This article lists the directors general of the Civil Guard, the national gendarmerie and a law enforcement agency of Spain.
| Director General of the Civil Guard | |
|---|---|
| Director General de la Guardia Civil | |
 Emblem of the Civil Guard | |
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| Ministry of the Interior Secretariat of State for Security Civil Guard | |
| Style | The Most Excellent (formal) Mr. Director General (informal) |
| Abbreviation | DGC |
| Reports to | The Secretary of State for Security |
| Nominator | The Minister of the Interior |
| Appointer | The King |
| Formation | 2 September 1844 |
| First holder | Francisco Javier Girón |
| Deputy | Deputy Director of Operations Lt. Gen. Ángel Gozalo Martín |
| Website | Civil Guard website |
The Director General is the official of the Ministry of the Interior who commands the Civil Guard, and heads the Directorate-General of the Civil Guard.
List
edit| Name | Appointed | Dismissed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Javier Girón | 2 September 1844 | 10 July 1854 | 1st term. |
| Antonio María Alós | 18 July 1854 | 1 August 1854 | |
| Facundo Infante Chaves | 1 August 1854 | 19 July 1856 | |
| José MacCrohon y Blake | 1 September 1856 | 12 October 1856 | |
| Francisco Javier Girón | 12 October 1856 | 1 July 1858 | 2nd term. |
| Isidoro de Hoyos y Rubín de Celis | 2 July 1858 | 21 November 1863 | 1st term. |
| Ángel García-Loygorri y García de Tejada | 29 September 1864 | 25 June 1865 | |
| Isidoro de Hoyos y Rubín de Celis | 25 June 1865 | 28 December 1865 | 2nd term. |
| Francisco Serrano Bedoya | 28 December 1865 | 11 July 1866 | 1st term. |
| Rafael Acedo Rico y Amat | 11 July 1866 | 11 March 1867 | |
| José Antonio Turón y Prats | 11 March 1867 | 16 September 1868 | 1st term. |
| Anselmo Blaser y San Martín | 16 September 1868 | 26 September 1868 | Glorious Revolution. |
| Juan Antonio de Zaratiegui y Zeliqueta | 26 September 1868 | 25 October 1868 | |
| Francisco Serrano Bedoya | 25 October 1868 | 18 June 1872 | 2nd term. |
| Cándido Pieltain y Jove-Huergo | 19 June 1872 | 26 March 1873 | Proclamation of the First Spanish Republic (11 February 1873). |
| Mariano Socías del Fangar y Lledó | 5 July 1873 | 19 September 1873 | |
| Juan Acosta Muñoz | 19 September 1873 | 10 October 1873 | |
| Segundo de la Portilla Gutiérrez | 10 October 1873 | 18 January 1874 | |
| José Antonio Turón y Prats | 18 January 1874 | 28 September 1874 | 2nd term. |
| Fernando Cotoner y Chacón | 28 September 1874 | 21 January 1882 | Restoration of the monarchy (29 December 1874). |
| Tomás García-Cervino y López de Sigüenza | 23 January 1882 | 5 November 1883 | 1st term. |
| Agustín de Burgos y Llamas | 5 November 1883 | 26 April 1884 | |
| Ramón Fajardo Izquierdo | 26 April 1884 | 4 August 1884 | |
| Remigio Moltó y Díaz-Berrio | 6 August 1884 | 9 December 1885 | |
| Tomás García-Cervino y López-Sigüenza | 9 December 1885 | 3 December 1887 | 2nd term. |
| José Chinchilla y Díez de Oñate | 13 January 1888 | 11 December 1888 | 1st term. |
| Thomás O'Ryan y Vázquez | 11 December 1888 | 13 November 1890 | |
| Luis Dabán y Ramírez de Arellano | 14 November 1890 | 22 January 1892 | |
| Romualdo Palacio González | 30 January 1892 | 8 February 1899 | |
| José Chinchilla y Díez de Oñate | 8 February 1899 | 2 March 1899 | 2nd term. |
| Antonio Dabán y Ramírez de Arellano | 16 March 1899 | 27 July 1901 | |
| Federico Ochando | 27 July 1901 | 30 August 1902 | |
| Luis de Pando y Sánchez | 30 August 1902 | 13 July 1903 | |
| Camilo García de Polavieja | 13 July 1903 | 23 November 1903 | |
| Arsenio Linares y Pombo | 23 November 1903 | 6 December 1903 | |
| Vicente Martitegui | 7 December 1903 | 28 January 1905 | 1st term. |
| Joaquín Sánchez Gómez | 28 January 1905 | 25 August 1910 | |
| Vicente Martitegui | 25 August 1910 | 25 January 1912 | 2nd term. |
| Ángel Aznar y Butigieg | 31 January 1912 | 3 March 1913 | |
| Ramón Echagüe y Méndez Vigo | 3 March 1913 | 30 October 1913 | |
| Agustín de Luque y Coca | 30 October 1913 | 10 December 1915 | 1st term. |
| Enrique de Orozco | 10 December 1915 | 23 July 1916 | |
| Antonio Tovar y Marcoleta | 23 July 1916 | 20 April 1917 | |
| Agustín de Luque y Coca | 20 April 1917 | 26 June 1917 | 2nd term |
| Salvador Arizón y Sánchez Fano | 26 June 1917 | 6 December 1918 | |
| Juan Zubia y Bassecourt | 6 December 1918 | 26 March 1925 | |
| Ricardo Burguete Lana | 27 March 1925 | 3 November 1928 | |
| José Sanjurjo | 3 November 1928 | 3 February 1932 | Proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic (14 April 1931). |
