Francisco Franco
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Francisco Franco | |
Head of the Spanish State
|
|
---|---|
In office 1 April 1939 – 20 November 1975 |
|
Preceded by | Manuel Azaña (as President) |
Succeeded by | Juan Carlos I (as King) |
68th Head of the Spanish Government
|
|
In office 30 January 1938 – 8 June 1973 |
|
Preceded by | Juan Negrín |
Succeeded by | Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco |
|
|
Born | December 4 1892 Ferrol, Galicia, Spain |
Died | November 20 1975 (age 82) Madrid, Spain |
Nationality | Spanish |
Political party | None, Phalangist/Carlist |
Spouse | Carmen Polo |
Profession | Chief of the General Staff, Spanish Army |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde Salgado Pardo de Andrade or just Francisco Franco (December 4 1892 – November 20 1975). He was the dictator of Spain from 1936 to 1975, and regent of the Spanish Kingdom from 1947 to 1975.
He was a leader of a coup d'etat against the Spanish Second Republic in 1936. After this uprising the Spanish Civil War started. Franco was supported by fascists, big businesses, the church, conservative people and Spanish nationalists. This was because the Spanish Republic had a socialist government that wanted to make businsses and the church less powerful[1]. The Republic also set up local parliaments in the regions of Spain. Spanish nationalists thought this was wrong and would make Spain weak. Franco remained neutral during World War II as Hitler did not accept his conditions for Spain to take part in it with the fascist and nazi regimes. He let a group of volunteer soldiers join the German Army to fight the Russians between 1941 and 1943. They were called the División Azul (Blue Division)[2][3]
[change] References
- ↑ Beevor, Antony (2001 reissued). The Spanish Civil War. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-100148-8.
- ↑ Kleinfeld, Gerald R & Lewis A Tambs (1979), Hitler's Spanish Legion: The Blue Division in Russia, Southern Illinois University Press, ISBN 0-8093-0865-7
- ↑ Moreno Juliá, Xavier (2005), La División Azul: Sangre española en Rusia, 1941-1945, Barcelona: Crítica