Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
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Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister 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. ...
, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president.


Early life

Alcalá-Zamora was born on 6 July 1877 in Priego de Cordoba, son of Manuel Alcalá-Zamora y Caracuel and Francisca Torres y del Castillo. His mother died when Niceto was three years old. A
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
by profession, from a very young age, he was active in the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. Chosen as a deputy, he quickly gained fame for his eloquent interventions in the
Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...
, becoming Minister of Public Works in 1917 and of War in 1922, and it comprised part of the governments of concentration presided over by García Prieto. He was also Spain's representative in 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 ...
.


Second Republic

Disappointed by the acceptance on the part of King
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...
of the ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
'' by General
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 ...
on 13 September 1923, Alcalá-Zamora did not collaborate with the new regime. After the departure of the dictator in 1930, he declared himself a republican in a meeting that took place on 13 April in the Apolo Theatre of
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
. He was one of the instigators of the Pact of San Sebastián. The failure of the military uprising ( Revolt of Jaca) in
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
the same year sent him to prison, as a member of the revolutionary committee, but he left jail after the municipal elections of 12 April 1931. In the elections, although the monarchist candidates won more ''overall'' votes than the republicans did, the republicans did so well in the provincial cities that Alfonso soon abandoned power. Without waiting for a fresh election, Alcalá Zamora put himself at the head of a revolutionary
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
, becoming the 122nd Prime Minister, which occupied the ministries 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 ...
on 14 April and proclaimed 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. ...
. Confirmed as Prime Minister in June, he resigned on 15 October, along with
Miguel Maura Miguel Maura Gamazo (13 December 1887 – 3 July 1971) was a Spanish politician who served as the Ministry of the Interior (Spain), minister of interior in 1931 being the first politician to hold the post in the Second Spanish Republic. He was th ...
, the minister of the interior. Both men opposed the writing of Articles 24 and 26 of the new Constitution, which consecrated the separation of church and state and allowed the dissolution of the religious orders that were considered dangerous by the state. Alcalá-Zamora and Maura said that the articles injured their religious feelings as well as those of the Catholic electorates that they represented. Nevertheless, on 10 December 1931, Alcalá-Zamora was elected president by 362 votes out of the 410 deputies present (the Chamber was composed of 446 deputies). In 1933, he dissolved the
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
(parliament), which cost Alcalá-Zamora critical support on the part of the left. The subsequent elections of November 1933 gave victory to the right to which Alcalá-Zamora was very hostile, with constant institutional confrontations throughout its term in office. The party with the highest number of votes was the
Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA) was a Spanish right-wing political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined ...
(CEDA), but it did not have enough seats to govern on its own. Alcalá-Zamora refused to appoint the CEDA leader José María Gil-Robles as prime minister and instead appointed
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 ...
, who then cooperated with the CEDA. In October 1934, Gil-Robles obtained two ministerial portfolios for CEDA; the following March, he acquired three more but at first stopped short of trying to obtain the office of Prime Minister. In the end, he decided to try for that post. Alcala-Zamora dissolved the Cortes on 7 January 1936, specifically to avoid that outcome. The dissolution triggered new elections to the Cortes. The left-wing Popular Front won a narrow majority. The Left majority in the new Cortes then applied a constitutional loophole to oust Alcala-Zamora. The
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
allowed the Cortes to remove the president from office after two early dissolutions, and while the first (1933) dissolution had been partially justified because of the fulfillment of the constitutional mission of the first legislature, the second one had been a simple bid to trigger early elections. Deeming such action "unjustified", the newly elected Cortes dismissed the President on 7 April 1936 and elected
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 ...
to the position. Azaña was detested by the right, and Zamora's removal was a watershed moment since many Spaniards gave up on parliamentary politics.


Final years and death

The beginning of 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 ...
surprised Alcalá-Zamora, who was then on a trip to Scandinavia. He decided to stay away from Spain when he found out that militiamen of the Popular Front government had illegally entered his home, stolen his belongings and plundered his safe-deposit box in the
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 ...
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bank, taking the manuscript of his memoirs. When
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 ...
began, Alcalá-Zamora was 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 ...
. The German occupation and the collaborationist attitude of the
Vichy government Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...
made him leave France and go to
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in January 1942. There, he lived on money derived from his books, articles and conferences. An offer was allegedly made to him that he would be left unmolested if he returned since one of his sons was married to a daughter of General
Gonzalo Queipo de Llano Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra (5 February 1875 – 9 March 1951) was a Spanish Army general. He distinguished himself quickly in his career, fighting in Cuba and Morocco, later becoming outspoken about military and political figures which led ...
, one of the leaders of the uprising. If the offer ever occurred, it came to naught because he did not want to return to Spain under Franco. Alcalá-Zamora died in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
in 1949. His body was returned to Spain in 1979 and was interred in Madrid's
Cementerio de la Almudena The ''Cementerio de Nuestra Señora de La Almudena'' (), former ''Necrópolis del Este'' (East cemetery) is a cemetery in Madrid, Spain. It is the largest in Western Europe. The number of bodies buried is estimated at five million since it was th ...
.


Marriage and family

He was married to María de la Purificación Castillo Bidaburu, and had children: * Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Castillo (1906–1985), married to Ernestina Queipo de Llano y Martí, the daughter of Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra (
Tordesillas Tordesillas () is a town and municipality in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, central Spain. It is located southwest of the provincial capital, Valladolid at an elevation of . The population was c. 8,760 . The town is located on ...
, 5 February 1875 –
Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
, 9 March 1951), 1st
Marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
of Queipo de Llano, and wife (m. 4 October 1901) Genoveva Martí y Tovar, and had issue: ** José Alcalá-Zamora y Queipo de Llano, married to Aurora Horfelina Fernández y Mier (1 October 1942 – 29 May 2008), daughter of Vicente Isidro Fernández y Bascarán (14 February 1909 – 23 December 2003), 1st
Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
of San Claudio and 1st
Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...
of Olvera, of the
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s of
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and first cousin once removed of Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, Brigadier General of the
Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...
, and wife María Marcela Mier y López, and had issue: *** Gonzalo Alcalá-Zamora y Fernández-Mier *** Lucía Alcalá-Zamora y Fernández-Mier


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcala-Zamora, Niceto 1877 births 1949 deaths People from Subbética Liberal Party (Spain, 1880) politicians Liberal Republican Right politicians Presidents of Spain Prime ministers of Spain Government ministers of Spain Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Permanent representatives of Spain to the League of Nations 20th-century Spanish lawyers Exiled Spanish politicians Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Second Spanish Republic Burials at Cementerio de la Almudena Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Argentina Madrid city councillors Members of the Royal Spanish Academy