The Most Excellent Luis Carrero Blanco The Duke of Carrero Blanco GE |
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Prime Minister of Spain | |
In office 9 June 1973 – 20 December 1973 |
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Leader | Francisco Franco |
Vice President | Torcuato Fernández-Miranda |
Preceded by | Francisco Franco |
Succeeded by | Torcuato Fernández-Miranda |
First Vice President of the Government | |
In office 22 July 1967 – 9 June 1973 |
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President | Francisco Franco |
Preceded by | Agustín Muñoz Grandes |
Succeeded by | Torcuato Fernández-Miranda |
Solicitor at the Cortes Generales | |
In office 16 March 1943 – 24 March 1946 |
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Nominated by | Francisco Franco |
Personal details | |
Born |
Luis Carrero Blanco 4 March 1904 Santoña, Cantabria, Spain |
Died | 20 December 1973 Madrid, Spain |
(aged 69)
Nationality | Spanish |
Political party | Movimiento Nacional |
Spouse(s) | María del Carmen Pichot y Villa (1909–1984) |
Children | 5 |
Military service | |
Allegiance |
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Service/branch |
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Years of service | 1918–1973 |
Rank | Capitán-General de la Armada (Captain-General of the Navy) |
Battles/wars |
Rif War Spanish Civil War |
Luis Carrero Blanco, 1st Duke of Carrero Blanco, Grande of Spain (4 March 1904 – 20 December 1973) was an admiral and leading Spanish politician in Francoist Spain, and long-time confidant of caudillo Francisco Franco. He was assassinated by members of the separatist terrorist group ETA on 20 December 1973.
Luis Carrero Blanco was born on 4 March 1904 in Santoña, Cantabria. He entered the Escuela Naval Militar, the Spanish naval academy, in 1918 at the age of 14 and participated in the Rif War of 1924–1926.
In 1929 he married María del Carmen Pichot y Villa (d.1984), with whom he had five children.
In July 1936, when the Spanish Civil War erupted, Carrero Blanco found himself behind the coalescing Republican line. Taking refuge in the embassy of Mexico and later that of France, he was able to sneak across the front and reach the Nationalist side in June 1937. Carrero Blanco then served in the Nationalist navy. After the Nationalist victory and subsequent installation of Generalísimo Francisco Franco as (Caudillo) of Spain, Carrero Blanco became one of his closest collaborators as well as chief of naval operations. He was said to be in opposition to Spain entering World War II on the side of the Axis powers, a notably different political position compared to some other Falangists. Carrero Blanco himself was a monarchist. Devoted to the Roman Catholic Church, he was close to Opus Dei. In 1951 he was closely involved in the production of the film Dawn of America, a patriotic work portraying Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas. Carrero worked on the screenplay of the film which received strong support from the Francoist state because of its nationalist theme.