Francisco Franco

Generalissimo Francisco Franco
Franco in 1964.
Caudillo of Spain
In office 1 October 1936 – 20 November 1975
Preceded by	Miguel Cabanellas as President of the Technical State Junta of the Nationalist side José Miaja as President of the Defence Council of the Republican side
Succeeded by	Rodríguez de Valcárcel as President of the Regency Juan Carlos I as King of Spain
President of the Government of Spain
In office 30 January 1938 – 8 June 1973
Vice President	General El Conde de Jordana General Agustín Muñoz Grandes Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco
Preceded by	General El Conde de Jordana as President of the Technical State Junta of the Nationalist side José Miaja as President of the Defence Council of the Republican side
Succeeded by	Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco
Personal details
Born	Francisco Franco Bahamonde (1892-12-04)4 December 1892 Ferrol, Galicia, Spain
Died	20 November 1975(1975-11-20) (aged 82) Madrid, Spain
Resting place	Valle de los Caídos, Spain 40°38′31″N 4°09′19″W / 40.641944°N 4.155278°W / 40.641944; -4.155278
Nationality	Spanish
Political party	Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS
Spouse(s)	Carmen Polo
Children	María del Carmen
Residence	El Pardo, Madrid
Alma mater	Infantry Academy of Toledo
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain (1907–1931) Second Spanish Republic (1931–1936) Francoist Spain (1936–1975)
Service/branch	Spanish Armed Forces
Years of service	1907–1975
Rank	Chief of the General Staff
Commands	All (Generalissimo)
Battles/wars	Rif War (WIA) Spanish Civil War Ifni War

Francisco Franco Bahamonde (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈθisko ˈfɾaŋko ba.aˈmonde]); (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who ruled over Spain as a dictator for 36 years from 1939 until his death.

As a conservative and a monarchist, he opposed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic in 1931. With the 1936 elections, the conservative Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups lost by a narrow margin and the leftist Popular Front came to power. Intending to overthrow the republic, Franco followed other generals in attempting a failed coup that precipitated the Spanish Civil War. With the death of the other generals, Franco quickly became his faction's only leader. In 1947, he declared Spain a monarchy with himself as regent.

Franco gained military support from various regimes and groups, especially Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy, while the Republican side was supported by Spanish communists and anarchists as well as help from the Soviet Union, Mexico, and the International Brigades. Leaving half a million dead, the war was eventually won by Franco in 1939. He established a military dictatorship, which he defined as a totalitarian state. Franco proclaimed himself Head of State and Government under the title El Caudillo, a term similar to Il Duce (Italian) for Benito Mussolini and Der Führer (German) for Adolf Hitler. Under Franco, Spain became a one-party state, as the various conservative and royalist factions were merged into the fascist party and other political parties were outlawed.