Augusto Barcía Trelles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Excellent Augusto Barcia Trelles OIC
Prime Minister of Spain
In office 10 May 1936 – 13 May 1936
President	Manuel Azaña
Preceded by	Manuel Azaña
Succeeded by	Santiago Casares
Personal details
Born	Augusto Barcia Trelles 5 March 1881 Vegadeo, Asturias, Spain
Died	19 June 1961 (aged 80) Buenos Aires, Argentina

Augusto Barcia y Trelles (born March 5, 1881, in Vegadeo, Spain – died June 19, 1961, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an important Spanish politician. He was a member of the Congress of Deputies many times. He even served as the acting Prime Minister of Spain for a few days in May 1936. This happened because the previous Prime Minister, Manuel Azaña, became the President of the Republic. Augusto Barcia was also a lawyer and a member of a group called the Freemasons.

Augusto Barcia's Life Story

Early Life and Education

Augusto Barcia was born in Vegadeo, a town in the province of Oviedo, on March 5, 1881. He studied law and became a lawyer. His brother, Camilo Barcia Trelles, was also a well-known professor of International Law.

From a young age, Augusto Barcia was very good at journalism. He started a magazine called La Joven España (The Young Spain). He also wrote for famous newspapers like El Correo, El Liberal, and La Libertad. He even worked as a reporter for foreign newspapers in Spain.

Barcia strongly believed in European unity and supported the Allies during World War I. He wrote many articles about this in El Liberal, where he became the director in 1914.

Starting in Politics

When he was young, Barcia was friends with Segismundo Moret, a key figure in the Liberal Party. Influenced by Moret and Gumersindo de Azcárate, Barcia joined the Reformist Party. As a member of the Spanish Parliament, known as the Cortes Generales, he spoke out against the Antiterrorist Act of 1908. This law was proposed by the Prime Minister at the time, Antonio Maura.

Barcia first ran for a seat in the Cortes in the 1914 elections for the Almería district of Vera. He didn't win that time. However, in the 1916 elections, he won a seat for Vera. He kept this seat in the elections of 1918, 1919, 1920, and 1923.

During his time in Parliament, he was especially known for his speeches on foreign policy. When the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera began, he stepped away from politics. He focused on his work as a lawyer. He also distanced himself from his old political mentor, Melquíades Álvarez, because Álvarez didn't criticize the dictatorship.

The Second Spanish Republic

In 1931, when the Second Republic was established, Augusto Barcia returned to politics. He ran for Parliament in the 1931 elections but did not win. Despite this, he became very important nationally. In 1931, the government made him president of the Higher Banking Council. A year later, he became Spain's representative to the League of Nations in Geneva. The League of Nations was an organization that promoted peace among countries.

In 1933, he joined Republican Action (AR), the party led by Manuel Azaña. Thanks to Barcia, the Diario de Almería newspaper became the local newspaper for the Republican Action party.

For the November 1933 elections, he helped create an alliance between Republican Action and Lerroux's Radical Party in Almería. He won a seat in Parliament. Barcia was one of the few members of Republican Action to win, as the party generally lost in those elections. Because of this, Republican Action joined with other parties to form a new group called Republican Left (IR). Augusto Barcia also joined this new party and became its main leader in Almería.

He defended Lluís Companys and other leaders from Catalonia who were involved in declaring a Catalan State in October 1934.

In the February 1936 elections, he was a candidate for the Popular Front in Almería. He received the most votes and won his seat in Parliament again. After the Popular Front won the elections, Barcia was appointed Minister of State (like a foreign minister) on February 19. This was in the government led by Manuel Azaña. From May 11 to 13, he served as the head of the government, or Prime Minister. This happened after Azaña resigned because he had been elected President of the Republic. Santiago Casares Quiroga then became Prime Minister, but Barcia remained Minister of State.

After the Civil War began in July 1936, he briefly served as Minister of the Interior. He then became Minister of State again in a government led by José Giral, leaving in September 1936. He was supposed to be Spain's ambassador to Uruguay, but he didn't take the job because relations between the two countries broke down. He still attended meetings of the Republican Parliament in October 1937 and August 1938. As the war continued, he worked as an advisor at the Spanish Embassy in Paris and later as Spain's ambassador to the Soviet Union.

Life in Exile

When it became clear that the war was lost in 1939, Augusto Barcia left Europe. He moved to Latin America and settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

After he left, the new government in Spain, led by Franco, punished those who had opposed them. A special court sentenced Barcia to thirty years in prison and banned him from practicing law. Another court fined him a huge amount of money and took away all his property. There was even a suggestion that he should lose his Spanish citizenship.

From 1941, he was the president of a cultural organization called Patronato Hispano-Argentino de Cultura. He was very active, writing many books and giving lectures. He also worked with the Spanish Republican government that was in exile (living outside Spain). He was part of the main board of Acción Republicana Española and represented the Junta Española de Liberación in Argentina. After World War II, he attended a meeting of the Republican Parliament in exile in Mexico City. In August 1945, he became the Minister of Finance for the Republican government in exile, a position he held until August 1947.

Augusto Barcia died in Buenos Aires on June 19, 1961, at the age of 80.

Personal Life and Interests

Augusto Barcia wrote several books about law, politics, and history. Besides Spanish, he could speak Italian, French, English, and German very well.

He was a member of the Ateneo de Madrid from 1908. This was an important cultural and scientific club in Madrid. He was very active there and held important roles, including general secretary and president from 1932 to 1933. From 1925 to 1926, he was also the president of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation. He was a member of the Madrid Press Association and the Association of Friends of the Soviet Union, which was formed in 1933.

Freemasonry Activities

Augusto Barcia was a very important Freemason. He joined the Ibérica lodge in Madrid in 1910. He worked hard within the Masonic organization and was chosen as the Grand Master of the Gran Oriente Español in 1921. After another leader passed away in 1928, he was elected to an even higher position, Sovereign Grand Commendator of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree for Spain. He held this position until 1933. He resigned because he believed that Freemasonry should not be involved in political activities. He explained his decision by saying:

"I am returning to active political life and joining a party. My importance in the Order, and my history in the high position you honored me with for so many years, force me to resign permanently. I want, above all, to be consistent with my actions and my ideas, always keeping the Institution separate from any party influence or suspicion of political involvement."

See also

In Spanish: Augusto Barcia Trelles para niños