Jesús María de Leizaola facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jesús María Leizaola
2nd Lehendakari of the Basque Country-in-exile
In office March 22, 1960 – February 17, 1978
Preceded by	José Antonio Aguirre
Succeeded by	Ramón Rubial (as President of the Basque General Council) Carlos Garaikoetxea (as President)
Personal details
Born	Jesús María de Leizaola Sánchez (1896-09-07)September 7, 1896 San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Died	March 16, 1989(1989-03-16) (aged 92) San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain
Political party	Basque Nationalist Party (PNV)
Alma mater	University of Valladolid

Jesús María de Leizaola Sánchez (born September 7, 1896, in San Sebastian – died March 16, 1989) was an important Spanish politician. He became the President of the Basque Government in exile. This happened after the death of the previous president, José Antonio Aguirre, in 1960.

Early Life and Political Beginnings (1896–1931)

Jesús María de Leizaola Sánchez was born into a well-off family in San Sebastián. He was the third of seven children. He studied law at the University of Valladolid. In 1915, he started working for the government of Gipuzkoa. This is where he first learned about Basque nationalist politics.

In 1919, he became a leader in the city government of Bilbao. He also joined the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV). In 1922, he led a protest march in Gernika. They were asking for a Basque University. He was arrested during this march but later freed. He continued to rise in Bilbao's city government.

Role in the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1937)

Leizaola was chosen to be a member of Parliament in July 1931. This was during the time of the Second Spanish Republic, which lasted from 1931 to 1939. He returned to San Sebastian in 1933 to work in civil administration.

When the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, he helped keep order in San Sebastian. He also helped people evacuate the city. In September 1936, he left his hometown. He would not return for 40 years.

In October 1936, Leizaola helped create the government led by President Aguirre. He was named the regional minister for Justice and Culture. In this role, he spoke for the government. He also managed the government's newspaper. He even started the Basque University in Bilbao, which he had protested for years earlier. However, this university only lasted a few months. This was because Franco's troops entered the city. Leizaola was in charge of trying to organize the city's defense and evacuation.

Years in Exile and Return Home (1937–1989)

After going into exile in 1937, Leizaola moved to Santander, then Barcelona. In 1939, he settled in Paris. There, he worked to speak out against the government in Spain. He also worked to keep the dream of freedom and Basque self-government alive.

He became the Lehendakari (Basque President) at Aguirre's funeral in 1960. Unlike the previous president, he found it harder to unite different political groups. During his time, there was also a split between the Juan Ajuriaguerra and the new separatist group ETA.

In the final years of Franco's rule in Spain, Leizaola was very active. He spoke with the Vatican to ask for democracy and self-rule to return to Spain. He even secretly visited the Spanish Basque Country in 1974. He went to Gernika and Bilbao.

In 1979, after 43 years away, Leizaola finally came back home. He helped set up a democratic regime and a Basque self-government. Thousands of people welcomed him at the San Mamés Stadium. The next day, in a special ceremony, he officially passed his role as Lehendakari to Carlos Garaikoetxea. Garaikoetxea was the democratically elected president of the Basque council. In 1980, Leizaola was elected to the Basque Parliament for the PNV. However, he retired from politics soon after.

Besides politics, he also loved intellectual and literary work. He was a very educated man. Leizaola wrote about Basque Literature and Poetry. He married María del Coro Loidi Zulaica in 1924. His nephew, Joseba Leizaola, later became the third President of the Basque Parliament from 1990 to 1998.

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See also

In Spanish: Jesús María Leizaola para niños