Serafín María de Soto
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Serafín María de Sutton (de Sotto / de Soto) y Abbach Langton Casaviella , Count (Conde ) of Clonard , Margrave (Marqués) of Granada (born October 12, 1792 in Barcelona , † February 23, 1862 in Madrid ) was a Spanish lieutenant general , Military historian , politician and President of Spain ( Presidente del Gobierno ) .
Life
Family and military career
The son of of Ireland originating Field Marshal ( Marescal de Campo ) , Raimundo de Sotto Langton , and the Italian Countess ( Marquesa ) Ramona Abbach Casaviella was later head of the House Sutton - Dudley de Clonard and thereby also leader of the Jacobites in Spain .
At the age of almost twelve he joined the Royal Guard Regiment ( Regimiento de Reales Guardias Españolas ) on April 21, 1804 as a cadet . On October 12, 1805 he was transferred to the 3rd Battalion of the Regiment in the Barcelona Garrison . As a participant in the War of Independence from 1808 to 1813, he was often under his father's command.
During the First Carlist War he was promoted to Field Marshal ( Mariscal de Campo ) in 1836 as a supporter of the regent Maria Christina of Sicily .
Rule of Isabella II, President of the Government and last years of life
On April 14, 1840 he was appointed Minister of War ( Ministro de Guerra ) in the cabinet of Evaristo Pérez de Castro Brito , to which he belonged until July 19, 1840.
After the fall of the regent Maria Christina in the revolt led by General Baldomero Espartero on October 10, 1840, he went into exile in France . Only after the fall of Espartero did he return to Spain in 1844 and was then appointed director of the military college ( Colegio General Militar ) of Toledo. In 1846 he was promoted to Lieutenant General ( Teniente General ).
For his political services he was appointed Senator for life ( Senador Vitalicio ) on December 10, 1846 .
As a representative of the conservative wing of the Partido Moderado , he became after Ramón María Narváez's dismissal by Queen Isabella II on the proposal of her husband Francisco de Asís María Fernando de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias and the Archbishop of Toledo Juan José Cardinal Bonel y Orbe appointed President of Spain ( Presidente del Gobierno ) on October 19, 1849 . At the same time he took over the office of Minister of War again.
De Soto, however, was unable to freely choose his ministers due to the influence of the queen consort and the archbishop, so the result of the formation of the government was an ultra-conservative cabinet facing the closed opposition of the Partido Progresista and public opinion. This led to a change of opinion ( Reconsideration ) of the Queen and the appointment of Narváez as early as October 20, 1849. Due to the only twenty-seven hour term of office, De Soto's cabinet went down as Gabinete Relámpago (Blitzkabinett) in Spanish government history.
Subsequently, he was first in the barracks of Jaén ordered. Shortly thereafter, he was reappointed director of the Toledo Military College. This time, however, he was resigned in this office as a private person. In this "exile", however, he soon received the order to form the Royal Commission ( Comisión Regia ), which should be the germ of the Spanish secret services and counter-espionage. During this time his nickname El Lobo solitario (The Lone Wolf) was born.
In 1853 he was first appointed vice-president of the military and marine section of the Privy Council ( Consejo Real ) before he was finally president of the section from 1854 to 1858.
Military historian
Due to his many years of military experience, he later acquired the reputation of a recognized military historian . As such he was also the author of several military history books:
- Memoria para la Historia de las tropas de la Casa Real de España , 1824 (Memories of the history of the troops of the Royal House of Spain)
- Memoria histórica de las academias militares de España , 1847 (Historical memories of the military schools of Spain)
- Historia orgánica de las armas de Infantería y Caballería españolas , 1851–1859 (Organic history of the weapons of the Spanish infantry and cavalry)
- Álbum de la Infantería española , 1861 (Album of the Spanish Infantry )
- Álbum de la Caballería española , 1861 (Album of the Spanish Cavalry )
Awards
For his military and political achievements, he received the following awards, among others:
- Grand Cross of the Order of St. Hermenegild
- Grand Cross of the Order de Isabel la Católica
- Knight of the French Legion of Honor (Cross)
Web links
- Sutton-Clonard family biography and website
- Biography on the website of the Spanish government presidents ( memento from February 3, 2008 in the Internet archive ) on la-moncloa.es (Spanish)
- The cabinets during the tenure of Isabella II. (1833–1843 - Les Regències)
- The cabinets during the term of office of Isabella II (1843–1856 - Década Moderada)
- The governments of the Kingdom of Spain from 1833 to 1868 ( Memento of February 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Biography (spanish)
Individual evidence
- ^ The Senate between 1834 and 1923 - Senators , accessed June 7, 2017.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Joaquín Francisco Pacheco Gutiérrez |
President of Spain 1847 |
Ramón María Narváez |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Soto, Serafín María de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Serafín María de Sutton y Abbach Langton Casaviella, Conde de Clonard, Marqués de Granada; Serafín María de Sutton y Abbach Langton Casaviella, Count of Clonard, Margrave of Granada; Serafín María de Sotto y Abbach Langton Casaviella; Serafín María de Soto y Abbach Langton Casaviella |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Government President of Spain, military historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 12, 1792 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Barcelona |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 23, 1862 |
| Place of death | Madrid |