Francisco Franco facts for kids

Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Head of the Spanish State
	In office; 1 April 1939 – 20 November 1975
Preceded by	Manuel Azaña (as President)
Succeeded by	Juan Carlos I (as King)
68th Head of the Spanish Government
	In office; 30 January 1938 – 8 June 1973
Preceded by	Juan Negrín
Succeeded by	Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco
Personal details
Born	4 December 1892; Ferrol, Galicia, Spain
Died	20 November 1975 (aged 82); Madrid, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Political party	None, Phalangist/Carlist
Spouse(s)	Carmen Polo
Profession	Chief of the General Staff, Spanish Army
Religion	Roman Catholic

Francisco Franco (Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde Salgado Pardo de Andrade, 20 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish military leader who ruled as dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death.

He was a leader of a coup d'état against the Spanish Second Republic in 1936. After this uprising the Spanish Civil War started. Franco was supported by fascists, big businesses, the church, conservative people and Spanish nationalists. This was because the Spanish Republic had a socialist government that wanted to make businesses and the church less powerful. The Republic also set up local parliaments in the regions of Spain. Spanish nationalists thought this was wrong and would make Spain weak. Franco remained neutral during World War II as Hitler did not accept his conditions for Spain to take part in it with the fascist and nazi regimes. He let a group of volunteer soldiers join the German Army to fight the Russians between 1941 and 1943. They were called the División Azul (Blue Division)

Franco died in Madrid on November 20, 1975, just after midnight. Relatives had asked doctors to remove his life support systems. After Franco's death, Juan Carlos became king.

Images for kids

Chief of the General Staff
His parents with Francisco in arms, on the day of his baptism on December 17, 1892.
Ramon, Pilar and Francisco Franco in 1906.
Franco in 1923
Franco in Reus, 1940
Front row in order from left to right: Karl Wolff, Heinrich Himmler, Franco and Spain's Foreign Minister Serrano Súñer in Madrid, October 1940
Franco giving a speech in Eibar in 1949
Franco and US President Eisenhower in Madrid, December 1959
Franco and his wife, Carmen Polo in 1968.
1963 Spanish peseta coin with an image of Franco and lettering reading: Francisco Franco, Leader of Spain, by the grace of God
Franco in 1969
Carlos Arias Navarro and Franco in 1975
Franco is entombed in the monument of Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos
A statue of Franco in Santander which was removed in 2008
Sign in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for a street bearing Franco's name