José María Calatrava y Peinado (26 February 1781 in

Mérida, Spain Mérida () is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, part of the Province of Badajoz, and capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Located in the western-central part of the Iberian Peninsula at 217 metres above sea ...

– 16 January 1846 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 ...

) was a Spanish politician who served as the

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 ...

and

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 ...

between 1836 and 1837. The main action of Calatrava's administration was proclaiming the constitution of 1837 which granted freedom of religion in Spain while still requiring the state to support the Roman Catholic Church. This was too drastic a change for many in Spain and it caused the downfall of Calatrava's government.Harold Livermore. ''A History of Spain'' (New York: Grove Press, 1958) p. 374 He finished his career as President of the

Supreme Court of Spain The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the Supreme court, highest court in the Spain, Kingdom of Spain. The court has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding the legalization of political p ...

(1840–1843).

Personal life

Calatrava y Peinado was an active

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, at the “''La Templanza''” Masonic Lodge and operated under the name of "Brother Tiberio Graco." Retrieved on 9 November 2023. He was associated with the Grand Orient of the "

Moderns The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...

" faction, based in

References

Congress of Deputies. José María Calatrava Peinado
, - , - Prime ministers of Spain Foreign ministers of Spain 1781 births 1846 deaths Progressive Party (Spain) politicians Presidents of the Supreme Court of Spain Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Spanish Freemasons {{spain-politician-stub