Segismundo Moret
Antonio González de Aguilar | |
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In office 21 October 1909 – 9 February 1910 | |
Monarch | Alfonso XIII |
Preceded by | Antonio Maura |
Succeeded by | José Canalejas |
Personal details | |
Born | Segismundo Moret y Prendergast 2 June 1833 Cádiz, Spain |
Died | 28 January 1913 (aged 79) Madrid, Spain |
Signature | |
Segismundo Moret y Prendergast (2 June 1833 – 28 January 1913) was a Spanish politician and writer. He was the
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
As 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 "
In 1912, after the assassination of Prime Minister Canalejas and the appointment of a new prime minister,
See also
- List of prime ministers of Spain
- Monument to Moret (Cádiz)
- Reign of Alfonso XIII of Spain
References
- ISBN 978-84-350-4655-8.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. .
- ^ Professor J. C J. Metford: The Spanish Anarchist Movement, 1908-75, Mastermind Quiz Book, 1984