Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia

Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia (born July 11, 1904 in San Sebastián ; † May 8, 1964 ) was a Spanish diplomat and ambassador of Francisco Franco to the English King George VI. He was 2nd Duke of Primo de Rivera and 4th Marquis de Estella .

Life

His mother was Casilda Sáenz de Heredia y Suárez de Argudín (born October 15, 1879) and his father Miguel Primo de Rivera . His sister was Pilar Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia (1907-1991) and his brother José Antonio Primo de Rivera .

On March 24, 1933, he married Margarita de Larios y Fernández de Villavicencio, the daughter of Josefa Fernández de Villavicencio y Crooke and Pablo de Larios y Sánchez de la Peña. Their marriage ended in divorce without children.

After the military coup on July 19, 1936, Rivera and his siblings were arrested and charged in Alicante. His brother José Antonio Primo de Rivera defended him and his wife in court. His brother was convicted of conspiracy on November 17, 1936 and executed on November 20, 1936.

Operation Willi

As part of Operation Willi , Rivera was commissioned in July 1940 to invite his friend Edward VIII , who was currently in Lisbon with his wife Wallis Simpson , to a hunting trip and a conversation about the Spanish-British relationship. He should tell Eduard of a MI5 conspiracy to liquidate him. Edward VIII should agree to stay in Spain. He would be supported financially and allowed to maintain his lifestyle during his stay, for which 50 million Swiss francs were allocated.

Rivera was not notified of German involvement in this project and Rivera agreed to do the job. He visited the Windsors on July 16, 1940 and presented the invitation. Edward VIII was taken with the invitation, but expressed reservations, not least because he had received urgent telegrams that he should take up his post as governor of the Bahamas immediately. Another visit by Rivera on July 22, 1940 was also fruitless.

Minister of Agriculture

Under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco , Rivera was Procurador a las Cortes Españolas from March 16, 1943 to June 6, 1964 , and a member of the Consejo Nacional del Movimiento of the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista and dated June 6, 1964 May 20, 1941 to July 20, 1945 Minister of Agriculture. On July 20, 1945 Rivera received the Grand Cross from the Order of Charles III.

Rivera was mayor of Jerez de la Frontera from 1947 to 1948 . On March 26, 1951 Franco was appointed ambassador in London .

On February 6, 1958, Rivera was recalled from his post as ambassador in London.

Web links

• Newspaper article about Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado núm. 140, de 20/05/1941, DECRETO por el que se nombra Ministro de Agricultura a don Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia. (PDF; 76 kB)
2. ↑ DECRETOS de 20 de julio de 1945: por los que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III a don José Félix de Lequerica y Erquiza, don Carlos Asensio Cabanillas, don Salvador Moreno Fernández, don Juan Vigón Suerodíaz, don Eduardo Aunós Pérez, don Demetrio Carceller Segura, don Miguel Primo de Rivera y Saenz de Heredia, don Alfonso Peña Boeuf y don Jose Luis de Arrese Magra. (PDF; 217 kB)
3. ↑ 26 March 1951, First Spanish Ambassador to Britain for five years, Don Miguel, Duke of Primo de Rivera, arrives at London Airport
4. ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado núm. 32, de 06/02/1958, Decreto por el que se dispone el de don Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia en el cargo de Embajador de España en Londres.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

predecessor	Office	successor
José Ruiz de Arana y Bauer	Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1951–1958	José Fernández-Villaverde