Ministry of the Army (Redirected from Ministry of War of Japan)

Ministry of the Army
Spanish: Ministerio del Ejército

Palace of Buenavista [es], formerly the site of the army ministry
Agency overview
Formed9 August 1939; 84 years ago (1939-08-09)
Preceding
  • Ministry of National Defense
Dissolved4 July 1977; 46 years ago (1977-07-04)
Superseding agency
JurisdictionSpanish Army
HeadquartersPalace of Buenavista [es]
Ministers responsible

The Ministry of the Army (Spanish: Ministerio del Ejército) was a government department of Spain that was tasked with oversight of the Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra) during the Francoist regime.

The ministry was created on 8 August 1939, after the end of the Spanish Civil War. It was dissolved on 4 July 1977 by the Royal Decree 1558/77, being merged with the Ministry of Defence as part of the transition to democracy.

History

The Ministry of the Army originated in the Ministry of War [es], which existed from the 19th century to the Second Spanish Republic, coinciding with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and the reorganization of the governmental structure. When the first government of Francisco Franco was formed in 1938, the Ministry of National Defense was established under the then commander of the Army of the North [es], Fidel Dávila Arrondo. The three branches of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) were grouped under its control. It was disestablished on 8 August 1939, after the end of the Civil War, when the ministries of Army, Navy and Air were created in the second government of Francisco Franco. On 22 September the organic structure of the new ministerial department was organized.

Over the years, the Ministry became a bureaucratic giant, practically closed to society and the country that were progressively evolving. The Ministry became a slow organism, without even a standardized and unified administrative criterion due to the internal contradictions of its different departments and the multiple competencies that each of them had. The administrative inefficiency reached the point that sometimes the departments of the Ministry encountered problems in coordinating the Military Regions of Spain with each other. Thus, the Ministry became the exponent of a bureaucratic office where it was possible to obtain a position or administrative charges depending on the services provided to the regime, or to the rampant nepotism that prevailed within the Army.

The Ministry was abolished by the Royal Decree 1558/77 of 4 July 1977, when Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez created the Ministry of Defence as part of his second government (formed following the 1977 general election), which integrated the ministries of the Army, Navy and Air Force during the transition to democracy.

Organic structure

On 22 September 1939 the structure of the Ministry was organized, being composed of the following departments:

  • General Staff of the Army
  • General Secretariat
  • General Directorates: Military Education, Recruitment and Personnel, Industry and Material, Transportation
  • General Inspection of Fortifications
  • Directorate-General of the Civil Guard and Carabineros
  • Superior Council of the Army
  • Supreme Council of Military Justice [es]

The new Supreme Council of Military Justice regained functions and powers of the former Supreme Council of War and Navy, disappeared during the Second Republic following the military reform [es] of Manuel Azaña (Azaña Law). The powers of this tribunal were not limited only to the Army, but also the Navy and the Air Force. In addition, it implied the full restoration of the Code of Military Justice of 1890.

In the case of the Civil Guard, it was subject to the Ministry of the Army "in everything related to its organization, discipline, armament and personnel", but also depended in other areas of the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Finance. The Carabineros were integrated into the Civil Guard in 1940 and disappeared, while the new Armed Police Corps, created in 1941, was also subject to the Army in some areas.

List of ministers

No. Portrait Minister Took office Left office Time in office Party Cabinet Ref.
1
José Enrique Varela
Varela, José EnriqueLieutenant General
José Enrique Varela
(1891–1951)
9 August 19393 September 19423 years, 25 daysMilitaryFranco II
2
Carlos Asensio Cabanillas
Cabanillas, Carlos AsensioLieutenant General
Carlos Asensio Cabanillas
(1896–1970)
3 September 194220 July 19452 years, 320 daysMilitaryFranco II
3
Fidel Dávila Arrondo
Arrondo, Fidel DávilaLieutenant General
Fidel Dávila Arrondo
(1878–1962)
20 July 194519 July 19515 years, 364 daysMilitaryFranco III
4
Agustín Muñoz Grandes
Grandes, Agustín MuñozLieutenant General
Agustín Muñoz Grandes
(1896–1970)
19 July 195125 February 19575 years, 221 daysMilitaryFranco IV
5
Antonio Barroso Sánchez-Guerra
Sánchez-Guerra, Antonio BarrosoLieutenant General
Antonio Barroso Sánchez-Guerra
(1893–1982)
25 February 195711 July 19625 years, 136 daysMilitaryFranco V
6
Pablo Martín Alonso
Alonso, Pablo MartínLieutenant General
Pablo Martín Alonso
(1896–1964)
11 July 196211 February 1964 †1 year, 215 daysMilitaryFranco VI
Pedro Nieto Antúnez
Antúnez, Pedro NietoAdmiral
Pedro Nieto Antúnez
(1898–1978)
Acting
Minister of the Navy
11 February 196425 February 196414 daysMilitaryFranco VI
7
Camilo Menéndez Tolosa
Tolosa, Camilo MenéndezGeneral
Camilo Menéndez Tolosa
(1899–1971)
25 February 196430 October 19695 years, 247 daysMilitaryFranco VIVII
8
Juan Castañón de Mena
Castañón de Mena, JuanLieutenant General
Juan Castañón de Mena
(1903–1982)
30 October 19699 June 19733 years, 222 daysMilitaryFranco VIII
9
Francisco Coloma Gallegos
Gallegos, Francisco ColomaGeneral
Francisco Coloma Gallegos
(1912–1993)
12 June 197312 December 19752 years, 183 daysMilitaryCarrero Blanco
Arias Navarro I
10
Félix Álvarez-Arenas
Álvarez-Arenas, FélixLieutenant General
Félix Álvarez-Arenas
(1913–1992)
12 December 19755 July 19771 year, 205 daysMilitaryArias Navarro II
Suárez I

Notes

  1. ^ Dismissed in the aftermath of the Begoña Bombing.

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-11-18 18:07 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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