| Miguel Cabanellas | 3 February 1932 | 15 August 1932 | 1st term. |
| Cecilio Bedia de la Cavallería | 15 August 1932 | 15 February 1935 | Asturian miners' strike of 1934. |
| Miguel Cabanellas | 15 February 1935 | 7 January 1936 | 2nd term. |
| Sebastián Pozas Perea | 7 January 1936 | 24 July 1936 | Remained loyal to the Republic following the Spanish coup of July 1936. |
| Spanish Civil War[n. 1] | |||
| Eliseo Álvarez-Arenas Romero | 6 September 1939 | 13 April 1942 | Integration of the Carabineros into the Civil Guard (1940).[4] |
| Enrique Cánovas Lacruz | 13 April 1942 | 1 July 1943 | |
| Camilo Alonso Vega | 24 July 1943 | 30 May 1955 | Longest-serving Director General of the Civil Guard. |
| Pablo Martín Alonso | 30 June 1955 | 8 February 1957 | |
| Eduardo Sáenz de Buruaga | 8 February 1957 | 23 April 1959 | |
| Antonio Alcubilla Pérez | 23 April 1959 | 7 December 1962 | Creation of the Traffic Grouping (1959).[5] |
| Luis Zanón Aldalur | 10 December 1962 | 31 December 1965 | |
| Ángel Ramírez de Cartagena y Marcaida | 14 January 1966 | 21 September 1967 | |
| Antonio Cores Fernández de Cañete | 6 October 1967 | 22 January 1969 | |
| Luis Díez-Alegría | 7 March 1969 | 13 January 1972 | |
| Carlos Iniesta Cano | 21 January 1972 | 13 May 1974 | Assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco (20 December 1973). |
| José Vega Rodríguez | 17 May 1974 | 10 October 1975 | |
| Ángel Campano López | 10 October 1975 | 23 December 1976 | Death of Caudillo Francisco Franco (20 November 1975) and the Montejurra massacre (9 May 1976). |
| Antonio Ibáñez Freire | 23 December 1976 | 2 May 1978 | 1977 Atocha massacre. |
| Carlos Oliete Sánchez | 2 May 1978 | 2 July 1979 | |
| Pedro Fontenla Fernández | 2 July 1979 | 19 April 1980 | |
| José Luis Aramburu Topete | 24 April 1980 | 26 October 1983 | 1981 coup attempt (23F), led by Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero of the Civil Guard. |
| José Antonio Sáenz de Santa María | 2 November 1983 | 3 October 1986 | |
| Luis Roldán | 31 October 1986 | 3 December 1993 | |
| Ferrán Cardenal de Alemany | 3 December 1993 | 7 May 1996 | |
| Santiago López Valdivielso | 7 May 1996 | 30 April 2004 | 2004 Madrid train bombings. |
| Carlos Gómez Arruche | 30 April 2004 | 28 April 2006 | |
| Joan Mesquida Ferrando | 28 April 2006 | 21 April 2008 | Unified command of the National Police Corps and the Civil Guard. Simultaneously served as the Director General of the Police. |
| Francisco Javier Velázquez | 21 April 2008 | 31 December 2011 | |
| Arsenio Fernández de Mesa | 3 January 2012 | 18 November 2016 | |
| José Manuel Holgado Merino | 18 November 2016 | 29 June 2018 | 2017 Barcelona attacks and the 2017–2018 constitutional crisis. |
| Félix Vicente Azón Vilas | 29 June 2018 | 18 January 2020 | |
| María Gámez Gámez | 18 January 2020 | 28 March 2023 | First woman to hold this office. |
| Mercedes González Fernández | 28 March 2023 | Incumbent | |
Notes
edit- ^ During the Spanish Civil War, the leadership of the Civil Guard was split between the warring factions. Within the Republican faction, General José Sanjurjo y Rodríguez de Arias assumed the leadership, until the reconstitution of the body into the National Republican Guard. Within the Nationalist faction, General Federico de la Cruz Boullosa temporarily assumed the position of Inspector General,[1] being succeeded by generals Marcial Barro García (1936–1937),[2] Ricardo Serrador Santés (1937) and Emilio Fernández Pérez (1937–1939).[3]
References
edit- ^ Cabanellas 1977, p. 207.
- ^ Clemente 1995, p. 47.
- ^ Orella 2001, p. 142.
- ^ Clark 1950, p. 257.
- ^ Silva Amador 2010, p. 104.
Bibliography
edit- Cabanellas, Guillermo (1977). Cuatro generales: La Lucha por el poder [Four Generals: The Struggle for Power] (in Spanish). Vol. III. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta.
- Clark, Clyde L. (1950). The evolution of the Franco regime. Appendix: significant legislation in the evolution of the Franco regime. US State Department.
- Clemente, Mariano (1995). Ejército y conflictos civiles en la España contemporánea [Army and civil conflicts in contemporary Spain] (in Spanish). Ediciones Fundamentos.
- Silva Amador, Lorenzo (2010). Sereno en el peligro: La aventura histórica de la Guardia Civil [Serene in danger: The historical adventure of the Civil Guard] (in Spanish). Madrid: Edaf. ISBN 978-84-414-2643-6.
- Orella, José Luis (2001). La formación del Estado nacional durante la Guerra civil española [The formation of the national state during the Spanish Civil War] (in Spanish). Actas.