Diego Hidalgo y Durán


Diego Hidalgo y Durán was a Spanish intellectual and politician, who was appointed Minister of War during the Second Spanish Republic.

Biography

Born in Los Santos de Maimona in a family of aristocratic descent, Diego Hidalgo had to make a living early as his family had no lands and his father died when he was young. After studying law, he passed the state exam to become a notary, and started supporting his mother and four siblings.
Hidalgo was a Republican. One of the drafters of the Constitutions of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, and a member of the Radical Republican Party presided by Alejandro Lerroux, Hidalgo became Minister of War in 1934. When serving as Minister, Hidalgo chose Francisco Franco as one of his advisers. Hidalgo ordered Franco to stop the asturian miners' strike of 1934. Although Franco would later reveal to different ideologically from Hidalgo, he kept affection for him, and Hidalgo was one of the only people who could speak freely with Franco.
During the Spanish civil war, Diego Hidalgo had to flee from Spain, where he was threatened both by Nationalists and Republicans. He spent most of the war in France where he married Gerda Schnur, the daughter of German industrialist David Schnur.
Back in Spain in 1938, Hidalgo continued his activities as a lawyer, notary, and writer. Notably, he saved 39 Republican political prisoners from being executed, proving their innocence. Hidalgo was also a member of the International Court of Justice.
Diego Hidalgo y Durán was the father of the Spanish intellectual and philanthropist Diego Hidalgo Schnur.

Major writings by Diego Hidalgo y Durán