José Sanjurjo
José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (Spanish: [saŋˈxuɾxo]; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936) was a Spanish general who was one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 coup d'état that started the Spanish Civil War.
José Sanjurjo | |
|---|---|
Sanjurjo c. 1928–1932 | |
| Nickname(s) | "El León del Rif" (The Lion of the Rif) |
| Born | 28 March 1872 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain |
| Died | 20 July 1936 (aged 64) Cascais, Portugal |
| Buried | Panteón de Regulares número 2, Cementerio Municipal de la Purísima Concepción, Melilla, Spain 35.300667°N 2.939141°W |
| Allegiance |
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| Service/ | Spanish Army |
| Years of service | 1896–1932 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars | Cuban War of Independence Spanish–American War Rif War (1909) Rif War (1920) Spanish Civil War |
| Awards | Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Order of Charles III |
He was endowed the nobiliary title of "Marquis of the Rif" in 1927.
A monarchist opponent of the Second Spanish Republic proclaimed in 1931, he led a coup d'état known as la Sanjurjada in August 1932. The authorities easily suppressed the coup and initially condemned Sanjurjo to death, then later commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. The government of Alejandro Lerroux – formed after the 1933 general election – eventually amnestied him in 1934.
He took part, from his self-exile in Portugal, in the military plot for the 1936 coup d'état. Following the coup, Sanjurjo, expected by some to become the commander-in-chief of the Nationalist faction, died in an air crash on the third day of the war, when travelling back to Spain. He had chosen to fly in a small, overloaded plane, because the pilot was a friend of his. Sabotage was suspected, but never proven.