Franco spain biography

Dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975

For other uses, see Francisco Franco (disambiguation).

Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish military general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975 as a dictator, assuming the title Caudillo. This period in Spanish history, from the Nationalist victory to Franco's death, is commonly known as Francoist Spain or as the Francoist dictatorship.

Born in Ferrol, Galicia, into an upper-class military family, Franco served in the Spanish Army as a cadet in the Toledo Infantry Academy from 1907 to 1910. While serving in Morocco, he rose through the ranks to become a brigadier general in 1926 at age 33. Two years later, Franco became the director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza. As a conservative and monarchist, Franco regretted the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Second Republic in 1931, and was devastated by the closing of his academy; nevertheless, he continued his service in the Republican Army. His career was boosted after the right-wing CEDA and PRR won the 1933 election, empowering him to lead the suppression of the 1934 uprising in Asturias. Franco was briefly elevated to Chief of Army Staff before the 1936 election moved the leftistPopular Front into power, relegating him to the Canary Islands.

Initially reluctant, he joined the July 1936 military coup, which, after failing to take Spain, sparked the Spanish Civil War. During the war, he commanded Spain's African colonial army and later, following the deaths of much of the rebel leadership, became his faction's only leader, being appointed generalissimo and head of state in 1936. He consolidated all nationalist parties into the FET y de las JONS (creating a one-party

(1892-1975)

Who Was Francisco Franco?

Francisco Franco was a career soldier who rose through the ranks until the mid-1930s. When the social and economic structure of Spain began to crumble, Franco joined the growing right-leaning rebel movement. He soon led an uprising against the leftist Republican government and took control of Spain following the Spanish Civil War. He then presided over a brutal military dictatorship in which tens of thousands were executed or imprisoned during the earlier years of his regime.

Early Life and Military Bloodlines

Franco was born on December 4, 1892, in Ferrol, Spain, a northwestern port city with a long history of shipbuilding. The men in his family had served in the navy for generations, and the young Franco expected to follow in their footsteps. However, the economic and territorial aftermath of the Spanish-American War led to a reduction in the navy, and after completing his primary education at a Catholic school, Franco was forced to enlist at the Infantry Academy at Toledo instead. He graduated three years later with below-average marks.

Ruthless Rise

After an initial posting to El Ferrol, Franco volunteered to serve in Spain’s recently acquired protectorate Morocco, where the country’s native population was staging a resistance to occupation. Stationed there from 1912 to 1926, Franco distinguished himself with his fearlessness, professionalism and ruthlessness, and was frequently promoted. By 1920, he had been named second in command of the Spanish Foreign Legion, and three years later took full command. During this period he also wed Carmen Polo y Martínez Valdéz. The couple had one daughter.

In 1926, Franco’s role in suppressing the Moroccan rebellion earned him an appointment as general, which, at age 33, made him the youngest man in Europe to hold that post. Two years later, he was also named director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, a position he would hold until three years l

Period of Spanish history (1936–1975)

"Spanish State" redirects here. For the current Spanish state, see Government of Spain.

"Fascist Spain" redirects here. For the ideology, see Falangism.

Francoist Spain

Franco: The Early Years

Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was born on December 4, 1892, in El Ferrol, a small coastal town on Spain’s northwestern tip. Until age 12, Franco attended a private school run by a Catholic priest. He then entered a naval secondary school with the goal of following his father and grandfather into a sea-based military career. In 1907, however, the cash-strapped Spanish government temporarily suspended the admission of cadets into the Naval Academy. As a result, Franco enrolled at the Infantry Academy in Toledo, graduating three years later with below-average grades.

After a brief posting back in El Ferrol, Franco volunteered to fight an insurgency in Spanish-controlled Morocco. He arrived in early 1912 and stayed there largely without break until 1926. Along the way, he survived a gunshot wound to the abdomen, received a number of merit promotions and awards, and took time out to marry Carmen Polo y Martínez Valdés, with whom he would have one daughter. At age 33 Franco became the youngest general in all of Europe. He was then chosen to direct the newly formed General Military Academy in Zaragoza.

Franco and the Second Republic

A military dictatorship embraced by King Alfonso XIII governed Spain from 1923 to 1930, but municipal elections held in April 1931 deposed the king and ushered in the so-called Second Republic. In the aftermath of the elections, winning Republican candidates passed measures that reduced the power and influence of the military, the Catholic Church, property-owning elites and other entrenched interests. Franco, a known authoritarian rightist, was reprimanded for criticizing the actions of those in charg