Key Political and Military Figures of Spain's Second Republic Era

Prominent Figures of the Spanish Second Republic and Civil War

Marcelino Domingo (1864–1939)

Born in Tortosa, Marcelino Domingo pursued a career in teaching. He was affiliated with federal republicanism in his native town. During the dictatorship, he founded the Radical-Socialist Party and worked tirelessly for unity among all republican and leftist forces.

In the Interim Government of 1931, he served as Minister of Public Instruction, where he implemented a policy focused on building schools, and subsequently served as Minister of Agriculture.

General Emilio Mola

Mola started his military career in Morocco, reaching the rank of general in 1927. He served as the last Director General of Security under the monarchy of Alfonso XIII.

Due to his possible involvement in the revolt of General Sanjurjo, he was separated from the army, though he was reinstated subsequently. He was the brain and main organizer of the military uprising of July 18, 1936, which initiated the Spanish Civil War.

Francisco Largo Caballero

A prominent worker and socialist leader, Largo Caballero served as President of the PSOE for three years. He led the leftist current of the socialist revolution that culminated in the events of October 1934.

During the Civil War, he served as Prime Minister and Minister of War. Under his mandate:

• Anarcho-communist members were included in the government.
• The Popular Army of the Republic was created.
• The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country was adopted.

Luis Companys (1883–1940)

Born in Lleida, Luis Companys began his political activity in the Republican Union. He founded the Unió de Rabassaires and participated in the creation of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC).

During the Second Republic, he held several key positions:

• Minister of the Navy.
• President of the Catalan Parliament.
• President of the Government (Generalitat) since 1933.

Following the proclamation of the Catalan State in October 1934, he was imprisoned. Upon being elected MP for the Popular Front, he was released and reoccupied the presidency of the Generalitat. After the war, he fled to France, but was arrested by the Germans in 1940, sent to Spain, tried, and tragically shot in Montjuic Castle, Barcelona.

General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano

Queipo de Llano had a long military career. In 1936, he joined the revolt and successfully led the coup in Seville. He became infamous for his propaganda radio addresses broadcast on the Nationalist side.

Franco, who was wary of him, sent him to Italy on a secondary mission after the war to remove him from politics. However, in 1944, he was awarded the prestigious Laureate Cross of San Fernando.

Victoria Kent Siano

Victoria Kent was a groundbreaking figure: she was the first woman to enter the law school in Spain and a pioneer globally to practice law in a military court.

She was affiliated with the Radical Socialist Party. Notably, she opposed the initial election law granting women suffrage because she thought women would not vote for the Republic at that time. She was appointed Director General of Prisons and later served as the first secretary of the Spanish embassy in Paris.