Carlos Romero Giménez | |
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Colonel Carlos Romero Giménez
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Born |
Madrid, Kingdom of Spain |
7 November 1890
Died | 11 September 1978 Mexico City |
(aged 87)
Buried | ashes spread half in Mexico and half in Puente de los Franceses (Madrid), Spain |
Allegiance |
Kingdom of Spain (1908–1931) Spanish Republic (1931–1939) French Resistance |
Service/branch |
Spanish Army Spanish Republican Army |
Years of service | 1908–1939 |
Rank | Colonel |
Commands held | 4.ª Brigada Mixta, 6.ª División II Cuerpo del Ejército XIII Cuerpo del Ejército |
Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Medal of Courage |
Other work | Human rights advocate, Writer |
Carlos Romero Giménez, sometimes misspelled Jiménez, (7 November 1890 – 11 September 1978) was a Spanish soldier loyal to the Spanish Republic, and one of the most prominent figures in the Siege of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. Subsequently, a member of the French Resistance, he fought the Nazi occupation from Bordeaux as part of the Maquis. He was President of the .
He was born in Madrid, at 5 Carrera de San Francisco Street. His father was Colonel Manuel Romero Salas, who was from an Andalusian family from Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz. His mother was María Giménez Nuñez. He joined the Spanish army on 2 December 1908. He participated in the Rif War, and received numerous awards, including the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand.
Prior to the Insurrection of Jaca, he was detained as a result of his participation in the uprising of Madrid in favor of the Republic and against the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. He spent two years in military prisons under a request for death penalty. He was released thanks to an amnesty granted by General Dámaso Berenguer, and was later assigned to a Regiment stationed in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, where he remained until 14 April 1931. As soon as the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed, Romero returned to Madrid to work on policy with the new government.
Romero retired from the Army under the Azaña Law, and served as Commercial Attaché for Spain in Portugal between 1931 and 1932. As attaché, and subsequently back in Spain, he helped Portuguese people persecuted by the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar.