Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde rose through the Spanish Army as a colonial officer in Morocco, becoming the youngest general in Europe in 1926. His military reputation made him the natural leader of the July 1936 uprising against the Spanish Republic, and he consolidated supreme command of the Nationalist forces by September 1936. Victory in the Civil War in April 1939, secured with decisive German and Italian assistance, made him the undisputed dictator of Spain. He branded his regime a 'crusade' against communism and atheism, aligning it ideologically with the Axis while keeping Spain formally non-belligerent in the Second World War — a careful neutrality that preserved his regime from Allied retribution and allowed him to rule until his death on 20 November 1975. In the late 1950s he permitted limited economic liberalisation that transformed Spain from a backward agrarian economy; before his death he designated the Bourbon prince Juan Carlos as his successor, who rapidly dismantled the dictatorship and restored democracy.
- Lived: 1892 CE – 1975 CE
- Nationality: Spanish
- Roles: general, dictator, head of state
