Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis (1905–1972) was a Spanish Falangist politician. He was an important figure in the early history of the movement but later fell out of favour.

Falangism

Dávila was a cousin of

José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella GE (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish fascist politician who founded the Falan ...

and as such was given the responsibility of expanding the operations of the Falange in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

in 1933. He soon rose to the rank of ''jefe territorial'' for

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. He was a close ally of José Sáinz Nothnagel and was arrested with him in May 1936 at José Antonio's house.

Power struggle

Following the execution of

, Dávila joined with his ally Agustín Aznar in a power struggle for the leadership of the Falange. The two men led the ''legitimistas'' group within the movement which opposed the leadership of Primo de Rivera's nominated successor Manuel Hedilla. Dávila's presence was especially important to this group due to his familial connection and he was central in maintaining the cult of ''El Ausente'' (the absent), as Primo de Rivera was to be known. In the struggle that followed the ''legitimista'' militia seized power for themselves and on April 16, 1937 set up a

triumvirate A triumvirate () or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs (). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distr ...

made up of Dávila, Aznar and José Moreno at the head of the Falange. However, with the help of

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

agent Carl von Haartman, Hedilla's forces recaptured the Falange HQ from Dávila and before long

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

stepped in, ostensibly to support Hedilla but in fact to create the

Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FET y de las JONS), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

and thus effectively eliminate the Falange and its leaders as threats to his position. Dávila was imprisoned following the incident although his close friend

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 ...

intervened to secure his release.

Later years

In a snub from Franco, he was not named as a National Delegate until 1938 at a time when a number of pro-

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

were added to this office. He was replaced as delegate to the Frente de Juventudes in 1941 by José Antonio Elola-Olaso as the influence of Dávila's ally

Ramón Serrano Súñer Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), B ...

began to wane.Wayne H. Bowen, ''Spaniards and Nazi Germany: Collaboration in the New Order'', 2000, p. 100 Between 1952 and 1954 he served as the President of the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the natio ...

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davila y Fernandez de Celis, Sancho 1905 births 1972 deaths Spanish Falangists Spanish prisoners and detainees Presidents of the Spanish Football Federation FET y de las JONS politicians Prisoners and detainees of Spain