Julio Álvarez del Vayo y Olloqui (9 February 1891– 3 May 1975) was a Spanish

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

politician, jurist, journalist, diplomat and writer.

Biography

Julio Álvarez del Vayo y Olloqui was born in to an aristocratic family of a former army general. He studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the Universities of Madrid and

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

and he did postdoctoral work at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He joined the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(PSOE) at a very young age and he opposed to the collaboration of that party with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–1930). He wrote for the newspapers ''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal ''Clarín (Argentine newspaper), Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argen ...

'' of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, '' El Liberal'' and '' El Sol'' of

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 ...

, and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. He visited the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the European Fronts during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as a journalist. In 1930, he conspired for an armed uprising against the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

. When the Second Republic was proclaimed he was appointed

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

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 ...

and to the

, and he was later elected as a member of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. He followed the PSOE's revolutionary wing led by Largo Caballero. Soldiers being rewarded after the Battle of the Ebro

During 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 ...

, Vayo held several political offices on the Republican side: he was twice

minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

and

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...

and

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the Army. He was a member of the peace commission which monitored the dispute between

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and

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in 1933, at the peak of the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, Georges Bonnet to ask for the safe harbouring of over 150,000 Spanish Republicans in France. Bonnet declined "owing to the financial and other technical difficulties involved". After the Francoist conquest of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

though the majority of the Republican leaders decided to remain in

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 ...

, he returned to the Republican zone and led the last attacks against the Francoist troops. He fled by airplane from the base in Monòver,

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

. shortly before the armistice. In 1939, Vayo began writing for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

''. He moulded much of the magazine's editorial tone on US foreign policy throughout

World War II 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 ...

and the early

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

as a member of the board of editors under Freda Kirchwey's editorship from 1941 to 1955. He was identified with the left wing of the Spanish Socialist Party and was reviled by the anti-Stalinist and liberal left, from Dwight Macdonald to Arthur Schlesinger for his sympathy for the Soviet Union. During the 1940s and the 1950s, Vayo lived in exile in

, the

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He radicalized his political positions and was expelled from the PSOE. He then founded the Unión Socialista Española, which was very close to the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

. In 1963, after the abandoning of armed struggle by the Communist Party and the waning of the activity of the

Spanish Maquis The Maquis (; ; also spelled maqui) were Spanish guerrillas who waged irregular warfare against the Francoist dictatorship within Spain following the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War until the early 1960s, carrying out sabotage, rob ...

, Vayo felt the need for a pro-Republican movement carrying out the armed struggle within Spain and established the Spanish National Liberation Front (FELN). However, the FELN as a group remained small and its activity was very limited owing to the effectiveness and fierceness of the Spanish police network. Finally in 1971 Álvarez del Vayo's FELN was integrated into the Revolutionary Antifascist Patriotic Front (FRAP). Vayo was the acting president of FRAP at the time of his death, which occurred on 3 May 1975 after suffering a cardiac failure on 26 April. He was buried alongside his wife Louise. The mortuary concession ran out at the end of 2015. In 2016, the Association of Former Guerrillas in France (AAGEF-FFI), informed that his tomb was about to be destroyed, decided to take over the concession, as a precautionary measure, paid the €1,484 required for five years, an objective that was achieved.

Writings

*''La nueva Rusia. En camión por la estepa. Las dos revoluciones, siluetas...'', Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1926 *''La senda roja'', Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1928 *''La guerra comenzó en España: lucha por la libertad'', Mexico City: Séneca, 1940 *
Freedom's Battle
', New York: Knopf, 1940 *
The Last Optimist
', New York: Viking, 1950 *''Reportaje en China. Presente y futuro de un gran pueblo'', Mexico City: Grijalbo, 1958 *''China vence'', Paris: Ruedo Ibérico, 1964 *''Give Me Combat'', Boston: Little Brown, 1973 (

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

) *''The March of Socialism'', New York: Hill and Wang, 1974

References

External links

El hombre que fue presidente del FRAPÁlvarez del Vayo, el ultimo optimista
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez del Vayo, Julio 1891 births 1975 deaths People from Villaviciosa de Odón Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Foreign ministers of Spain Ambassadors of Spain to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Spain to Mexico Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Government ministers during the Second Spanish Republic 20th-century Spanish journalists