Don Emilio Alcalá-Galiano y Valencia, 4th Count of Casa Valencia and 2nd Viscount of the Pontón (7 March 1831, 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 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

– 12 November 1914, in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

) was a Spanish

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

in the reign of King

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

Biography

In 1876, he was elected senator for Granada and in 1877, as a member of the Liberal Conservative Party, senator for life. In 1879, he entered the Royal Spanish Academy and was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary in Lisbon. In 1895, he became Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, a position he held until 1897 when he resigned when the Liberal Party came to power. After approval by the House of Commons in London, on March 9, 1908, she called for women's suffrage, arguing that "Women in Spain can be queens but not voters." Eight days later the first debate on women's suffrage was held in the Congress of Deputies. The palace he built on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid is currently the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior. He also owned the palace of Ayete in San Sebastian.

References

, - Counts of Spain Viscounts of Spain Foreign ministers of Spain Members of the Royal Spanish Academy 1831 births 1914 deaths Conservative Party (Spain) politicians Ambassadors of Spain to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Spain to Portugal {{Spain-noble-stub