Segismundo Moret

Segismundo Moret y Prendergast (2 June 1833 – 28 January 1913) was a Spanish politician and writer. He was the prime minister of Spain on three occasions and the president of the Congress of Deputies on two occasions.


Segismundo Moret
Prime Minister of Spain
In office
1 December 1905  6 July 1906
MonarchAlfonso XIII
Preceded byEugenio Montero Ríos
Succeeded byJosé López Domínguez
In office
30 November 1906  4 December 1906
MonarchAlfonso XIII
Preceded byJosé López Domínguez
Succeeded byAntonio González de Aguilar
In office
21 October 1909  9 February 1910
MonarchAlfonso XIII
Preceded byAntonio Maura
Succeeded byJosé Canalejas
Personal details
Born
Segismundo Moret y Prendergast
NationalitySpanish
Signature

Biography

Moret was born in Cádiz on 2 June 1833. His mother's family, the Prendergasts, were of Irish descent. He studied at the Universidad Central in Madrid, where, in 1858, he became professor of political economy while he continued his studies in jurisprudence.

In 1863, Moret was elected representative to parliament as an independent representing the town of Almadén in the province of Ciudad Real. He was re-elected in 1868 after the Revolution of 1868 and took part in the writing of the new Spanish Constitution of 1869. He was noted for his eloquence.

As Overseas Minister of Overseas in the government presided by General Prim in 1870, Moret, himself a member of the Spanish Abolitionist Society,[1] pushed for the abolition of slavery and the creation of a constitution for Puerto Rico. In 1871, he was Minister of the Treasury (hacienda) in the first government of King Amadeo I, and in 1872, he was appointed ambassador in London but resigned months later months and accepted a directorship in a large British bank.

With the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne in 1875, Moret returned to Spain, where he founded the Partido Democrático-Monárquico party. He was again elected deputy for Ciudad Real in 1879 and rallied to the monarchy in 1882. In 1883, he was appointed Minister of the Interior (Gobernación), and after 1885, he joined the Liberal Party in which he cooperated with Práxedes Mateo Sagasta as Minister of State (estado, foreign affairs, 1885–1888), Interior (Gobernación, 1888, 1901, 1902), Development (Fomento) (1892), State (Estado, foreign affairs, 1892, 1894) and Overseas Colonies (Ultramar, 1897–1898). When Sagasta died, he participated in the quarrels for the control of the party.

In 1897, as Minister for Overseas Colonies (Ultramar), Moret decreed the autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico in a vain attempt to avoid their secession. He opposed the war against the United States in 1898.[2] In 1902, he collaborated in the creation of the Institute of Social Reform, which was a precursor of the future Ministry of Labour.

In 1905, after the resignation of Montero Rios, Moret became prime minister but was forced to resign in July 1906 after he had lost his majority in the parliament (Cortes Generales) although he became again prime minister briefly the same year (30 November – 4 December).

After the bloody confrontations of the "Tragic Week" in 1909 in Barcelona, Moret was again appointed prime minister after the resignation of Antonio Maura while he was also Minister of the Interior. He was forced to resign in February 1910 when he was replaced by José Canalejas. He denounced the Canalejas Ministry as "a democratic flag being used to cover reactionary merchandise".[3]

In 1912, after the assassination of Prime Minister Canalejas and the appointment of a new prime minister, Álvaro Figueroa Torres, Count of Romanones, Moret was elected as the 155th president of the Congress of Deputies, which he was until his death, on 28 January 1913. It was his second term as speaker of the Spanish lower house; from July 15, 1901 to April 3, 1902, he had served as the 147th speaker.

See also

References

  1. Fradera, Josep Maria (2015). La nación imperial (1750-1918). Barcelona: Edhasa. ISBN 978-84-350-4655-8.
  2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Moret y Prendergast, Segismundo" . Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company.
  3. Professor J. C J. Metford: The Spanish Anarchist Movement, 1908-75, Mastermind Quiz Book, 1984
Political offices
Preceded by
Representative for Almadén
1863–1868
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Manuel Becerra Bermúdez
Minister of Overseas
1870
Succeeded by
Adelardo López de Ayala
Preceded by
Laureano Figuerola
Minister of Finance
1870–1871
Succeeded by
Servando Ruiz Gómez
Preceded by
Manuel Rancés y Villanueva
Ambassador to London
1872–1875
Succeeded by
Manuel Rancés y Villanueva
Preceded by
Pío Gullón e Iglesias
Minister of the Governation
1883–1884
Succeeded by
Francisco Romero Robledo
Preceded by
José de Elduayen
Minister of State
27 November 1885 – 14 June 1888
Succeeded by
Marquis of Vega de Armijo
Preceded by
José Luis Albareda
Minister of the Governation
1888
Succeeded by
Trinitario Ruiz Capdepón
Preceded by
Aureliano Linares Rivas
Minister of Development
1892
Succeeded by
Alejandro Groizard
Preceded by
Marquis of Vega de Armijo
Minister of State
5 April 1893 – 4 November 1894
Succeeded by
Alejandro Groizard
Preceded by
Tomás Castellano y Villarroya
Minister of Overseas
1897–1898
Succeeded by
Vicente Romero Girón
Preceded by
Francisco Javier Ugarte Pagés
Minister of the Governation
1901–1902
Succeeded by
Alfonso González Lozano
Preceded by
Eugenio Montero Ríos
Prime Minister
1905
Succeeded by
José López Domínguez
Preceded by
José López Domínguez
Prime Minister
1906
Succeeded by
Antonio Aguilar Correa
Preceded by
Antonio Maura y Montaner
Prime Minister
1909–1910
Succeeded by
José Canalejas
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
President of the Ateneo de Madrid
1884–1886
Succeeded by
Gaspar Núñez de Arce
Preceded by
Gumersindo de Azcárate
President of the Ateneo de Madrid
1894–1898
Succeeded by
José Echegaray
Preceded by
José Echegaray
President of the Ateneo de Madrid
1899–1913
Succeeded by
Rafael María de Labra
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