Spanish Republican government in exile

Government of the
Spanish Republic in exile
Gobierno de la República
Española en el exilio
Government of the; Spanish Republic in exile Gobierno de la República; Española en el exilio
1939–1977
	Flag Coat of arms
	Motto: Plus Ultra; "Further Beyond"
	Anthem: Himno de Riego; Anthem of Riego
Status	Government in exile
Capital	Madrid
Capital-in-exile	Paris (1939–1940; 1946–1977); Mexico City (1940–1946)
Common languages	Spanish
President
• 1939–1940 (first)	Diego Martínez Barrio
• 1970–1977 (last)	José Maldonado González
Prime Minister
• 1939–1945 (first)	Juan Negrín
• 1971–1977 (last)	Fernando Valera Aparicio [es]
Historical era	Interwar period • Cold War
• Established	4 April 1939
• Disestablished	1 July 1977
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Second Spanish Republic
Spanish transition to democracy

The Government of the Spanish Republic in exile (Spanish: Gobierno de la República Española en el exilio) was a continuation, in exile, of the government of the Second Spanish Republic following the victory of Francisco Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War. It existed until the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1977.

History

Following the fall of the Republic in April 1939, the President of Spain, Manuel Azaña and the Prime Minister, Juan Negrín, went into exile in France. Azaña resigned his post and died in November 1940. He was succeeded as President by Diego Martínez Barrio, who had been Prime Minister in 1936. Following the occupation of France, the government was reconstituted in Mexico, which under the left-wing President Lázaro Cárdenas continued to recognise the Republic, although Negrín spent the war years in London. Negrín resigned as Prime Minister in 1945 and was succeeded by José Giral.

Until 1945, the exiled Republicans had high hopes that at the end of World War II in Europe, Franco's regime would be removed from power by the victorious Allies and that they would be able to return to Spain. When these hopes were disappointed, the government-in-exile faded away to a purely symbolic role. The government moved back to Paris in 1946. There was also a Basque government in exile and a Catalan government in exile.

In the immediate postwar period, it had diplomatic relations with Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Venezuela, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Albania,^[1] but the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union did not recognise it.^[2]

Following Franco's death in 1975, King Juan Carlos initiated a transition to democracy. In 1977, the exiled Republicans accepted the re-establishment of the monarchy and recognised Juan Carlos's government as the legitimate government of Spain. The key moment came when socialist leaders Felipe González and Javier Solana met Juan Carlos at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid — a tacit endorsement of the monarchy by the previously staunchly republican Socialists.

On 1 July 1977, the Government of the Spanish Republic was formally dissolved. In a gesture of reconciliation, Juan Carlos received the exiled leaders at a ceremony in Madrid.

Presidents in exile

#	Name	President From	President Until	Political Party
	Diego Martínez Barrio Interim	March 3, 1939	May 11, 1940	Republican Union
	Álvaro de Albornoz y Liminiana Interim	May 11, 1940	August 17, 1945	Independent
1	Diego Martínez Barrio	August 17, 1945	January 1, 1962	Republican Union
2	Luis Jiménez de Asúa	January 1, 1962	November 16, 1970	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
3	José Maldonado González	November 16, 1970	July 1, 1977	Republican Left

Prime Ministers in exile

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political Party	President (Term)
Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Days	Political Party	President (Term)
	Juan Negrín (1892–1956)	31 March 1939	17 August 1945	2331	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	Álvaro de Albornoz (1939–1945)
	José Giral (1879–1962)	17 August 1945	9 February 1947	541	Republican Left	Diego Martínez Barrio (1945–1962)
	Rodolfo Llopis (1895–1983)	9 February 1947	8 August 1947	180	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
	Álvaro de Albornoz (1879–1954)	8 August 1947	13 August 1951	1558	Republican Union
	Félix Gordón Ordás [es] (1885–1973)	13 August 1951	17 April 1960	3170	Republican Union
	Emilio Herrera (1879–1967)	17 April 1960	28 February 1962	682	Independent
	Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz (1893–1984)	28 February 1962	28 February 1971	3287	Republican Union	Luis Jiménez de Asúa (1962–1970)
	Fernando Valera Aparicio [es] (1899–1982)	28 February 1971	21 June 1977	2305	Republican Union	José Maldonado González (1970–1977)

References

^ Shain, Yossi (ed). Governments-in-Exile in Contemporary World Politics. New York: Routledge. 1991, p. 152.
^ Ebon, Martin. World Communism Today. New York: Whittlesey House. 1948, p. 252.