Agustín Aznar

Agustín Aznar Gerner
Agustín Aznar during his spell at the Blue Division (1941–1943)
Born	Agustín Aznar Gerner 18 August 1911
Died	2 May 1984(1984-05-02) (aged 72)
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	Medical doctor
Known for	Politician
Political party	Falange

Agustín Aznar Gerner (18 August 1911 – 2 May 1984) was a Spanish medical doctor, political activist with the Falange and a leading figure during the Spanish Civil War. Aznar was part of a radical element within the followers of Francisco Franco and at times represented a challenge to his leadership.

The son of the academic Severino Aznar Embid, Aznar studied medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid, where his father was a sociology lecturer. He specialised in haematology and would ultimately serve as Chief Professor of the Central Laboratory and the Haematological Service.

Aznar's political involvement also began in his student days and in 1935 he was the founder and leader of the Falangist student union, the Sindicato Español Universitario. Known as a burly adventurer who held the Greco-Roman wrestling title in Castille, he was appointed chief of the Madrid section of the Falange militia and took part in several bloody street-fights with leftist opponents. With the Falange outlawed in March 1936, Aznar began the civil war in prison but was quickly released when Nationalists took charge of the area.

At the beginning of the civil war Aznar was appointed jefe of the national militias in succession to Luis Aguilar who had been killed. In this role he was close to Hans Joachim von Knobloch, the German consul in Alicante and in 1936 the two co-operated in a scheme to secure the release of the captured Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera through bribery. The plan failed and Aznar narrowly escaped capture himself, although the scheme was typical of his adventuring reputation. He also campaigned vigorously to prevent the incorporation of the Falangist militias into a proposed united Nationalist force under Juan Yagüe, being suspicious of the Carlism of Yagüe and the other generals.

Following the execution of Primo de Rivera, Aznar became one of the leading figures within a power struggle in the Falange. Along with Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis he formed the leadership of a group known as the legitimistas who were opposed to the leadership of Primo de Rivera's chosen successor Manuel Hedilla. In an attempt to secure his position Hedilla organised an extraordinary meeting of the Falange, although trouble was promised as both he and Aznar organised their own militias in the run up to the meeting. It was Aznar who struck first, using his militia to seize to depose Hedilla on April 16, 1937 and instead placing at the head of the Falange a triumvirate made up of himself, Sancho Dávila and their ally José Moreno.