Julián Besteiro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Julián Besteiro
Julián Besteiro (c. 1931)
President of the Congress of Deputies
In office 14 July 1931 – 9 October 1933
Preceded by	Melquíades Álvarez
Succeeded by	Santiago Alba Bonifaz
President of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
In office 9 December 1925 – 11 July 1931
Preceded by	Pablo Iglesias
Succeeded by	Remigio Cabello
President of the UGT
In office 1925–1934
Preceded by	Pablo Iglesias
Succeeded by	Anastasio de Gracia
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office 13 March 1918 – 15 September 1923
Constituency	Madrid
In office 4 July 1931 – 2 February 1937
Constituency	Madrid
Personal details
Born	21 September 1870 Madrid, Spain
Died	27 September 1940 (aged 70) Carmona, Spain
Political party	Republican Union Party, Radical Party, PSOE
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Julián Besteiro Fernández (born September 21, 1870 – died September 27, 1940) was an important Spanish politician. He was a socialist leader and a university professor. Besteiro was elected to the Spanish Parliament, known as the Cortes Generales. In 1931, he became the Speaker of the Constituent Cortes of the Second Spanish Republic. He also served several times on the town council of Madrid. Besides his political work, he was a professor of philosophy and logic at the University of Madrid.

Early Life and Education

Julián Besteiro in 1912

Julián Besteiro was born in Madrid, Spain. He received his education at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. He studied Philosophy and Letters at the University of Madrid. To further his studies, he also attended famous universities in other countries. These included the Sorbonne in France and universities in Munich, Berlin, and Leipzig, Germany.

In 1908, Besteiro joined the Radical Party. This party was founded by Alejandro Lerroux. Later, in 1912, he became a member of the socialist group in Madrid. That same year, he became a professor of Logic at the University of Madrid. Soon after, Besteiro joined two major organizations: the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), which was a large trade union, and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE).

In 1913, he married Dolores Cebrián. She was a professor of physics and natural science.

Political Career and Challenges

In 1917, a big general strike happened in Spain. Julián Besteiro was part of the strike committee in Madrid. He was found guilty and sent to prison. However, he was later released due to a public campaign for his freedom. After his release, he was elected to the town council of Madrid.

The next year, Besteiro was elected to the Cortes, which is the Spanish Parliament. He represented Madrid.

During the time of the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, Besteiro believed socialists should work with the government. Primo de Rivera offered the UGT a chance to help govern the country. For a while, this arrangement seemed to work well. However, as Primo de Rivera's rule became less popular, especially during the economic problems of the Great Depression, many in the PSOE disagreed with Besteiro.

By the mid-1930s, Besteiro's ideas about working with the government made him feel alone politically. He also opposed the UGT joining a general strike in December 1930. In February 1931, Besteiro resigned as the President of both the PSOE party and the UGT union.

In 1931, he was again elected as a councillor for the Madrid town council.

Second Spanish Republic and the Civil War

After the Second Spanish Republic was formed in 1931, Besteiro continued to serve in the Spanish Parliament. He was chosen as the Speaker of the Constituent Cortes. This group was responsible for writing a new constitution for Spain. He was offered important jobs, like Ambassador to France, but he turned them down. During his time as Speaker, his political views seemed to become more traditional. In January 1934, he resigned as President of the UGT.

Besteiro did not agree with the socialist movement becoming more extreme. He disapproved of socialists taking part in the armed uprising in October 1934. In February 1936, Besteiro received the most votes of any candidate in Madrid during the Popular Front elections.

Throughout these years, Besteiro continued his work at the University of Madrid. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. He also kept up his duties as a member of parliament and a town councillor. When the Spanish Civil War started in 1936, his friends urged him to leave Madrid for safety. However, he refused to go into exile.

In 1937, the Spanish Republican president, Manuel Azaña, chose Besteiro to represent Spain at the coronation of King George VI in London. Besteiro hoped this trip would be a peace mission. He met with Sir Anthony Eden to ask for Britain's help in ending the war. The war had attracted support from Germany and Russia for the opposing sides. Unfortunately, his efforts did not lead to peace. After his mission failed, Besteiro returned to his work on the Madrid town council. He stopped attending other official public meetings.

When Barcelona fell on January 26, 1939, and President Azaña resigned, Besteiro decided to work for peace. He wanted to stop the fighting. He contacted Colonel Segismundo Casado. On March 5, Besteiro announced the creation of the National Defence Council. This group led an uprising against the government of Juan Negrín and its allies. This uprising succeeded, but it cost nearly 2,000 lives.

Death

After Madrid fell to the Nationalists on March 28, 1939, Besteiro was arrested by Francoist forces. On July 8, he faced a military trial. He was sentenced to thirty years in prison. He was first held in a monastery prison until August 1939. Then, he was moved to the prison in Carmona. Julián Besteiro died in prison the following year.

He was buried in the Cementerio Civil of Madrid.

See also

In Spanish: Julián Besteiro para niños