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Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra
February 5, 1875(1875-02-05) – March 9, 1951 (aged 76)
Place of birth	Tordesillas, Castilla y León, Spain
Place of death	Seville, Andalucia, Spain
Resting place	La Macarena Basilica, Seville, Andalucia, Spain (37°24′09″N 5°59′22″W / 37.402525°N 5.989407°W / 37.402525; -5.989407)
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain (-1931) Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936) Nationalist Spain (1936-)
Service/branch	Spanish Army
Rank	Captain General
Commands held	Nationalist Army of the South
Battles/wars	Spanish-American War Rif War Spanish Civil War
Awards	Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Order of Military Merit

Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra, 1st Marquess of Queipo de Llano^[1] (February 5, 1875 – March 9, 1951) was a Spanish Army Officer who fought for the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War.

He was born in Tordesillas, Spain, in the family of the Counts of Toreno, and of José María Queipo de Llano Ruiz de Saravia, 7th Count of Toreno, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain and Prime Minister of Spain, and Francisco de Borja Queipo de Llano y Gayoso de los Cobos, 8th Count of Toreno, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain and Mayor of Madrid. Educated at a seminary, he ran away and enlisted in the Spanish Army as a gunner. He later entered the Royal Cavalry Academy of Valladolid as a cadet, fought in Cuba (during the Spanish-American War) and then in the Rif War as a cavalry officer.

On 4 October 1901 he married Genoveva Martí y Tovar, by whom he had two children.

[edit] Military career

Queipo de Llano attained the rank of brigadier general in 1923. He was highly critical of the Spanish Army, and his opposition to the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera led to him being relieved of his command and imprisoned. He was released from prison in 1926, but his continued criticism of the government led to his dismissal from the army in 1928. Two years later, Queipo de Llano became the head of the Republican Military Association and collaborated with the National Revolutionary Committee, a group plotting to overthrow King Alfonso XIII. The failure of the revolt forced Queipo de Llano to flee to Portugal.

When Alfonso XIII left Spain in April 1931, Queipo de Llano returned to Spain and was given the post of commander of the 1st Military District in Madrid. He was later appointed head of the military house of Second Spanish Republic President Niceto Alcalá-Zamora (they were in-laws, Queipo's daughter was married to one of Alcalá-Zamora's sons).

Queipo de Llano initially supported the Popular Front, and served as chief of a main directorate of the customs officers from 1934-1936. However, he was critical of some Popular Front policies, including agrarian reforms that penalized the landed aristocracy, the outlawing of the Falange Española, and the granting of political and administrative autonomy to Catalonia (see Spanish Revolution).

When Alcalá-Zamora was ousted as President on May 10, 1936 and replaced by the left-wing Manuel Azaña, Queipo de Llano, along with Generals Emilio Mola, Francisco Franco, and José Sanjurjo, started plotting to overthrow the Popular Front government. He was a leading member of the conspiracy group and used to say with pride that his sports convertible car had covered 20,000 miles in plotting the July 17 1936 military revolt that led to the Spanish Civil War.^[2]

Queipo de Llano's role in capture of Seville in the early stages of the war has achieved almost mythical status. Initially, he claimed that he had seized control of the city with only 200 men (later claiming in a radio interview that he had done so with only 15 soldiers). This account of military brilliance became the accepted version of events. Recent research by the historian Paul Preston, however, has shown that the successful capture of Seville was the result of careful planning and the use of at least 4,000 nationalist troops.^[3]

Appointed commander of the Nationalist Army of the South, General Queipo de Llano's forces launched an attack on Málaga on January 17, 1937, and the city succumbed to the Nationalists on February 8.^[4] He also carried out propaganda broadcasts during the war.^[5]

Red soldiers, lower you arms. The Caudillo forgives and redeems. Follow the example of those comrades before you who have joined our ranks. Only like that will you achieve victory. Happiness in your homes and peace in your souls.

—Queipo de Llano's radio address on Radio Sevilla to Republican soldiers in Seville

He was very eager to organise forced labour in the Francoist regions and restart the agricultural production in Andalusia with cheap exports to Europe becoming an important economic factor of the regime.^[6]

After the fall of the Republic, he was promoted to lieutenant general. Franco sent him as head of the Spanish Mission to Italy,^[7] and he later served as the commander of Seville's military district. His relations with Franco were poor on the whole. He did not like Franco and he hated the King, he was actually a Republican, but never questioned the leadership of the junta. Queipo de Llano died at his country estate near Seville.

His issue were:

• Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Martí, 2nd Marquess of Queipo de Llano (Madrid, 26 May 1912 -), married to María de los Angeles Mencos y Armero (Sevilla, 25 September 1920 -), daughter of Alberto Mencos y Sánjuan, 8th Count of el Fresno and of la Fuente (Sevilla, 11 December 1879 - ?) and wife (m. Sevilla, 8 December 1914) María de la Concepción Armero Castrillo of the Marquesses of el Nervión, by whom he had three children:
  • Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Mencos (b. Sevilla, 14 July 1951)
  • Alberto Queipo de Llano y Mencos (b. Sevilla, 27 January 1953)
  • María de los Angeles Queipo de Llano y Mencos (b. Sevilla, 16 January 1954)
• Ernestina Queipo de Llano y Martí, married to Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Castillo (1906 - 1985), ironically the son of one of his father's old political adversaries Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres, 122nd Prime Minister of Spain and President of Spain, and wife ... del Castillo, and had issue

[edit] Notes