Background

Francisco Franco, in full Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde, byname El Caudillo, was born on December 4, 1892, at El Ferrol, Galicia, the second of five children of Don Nicolas Franco, an officer in the Spanish Naval Administrative Corps, and Maria del Pilar Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade. He grew up with two brothers and two sisters, and was very close to his mother. His early life was troubled as his father was an eccentric and wasteful man.

Education

In 1907, Franco entered the Infantry Academy in Toledo, graduating in 1910 as a lieutenant.

Career

Following his graduation he volunteered for active duty in the campaigns in Spanish Morocco and was transferred there in 1912 at age 19. The next year, he was promoted to first lieutenant.

An ambitious and determined young man, he was made the captain in 1915 and chosen to be second in command of the Spanish Foreign Legion in 1920, taking full command in 1923. His stature as a military officer continued to rise rapidly and in 1926, at age 33, he was promoted to brigadier general.

He was appointed the director of the newly organized General Military Academy in Saragossa in 1928. This was a tumultuous period in the nation’s history and in 1931, Spanish King Alfonso XIII was pressurized to hold democratic elections. People voted for a republic and this led to the fall of Spanish Monarchy. The former king went into exile and left Spain.

The leaders of the newly formed Spanish Republic initiated a major military reform which stalled Franco’s flourishing career. In addition, the General Military Academy was dissolved and he was placed on the inactive list.

In 1933, the conservative forces gained control of the republic and Franco’s military career was re-established. He was promoted to major general in 1934, and the same year he was called to quell a revolt by Asturian miners. He was successful in his mission and this earned him new respect as a military leader.

As his prominence began to increase, he began consolidating his powers. In May 1935, he was appointed chief of the Spanish army’s general staff, and in this position he began tightening discipline and strengthening military institutions.

Political chaos in the country continued and the Spanish parliament was dissolved following a slew of scandals. New elections were announced for February 1936 in which the leftist Popular Front won. However, the new government proved to be a weak one and was unable to stop the nation’s social and economic structure from further crumbling.

As the Spanish political system continued to disintegrate, Franco joined a group of rebels to plot a military conspiracy against the government. On July 18, 1936, Francisco Franco broadcast his manifesto announcing a full military rebellion, marking the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. The destructive war resulted in the death of several thousands and raged on for three years before the rebel government seized the reins of the country in 1939.

Franco, already proclaimed "Generalísimo" by the rebels, was now recognized as the Spanish head of state by Britain and France. Taking over control of the Spanish government, he assumed the official title of "Su Excelencia el Jefe de Estado" ("His Excellency the Head of State"). Initially he intended to restore Spain to her past glory, but the economic and social condition of the nation had deteriorated so much that this aim of his could not be achieved.

He began his rule as a dictator and Spain reeled under his oppression for several years following the end of the Civil War. He killed thousands of his political opponents, a number estimated to be somewhere between 15,000 and 50,000. Women were severely suppressed and subjected to numerous restrictions, and many of the citizens were forced into labor under the most undignified conditions.

His rule became less violent by the 1950s, however, the tight suppression on non-government trade unions and all political opponents from communist and anarchist organizations to liberal democrats and Catalan or Basque separatists continued.

Franco's health declined during the 1960s. In 1969 he designated Prince Juan Carlos, grandson of Spain's former king, Alfanso XIII, as his official successor. In 1973 Franco relinquished his position as premier but continued to be head of state. Such was the character of Franco's regime that the choice was rumored to have been made by the army, still the most important institution in Spanish society.

On October 30, 1975, he fell into a coma and was put on life support. Franco's family agreed to disconnect the life-support machines. Officially, he died on November 20, 1975, from heart failure, at the age of 82.

Achievements

• Francisco Franco Bahamonde was general and leader of the Nationalist forces that overthrew the Spanish democratic republic in the Spanish Civil War, thereafter he was the head of the government of Spain until 1973 and head of state until 1975.

Works

More photos

• Other Work

  • Typed Letter Signed
  • Church and state in Spain: Speeches during a journey to Andalusia
  • Time Magazine October 18, 1943 (Generalissimo Franco Cover)
  • A Road Within
  • Masoneria

Politics

His main political characteristic was being against a number of social and political issues. Francisco Franco was absolutely anti-communist, deeply anti-Masonry which he thought was the origin of the Spanish decay, anti-liberal and, although he did not express it openly, he did not trust at all in democracy.

Views

Quotations: "I am responsible only to God and history."

"The defence of internal peace and order constitutes the sacred mission of a nation's armed forces and that is what we have carried out."

"Let us be under no illusion. The Jewish spirit, which was responsible for the alliance of large-scale capital with Marxism and was the driving force behind so many anti-Spanish revolutionary agreements, will not be got rid of in a day."

"We do not believe in government through the voting booth. The Spanish national will was never freely expressed through the ballot box. Spain has no foolish dreams."

Personality

Francisco Franco was a serious character, even as a child, when his short stature and high pitched voice caused him to be bullied. He could be sentimental over trivial issues, but exhibited an icy coldness over anything serious, and appeared capable of removing himself from the reality of death.

Quotes from others about the person

• "General Franco made it clear that Spain could enter the war only when England was about ready to collapse." (Wilhelm Canaris)
  
  "A great man...and the greatest and most representative of the Spanish people of the 20th century...one of the great leaders we have had in our history." (Manuel Fraga Iribarne)
  
  "If I were a Spaniard I should be fighting for General Franco. As an Englishman I am not in the predicament of choosing between two evils. I am not a Fascist, nor shall I become one unless it were the only alternative to Marxism. It is mischievous to suggest that such a choice is imminent." (Evelyn Waugh)

Connections

On October 22, 1923, Francisco Franco married María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdès. The couple had a daughter, María del Carmen.

Father:

Nicolás Franco y Salgado-Araújo

Mother:

María del Pilar Teresa Dolores Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade

Brother:

Nicolás Franco Bahamonde

Nicolás Franco Bahamonde was a Spanish politician.

Sister:

Pilar Franco Bahamonde

Brother:

Ramón Franco Bahamonde

Ramón Franco Bahamonde was a Spanish pioneer of aviation and a political figure.

Sister:

Paz Franco Bahamonde

Wife:

María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, 1st Lady of Meirás

Daughter:

María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco

References

• Franco: A Personal and Political Biography
• Franco: A Biography
• Saturday Night Live: Host, Francisco Franco
• Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator (Military Profiles)
• The Franco Regime, 1936–1975
• Franco
• Francisco Franco (World Leaders Past and Present)
• Francisco Franco: The Times and the Man
• The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
• Francisco Franco: A Life From Beginning to End