| Biography: |
| Attended the Infantry Academy in Toledo (1896-1897); graduated as second lieutenant in 1897; made successful military career earning promotions as lieutenant (1899), captain (1907), comandante (1911), lieutenant colonel (1918), colonel (1925), and brigade general (1932); participated in the African campaigns in Morocco; member of the right-wing Unión Militar Española (Spanish Military Union); remained loyal to the Republican government during the Civil War; was briefly charged with administering the ministry of war (19 Feb 1936 - 24 Feb 1936) in absence of the minister; served one-day term as minister of war (19 Jul 1936 - 19 Jul 1936) in the second Cabinet of Diego Martínez Barrio; served as President of the Council of Defence of Madrid (Presidente de la Junta de Defensa de Madrid, 7 Nov 1936 - 23 Apr 1937) which acted for the government of Francisco Largo Caballero that had moved to Valencia; was instrumental in organizing the defence of Madrid against the offensive of the Nationalists; directed the battles of Guadalajara and Brunete; joined the coup carried out by Segismundo Casado López against the government of Juan Negrín López (5 Mar 1939), which effectively terminated the functioning of the Republican regime in Madrid; remained mostly overshadowed by Casado, who unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a peace treaty with Francisco Franco; abandoned Madrid (26 Mar 1939) along with other members of the Council of Defence. |
| Biographical sources: Gaceta de Madrid, No. 204, 22 Jul 1932, p. 607 (official biography). |
| |
| [1] |
Gaceta de Madrid. Diario Oficial de la República, No. 65, 13 Mar 1939, p. 501. |
| [2] |
Segismundo Casado was in charge of organization of the Council of Defense and presided its first meeting on 5 Mar 1939. |
