Javier de Ybarra y Bergé (2 July 1913 – 22 June 1977) was a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

industrialist, writer and politician from

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 ...

Life and death

Born into a prominent Bilbao family, Javier Ybarra attended the

University of Deusto The University of Deusto (; ) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The University of Deusto is the oldest private university ...

. 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 affiliated with the Partido Nacionalista Español and then the monarchist Renovación Española party. He fought and was injured in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. From 1963 to 1969 he was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Bilbao and wrote works related to his experience during the Civil War, history and politics. He was an executive with firms including

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is an American energy technology and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their stea ...

, several banks and the newspaper

El Correo ''El Correo'' (; ) is a leading daily newspaper in Bilbao and the Basque Country of northern Spain. It is among best-selling general interest newspapers in Spain. History and profile The brothers Ybarra y de la Revilla – Fernando, Gabriel and ...

. On 20 May 1977, Ybarra was kidnapped by renegade members of the Basque separatist group

ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...

, who entered his home in disguise, bound and gagged members of his family and took him away in an ambulance. Demanding the release of a number of Basque prisoners (a condition largely met by the Spanish government), his captors later demanded a ransom of one billion pesetas and further prisoner releases. The situation had been complicated by the fact that the group that had kidnapped Ybarra formally renounced their affiliation with the larger ETA organization while holding him and were further disturbed when their leader was arrested in France. The Ybarra family attempted to negotiate with the kidnappers and push back the payment deadline. The kidnappers did not respond until 20 June, when they announced they had killed Ybarra and sent a map to lead to his body. When the

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...

failed to find it, another communication was sent and it was found near a farmhouse in

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. He had been shot in the head and wrapped in a plastic sheet. Occurring in the immediate aftermath of Spain's first free national elections in forty years, the Ybarra killing provoked widespread condemnation. Following the discovery of the body, the Madrid daily newspaper

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

lead with a full page photo of Ybarra and a statement that "all parties" condemned the "atrocious murder".''ABC'' Madrid, June 23, 1977
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Selected works

* ''De California a Alaska. Historia de Descubrimiento.'' (1945) * ''Mi diario de la Guerra de España 1936-1939.'' (1941) * ''Politica Nacional en Vizcaya. De la Restauracion a la Republica.'' (1947)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ybarra Berge, Javier 1913 births 1970s missing person cases 1977 deaths Basque writers Formerly missing Spanish people Mayors of Bilbao Missing person cases in Spain People killed by ETA (separatist group) Politicians from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Spanish terrorism victims University of Deusto alumni University of Salamanca alumni Unsolved murders in Spain

Life and death

See also

Selected works

References