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre * Great Star of Military Merit of the Chilean Army * Grand Cross of the Order of Ruben Dario (Nicaragua). * Medal of Suffering for the country * Gold Medal of the city of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

* Gold Medal of the city of

of 1939, 2nd class

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibanez Freire, Antonio 1913 births 2003 deaths People from Vitoria-Gasteiz Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Recipients of the Military Medal (Spain) Grand Crosses of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegild Grand Crosses of Military Merit Grand Crosses of Naval Merit Crosses of Aeronautical Merit Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class Politicians from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Interior ministers of Spain Civil governors of Barcelona Blue Division personnel