Fidel Dávila Arrondo

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Dávila and the second or maternal family name is Arrondo.

Fidel Dávila Arrondo
President of the Technical State Junta
In office 3 October 1936 – 3 June 1937
Caudillo	Francisco Franco
Preceded by	Miguel Cabanellas
Succeeded by	Francisco Gómez-Jordana
Minister of National Defense of Francoist Spain
In office 31 January 1938 – 9 August 1939
Caudillo	Francisco Franco
Prime Minister	Francisco Franco
Preceded by	Indalecio Prieto (as Minister of National Defense of the Spanish Republic)
Succeeded by	Position abolished (spilt on Army, Navy and Air Force)
Minister of the Army of Spain
In office 20 July 1945 – 19 July 1951
Caudillo	Francisco Franco
Prime Minister	Francisco Franco
Preceded by	Carlos Asensio Cabanillas
Succeeded by	Agustín Muñoz Grandes
Chief of Staff of the Army of Francoist Spain
In office 2 October 1936 – 30 September 1939
Caudillo	Francisco Franco
Prime Minister	Francisco Franco
Minister of National Defense	Himself
Preceded by	Toribio Martínez Cabrera (as Chief of Staff of the Army of Spanish Republic)
Succeeded by	Carlos Martínez de Campos y Serrano
Chief of the Defence High Command of Spain
In office 5 May 1941 – 20 July 1945
Generalísimo	Francisco Franco
Prime Minister	Francisco Franco
Preceded by	Francisco Martín-Moreno
Succeeded by	Luis Orgaz Yoldi
Personal details
Born	Fidel Dávila Arrondo Gil y Arija (1878-04-24)24 April 1878 Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain
Died	22 March 1962(1962-03-22) (aged 83) Madrid, Francoist Spain (now Spain)
Political party	Falange
Profession	Military

Fidel Dávila Arrondo, 1st Marquess of Dávila (24 April 1878 – 22 March 1962) was a Spanish Army officer during the Spanish Civil War.

Born in Barcelona, as an infantry officer, he fought in Cuba during the Spanish–American War and received the Cruz del Mérito Militar. He later entered the General Staff of the Army. He was then promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned to Spanish Morocco. In 1929 he was promoted to brigadier general and was assigned to the VII Military district.

During the military reforms of Prime Minister Manuel Azaña, he solicited permission to go into the reserves and settled down in Burgos, from where he participated in the military conspiracy to overthrow the Popular Front government. On the night of the July 18–19, 1936 he seized the civil government of Burgos. He was a member of the Junta de Defensa Nacional and president of the Junta Técnica del Estado, the core of the future national government, as well as chief of staff of the Army. He participated in the War in the North resulting in the conquest of Biscay, Cantabria, and Asturias.

He was named minister of National Defense in the first government of Francisco Franco (February 1938), at the same time he was promoted to lieutenant general. He organized the Aragon Offensive campaign to isolate Catalonia and participated in the campaign of the Maestrazgo, the Battle of the Ebro and the Catalonia Offensive resulting in the final conquest of that region. In August 1939 he received the post of captain-general of the II Military district and the headquarters of the general staff. In July 1945 he was designated minister of the Army and in 1949 he was named head of the government. In 1951 he was part of the Council of the Kingdom and president of the Geographic Superior Council. He died in Madrid in 1962.

External links

• Media related to Fidel Dávila Arrondo at Wikimedia Commons