Miguel Primo de Rivera
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Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja (Jerez, January 8, 1870 - Paris, March 16, 1930) was a Spanish military official who ruled Spain as a dictator from 1923 to 1930, ending the turno system of alternating parties.
Born into a family of soldiers, he entered the Spanish army and fought in Spain's colonial wars in Morocco, Cuba, and the Philippines. Primo de Rivera held several important military posts after World War 1, which included the captain-generalship of Valencia, Madrid, and Barcelona. He became the Marques de Estella with the death of his uncle in 1921. He rose to power in a coup in September 1923 with the support of the army, along with the support of the latifundists, trade unions and Catalan entrepeneurs, among others. He was approved and recognized by King Alfonso XIII of Spain, who named him Prime Minister.
Primo de Rivera suspended the constitution, established martial law, imposed strict censorship, and banned all political parties, though some survived clandestinely. Then he founded Unión Patriótica Española, creating a one party system. During his rule, the philosopher Miguel de Unamuno was confined to island of Fuerteventura. Unamuno escaped and continued his opposition efforts.
Primo de Rivera attempted to reduce unemployment by spending money on public works, but the government expenditures caused rapid inflation. He eventually lost the support of the population and stepped down in January 1930. A republic was established a little more than a year later. A few months after the end of his rule, he died in Paris apparently from diabetes, although the exact cause of death has not been determined.
His son, the lawyer José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founded the political party Falange Española y de las JONS and was executed without a fair trial in November 20, 1936. His daughter Pilar Primo de Rivera founded the female branch of Falange. His son Fernando was killed in the Madrid Jail at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War by the Republicans without a fair trial. His other son, Miguel, was Ambassador to the United Kingdom.ca:Miguel Primo de Rivera i Orbaneja de:Miguel Primo de Rivera es:Miguel Primo de Rivera fr:Miguel Primo de Rivera nl:Miguel Primo de Rivera it:Miguel Primo de Rivera ja:プリモ・デ・リベラ