Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar (21 July 1825 – 5 January 1903) was a Spanish civil engineer and politician who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of 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 ...

—as part of the '' turno pacifico'', alternating with the

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 ...

leader Antonio Cánovas. He was known as an excellent orator.

Biography

Mateo Sagasta was born on 21 July 1825 at Torrecilla en Cameros, province of Logroño,

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 ...

. As a member of the Progressive Party while a student at the Civil Engineering School of Madrid in 1848, Sagasta was the only one in the school who refused to sign a letter supporting Queen Isabel II. After his studies, he took an active role in government. Sagasta served in the Spanish Cortes between 1854–1857 and 1858–1863. In 1866 he went into exile in France after a failed coup. After the Spanish Revolution of 1868, he returned to Spain to take part in the newly created provisional government. He served as Prime Minister of Spain during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

of 1898 when Spain lost its remaining colonies. Mateo Sagasta agreed to an autonomous constitution for both

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Mateo Sagasta's political opponents saw his action as a betrayal of

and blamed him for the country's defeat in the war and the loss of its island territories in the Treaty of Paris of 1898. He continued to be active in politics for another four years. Mateo Sagasta's ministry lost a vote in the Cortes on 2 December 1902, he handed in his resignation to the King on the following day, and formally resigned on 10 December 1902. Mateo Sagasta died just a month after his last resignation, on 5 January 1903 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 ...

at the age of 77.

References

External links

U.S. Library of Congress Profile
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sagasta, Praxedes Mateo 1825 births 1903 deaths Politicians from La Rioja Progressive Party (Spain) politicians Constitutional Party (Spain) politicians Liberal Party (Spain, 1880) politicians Prime ministers of Spain Economy and finance ministers of Spain Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Leaders of political parties in Spain Spanish civil engineers Spanish people of the Spanish–American War Polytechnic University of Madrid alumni Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Government ministers during the First Spanish Republic Spanish political party founders

Biography

See also

References

External links