Juan Antonio Ansaldo
| Juan Antonio Ansaldo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Juan Antonio Ansaldo y Vejarano 24 June 1901 Aretxabaleta, Gipuzkoa, Spain |
| Died | 29 April 1958 (aged 56) Ville-d'Avray, France |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Pilot |
| Employer | Spanish Air Force |
| Notable work | ¿Para que... (1951) |
| Title | Colonel |
| Political party | Acción Española, Falange |
Juan Antonio Ansaldo y Vejarano (24 June 1901–29 April 1958) was a Spanish aviator and monarchist activist and conspirator. A great admirer of Charles Maurras and Action Française, he flirted with various shades of far right politics before and during the Spanish Civil War. Although he fought on the Nationalist side Ansaldo would later fall from favour and spent the final years of his life in exile.
Born in Aretxabaleta, Gipuzkoa into a noble family - his father was the Viscount of San Enrique - Ansaldo joined the army to fight in the Rif War. He remained until 1931 and the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, retiring with the rank of major.
A member of Ramiro de Maeztu's Acción Española, Ansaldo was a devoted follower of the monarchist general José Sanjurjo. By 1932 Ansaldo's holiday home in Biarritz was playing host to various leading monarchists, and this group grew close to the Unión Militar Española, which was planning to overthrow the republican government. He was also a founder and leading member of Renovación Española, another group dedicated to restoring the monarchy in the Alfonsist tendency.
Ansaldo visited Fascist Italy the same year in an attempt to drum up support for the conspiracy,particularly from Italo Balbo, with whom he had contact. He and José Calvo Sotelo would make a return visit the following year,although neither trip produced any concrete results. However in Ansaldo's efforts in this and other areas did raise a total of 3 million pesetas to fund the conspiracy.
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