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Julián Besteiro Fernández (, 21 September 1870 – 27 September 1940) 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, elected to the and in 1931 as Speaker of the
Constituent Cortes The Constituent Cortes () is the description of Spain's parliament, the Cortes, when convened as a constituent assembly. In the 20th century, only one Constituent Cortes was officially opened (Cortes are "opened" in accordance with a mediaeval ...
of the Spanish Republic. He also was elected several times to the town council of Madrid. During the same period, he was a university professor of philosophy and logic, and dean of the department at the University of Madrid. As the leader of the moderate wing of 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), he unsuccessfully tried to reach an agreement with the nationalist faction during the last year of 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 ...
. After the defeat, he was imprisoned and died in jail.


Early life

Born 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 ...
, he was educated in the
Institución Libre de Enseñanza The Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE, English: ''Free Teaching Institution'') was a pedagogical experience developed in Spain for more than half a century (1876–1939). It was inspired by the Krausism, Krausist philosophy introduced at the Co ...
, and studied in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Madrid, as well as at the Sorbonne in 1896, the Universities of
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
in 1909–1910. In 1908, he joined the Partido Radical (Radical Party) established by
Alejandro Lerroux Alejandro Lerroux García (4 March 1864, in La Rambla, Córdoba – 25 June 1949, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party. He served as Prime Minister three times from 1933 to 1935 and held sever ...
. A member of the Republican Union, he was elected municipal councillor of Toledo on 8 November 1903. He became a member of the ''Agrupación Socialista Madrileña'' (the socialist circle in Madrid) in 1912. That year he was offered the Chair of Fundamental Logic in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Madrid. Soon after, Besteiro became a member of
Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse i ...
(UGT)
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
, and of 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).Jackson, Gabriel. ''The Spanish Republic and The Civil War, 1931-1939.'' Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967. p. 470 In 1913 he married Dolores Cebrián, a professor of physics and natural science at the teachers' training college in Toledo. In 1917, after the
general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
, Besteiro was among many members of the strike committee tried in Madrid; he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Following his release under the amnesty campaign, he was elected as a member of the town council of Madrid. The following year, Besteiro was elected to the Cortes (the Spanish Parliament) as member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid. During the dictatorship of
Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...
, Besteiro favored collaboration by the socialists with the leader. Primo de Rivera offered UGT participation in governing the country. To a certain extent, the arrangement in the mid-1920s appeared to be a success. Opinion within the PSOE turned against Besteiro as the Primo de Rivera regime became more unpopular during the economic downturn as part of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. By the mid-1930s, Besteiro became politically isolated in his opinions on collaboration. This was opposed by the republican front established by the Pact of San Sebastián. Bestiero had also opposed the participation of UGT in the 15 December 1930 general strike. At a joint meeting of the PSOE and UGT in February 1931, Besteiro resigned as President of both the party and the union. (Note: Paul Preston writes that Besteiro resigned as president of the union in 1934.Preston, Paul. ''The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, Revolution & Revenge,'' Harper Perennial, 2006, p. 71) In 1931 he was elected a councillor of the Madrid town council.


Second Spanish Republic and the Civil War

Still serving in the after the establishment of 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. ...
in 1931, Besteiro was elected Speaker of the
Constituent Cortes The Constituent Cortes () is the description of Spain's parliament, the Cortes, when convened as a constituent assembly. In the 20th century, only one Constituent Cortes was officially opened (Cortes are "opened" in accordance with a mediaeval ...
, empowered to draft a new constitution. The Cabinet offered him first the job of state delegate to CAMPSA, the state petrol monopoly, and then the post of Ambassador to France, both of which he rejected. During his period as President of the Cortes, he seemed to become more
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
in his political views. In January 1934, he resigned as President of the UGT. Opposing the radicalization of the Socialist movement, he disapproved the socialists' taking part in the armed uprising of October 1934. In February 1936, Besteiro won the highest number of votes of any candidate in Madrid in the Popular Front elections. Throughout this period, Besteiro had continued to work in the University of Madrid as a Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, as well as to carry out his duties as a parliamentary deputy and councillor of the town council in Madrid. After the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, and against the urgings of friends, he refused to leave Madrid and seek exile.
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 ...
, the Spanish Republican president, chose Besteiro as the representative to the coronation of the new British
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...
in London on 12 May 1937. Besteiro believed it was to be a peace mission. There he met with Sir
Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...
to seek British aid in ending the war, which had attracted German and Russian support of the opposing sides, but no significant results followed. After the failure of his mission in London, Besteiro returned to work on the town council of Madrid but withdrew from other official public life. He stopped attending the ''Agrupación Socialista Madrileña'' and the parliamentary group meetings. With the news of the fall of
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
on 26 January 1939 and Azaña's resignation as President of the Republic, Besteiro decided to work to achieve peace and stop the resistance. He contacted Colonel Segismundo Casado. On 5 March Besteiro announced the creation of the National Defence Council (''Consejo Nacional de Defensa''). The uprising against the government of
Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...
and its
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 ...
allies succeeded, at the cost of nearly 2,000 lives.


Death

After the fall of Madrid to the
Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
on 28 March 1939, Besteiro was arrested by Francoist forces. On 8 July he faced a
court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...
and was sentenced to thirty years. He was imprisoned first in the
Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...
monastery in
Dueñas, Palencia Dueñas is a municipality in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. References

Municipalities in the Province of Palencia {{Palencia-geo-stub ...
, until the end of August 1939. He was transferred to the prison of
Carmona, Andalusia Carmona is a town of southwestern Spain, in the province of Seville; it lies 33 km north-east of Seville. Carmona is built on a ridge overlooking the central plain of Andalusia; to the north is the Sierra Morena, with the peak of San Cristo ...
. He died in prison the following year.Preston (2006), ''The Spanish Civil War'', p. 319 Besteiro was buried in the Cementerio Civil of Madrid.


Notes


References

*''Comrades! Portraits from the Spanish Civil War'' by Paul Preston, HarperCollins Publishers *''Spain's First Democracy: The Second Republic, 1931-1936'', by Stanley G. Payne, University of Wisconsin Press *Beevor, Antony. ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. London. 2006. *Jackson, Gabriel. ''The Spanish Republic and The Civil War, 1931-1939.'' Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967. *Preston, Paul. ''The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, Revolution & Revenge.'' Harper Perennial. 2006. *Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. 2003.


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besteiro, Julian 1870 births 1940 deaths Politicians from Madrid Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Unión General de Trabajadores members Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International 20th-century Spanish philosophers 19th-century Spanish philosophers University of Paris alumni Madrid city councillors Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Spanish people of Galician descent People from Toledo, Spain Spanish municipal councillors Spanish people who died in prison custody Spanish expatriates in France Prisoners who died in Spanish detention