Diego Martínez Barrio (25 November 1883, in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

– 1 January 1962) was a Spanish politician during 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. ...

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...

between 9 October 1933 and 26 December 1933 and was briefly appointed again by

Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain, Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the la ...

on 19 July 1936 - two days after the beginning 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 ...

. From 16 March 1936 to 30 March 1939 Martínez was President of the Cortes. In 1936, he was briefly the interim President of the Second Spanish Republic, from 7 April to 10 May.

Biography

Barrio was born in

. A member of the Radical Republican Party, he was the Minister in the Alejandro Lerroux government but later he left the party for dissatisfaction with the politics of Lerroux. Martínez consequently founded and led the Republican Union and participated in the Spanish Popular Front, being elected to government in 1936. He led the integration of the Republican Union into the Popular Front, being elected the speaker of the Cortes (Spanish Parliament). In February 1939, he rejected to replace Manuel Azaña as president of the Republic. Following the resignation of

Santiago Casares Quiroga Santiago Casares y Quiroga (8 May 1884 – 17 February 1950) was Prime Minister of Spain from 13 May to 19 July 1936. Casares Quiroga resigned just 48 hours after the beginning of the Spanish coup of July 1936, military insurrection that led to t ...

two days after the outbreak of the civil war, he was appointed prime minister on 19 July 1936. As part of his intention to avert war, his cabinet ignored the left wing of the Popular Front, but he would last just a few hours, and he resigned later the same morning, after an unsuccessful appeal to Nationalist General Emilio Mola to avoid war, and was succeeded by José Giral. He fled the country after

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

came to power in 1939. He was the Grand Master of the Grande Oriente Español from 1929 to 1934. After the fall of the Republic, he went into exile, first to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and then to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where, in 1945, he was designated president of the Republic in exile until 1962.Thomas, Hugh. (2001). ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. p. 923. Martínez finally returned to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he died. In 2000, his remains were moved to

References

Bibliography

*Beevor, Antony. ''The battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war.'' Penguin Books. 2006. London. . *Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez Barrio, Diego 1883 births 1962 deaths Radical Republican Party politicians Republican Union (Spain, 1934) politicians Presidents of Spain Prime ministers of Spain Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Politicians from Seville Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Spanish Freemasons Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico Interior ministers of Spain Seville city councillors Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Deputy prime ministers of Spain Exiled Spanish politicians Government ministers during the Second Spanish Republic