Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja

The Spanish general Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja (1870-1930) ruled Spain as a dictator from 1923 to 1930.

Miguel Primo de Rivera was born in Cadiz on Jan. 8, 1870, of a middle-class family that later became landowners in the Andalusian town of Jerez. He entered the General Military Academy in Toledo in 1884 and first saw service in Africa in 1893, where he won the Cross of San Fernando. Two years later he went to Cuba as an aide to Gen. Martinez de Campos. When his uncle, Gen. Fernando Primo de Rivera, was named captain general of the Philippines in 1897, Miguel went to Manila as an aide. A major in 1898, he was prevented by the collapse of Spanish military power from becoming a lieutenant general until 1919, the interim being filled with campaigns in Morocco, a stormy military governorship of Cadiz (1915), and service as an observer at the western front during World War I.

Public notice did not come Primo's way until 1922, when, as captain general of Barcelona, he attempted to reestablish law and order at just the moment that antiwar sentiment and social unrest were pointing toward revolution. Almost by chance Primo was selected as the chief figure in the military coup d'etat that on Sept. 12, 1923, overthrew parliamentary government (possibly with the aid of King Alfonso XIII) and imposed a military dictatorship. Overnight Primo became the most important political figure in Spain.

Primo has been described as a "glorified café politician" who, though he had made no preparation for rule, nevertheless aspired to political greatness. Order was restored by suspending constitutional guarantees, dissolving the Parliament, and imposing martial law. A new party, the Patriotic Union, became Primo's political vehicle and the only legal party in the country. Aside from the King's support of it, however, it had been put together so fast that it never developed great strength. Only because Primo was able to concentrate resources and to rally the army and defeat Abd el-Krim and the Moroccans did the new regime gain some respite from political dissension. The ending of the Moroccan War in December 1925 became Primo's one solid triumph.

Internal problems, surprisingly, continued to mount. Liberals rejected Primo's local government reforms and anticentralism, and radicals, despite the addition of a Socialist, Largo Cabellero, to his Cabinet, did not feel that the regime was moving fast enough in making social reforms. University students and intellectuals, fearing that Primo was another Benito Mussolini, led the opposition from 1925 on, and one of Spain's most distinguished intellectuals, Miguel de Unamuno, went into exile. Primo in fact was far from being a Fascist like Mussolini; if anything he had a paternalistic view of the state that unfortunately was out of step with the growing ideological sensitivities of the Spaniards.

By 1928, as the revolt of the cadets at the Academy of Segovia showed, even the army was dissatisfied with Primo, mainly because law and order were breaking down. The next 2 years witnessed one act of rebellion after the other, but King Alfonso XIII delayed replacing Primo because the monarchy had used the regime to hide its involvement in a series of disastrous political and military setbacks just prior to the dictatorship. Finally, however, Primo had no other recourse than to resign on Jan. 28, 1930, when he left for exile in Paris. He died in Paris on March 16, 1930.

Primo's son, José Antonio, frequently defended his father during the next few years of growing political bitterness, and many aspects of his father's paternalism could be found in José Antonio Primo de Rivera's much more overtly fascist philosophy. José Antonio founded the Falange party and became the martyr of the nationalist movement.

Further Reading

Dillwyn F. Ratcliff, Prelude to Franco: Political Aspects of the Dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1957), covers Primo de Rivera's regime. Good accounts of his career are in Gerald Brenan, The Spanish Labyrinth: An Account of the Social and Political Background of the Civil War (1943; 2d ed. 1950), and Raymond Carr, Spain, 1808-1939 (1966). There is also extensive material on Primo de Rivera in Charles Petrie, King Alfonso XIII and His Age (1963). □

Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, Miguel (b. 8 Jan. 1870, d. 16 Mar. 1930). Spanish dictator 1923–30 Born in Jerez de la Frontera, he graduated from the military academy of Toledo and was commissioned in 1889. Thanks to his family connections, quick mind, and courage, he became brigadier-general in 1911. His outspokenness in political matters forced his career into a temporary lull, but also won him increased standing within the army. In 1923, he instigated a military coup against the weak and discredited civilian regime, with the tacit support of the King, Alfonso XIII. He consolidated his support through successfully ending the war in Morocco and defeating Abd al-Krim. Extensive economic planning, e.g. through subsidies and public works, led to a temporary truce with the working-class movement and the moderate trade unions. Ultimately, however, his programmes of modernization of the economy and of the army lost him the support of the two pillars of his regime: the landowning elite and the military. He was thus compelled to resign weeks before his death in exile (Paris). The legacy of his rule was ambivalent. It enabled the creation of a republic through completely discrediting the monarchy, while also providing an inspiration to the Falange, which was founded by his son Antonio.

Primo de Rivera, Miguel (1870–1930) Spanish general and statesman, head of state (1923–30). He came to power after leading a military coup in 1923, when he assumed dictatorial powers with the consent of Alfonso XIII. The decline of the economy contributed to his forced resignation in 1930. His son, José Antonio Primo de Rivera (1903–36), founded the Falange in 1933 and was executed by Republicans in the Spanish Civil War.

Primo de Rivera, Miguel (1870–1930) Spanish general. In 1923, he staged a coup with the support of King Alfonso XIII. He dissolved Parliament, and established a military dictatorship modelled on the government of Mussolini. He restored order and helped to end the revolt of Abd-el-Krim in Morocco (1926). The poor state of the economy forced him to resign in 1930. His son, José Antonio (1903–36) founded the Falange in 1933.