Diego Martínez Barrio

Diego Martínez Barrio ( Seville , November 25th 1885 - Paris , January 1 1962 ) was a Spanish republican politician.

Barrio trained as a typographer and was already during his school years a convinced republican. In 1908 he became a member of the Party of Radical Republicans of Alejandro Lerroux . Between 1910 and 1923 he was a member of the city of Seville . After the coup of Miguel Primo de Rivera were abolished political parties and the politicians - including Barrio - removed from office.

In December 1930 he took part in a failed uprising in Andalusia and he had to go to France swerve. After the proclamation of the Republic ( 14 April 1931 ), he returned to Spain. From 1931 to 1933 he was Minister for Posts. In 1933 he was briefly prime minister and later that year, Interior Minister under Lerroux. In 1934 he resigned from the Party of Radical Republicans (PRR) for the price of party leader Alejandro Lerroux .Barrio founded thereon the Republican Union (UR).

The council joined for the elections in 1936 with the Popular Front . The Popular Front won on February 16 1936 a narrow victory on the right wing National Front . Barrio became president of the new Cortes.

On 7 April 1936 became president Niceto Alcala Zamora off, forced by the Popular Front. From April 7th 1936 to May 11 1936 was Diego Barrio interim president of Spain. On 11 May, Prime Minister Manuel Azañathe second president of the republic.

On 18 July 1936 the uprising began nationalist troops led by General Emilio Mola . President Azana appointed them on the night of 18 on July 19 Barrio prime minister to negotiate with General Mola and to offer him the minister of war in the government. Mola was not there on in and Barrio's mission, negotiations with the nationalists, had failed. The same day came Barrio as prime minister off to make room for the left-wing José Giral .

Until the end of the Spanish Civil War Barrio held the Presidency of the Cortes (parliament), and after the resignation of Azana, on 1 March 1939, he was legally president of the republic. Already on March 4 he resigned as such, and he put the power in the hands of the National Defense Council, now the negotiations with Francisco Franco, the leader of the nationalists had begun.

Barrio went to Mexico and on 18 August 1945, he was president of the Spanish Republic in exile elected. He held this post until January 1 1962