Gamero first entered politics whilst attending the University of Seville where he was leader of the student movement.[1] Initially a member of the monarchistAcción Española he joined the Falange in July 1936 and was soon appointed Civil Governor of Seville.[1] He was involved in talks with Carlists leaders in Lisbon in 1937 over merging with the Falange but the contacts failed because of his endorsement of Don Juan de Borbon as rightful heir to the throne of Spain, although subsequently Franco merged the two movements by decree.[2] Following the establishment of the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista later that same year Gamero was appointed to its Junta Politica, confirming his status as the rising star of the movement.[1] In the final days of the civil war he served with the Spanish Navy.[1]
Government roleedit
After the civil war Gamero was taken under the wing of Ramón Serrano Súñer and became his protégé.[3] In 1939 he became the youngest minister in Franco's post-war government, serving as Minister without Portfolio and vice-general secretary of the Movement from 1939.[1] He was even acting General Secretary for a spell in 1940.[4] However Gamero was no Francisco Franco loyalist and his ambitions for Serrano Súñer led to problems for him. He consulted in January 1941 with Hans Lazar, the press secretary of the German Embassy and told him that a Serrano Súñer government would commit to the Axis powers and thus asked for him to arrange for the Nazis to publicly back his mentor.[5] Nevertheless, Gamero was a committed Catholic, who beneath a pro-German exterior was alienated by what he saw as the godless nature of the Nazi vision, and offered discreet support to British efforts to keep Spain out of the war through contacts at the British embassy in Madrid.[6] After growing differences with Franco, Gamero became the first minister to offer his resignation in public in March 1941. However, Franco did not accept the resignation until May as part of a cabinet reshuffle.[7] In July 1943, Gamero, along with various members of the Cortes and several senior army officers, called upon Franco to prepare for the post-Second World War era by restoring the monarchy under Don Juan.[2] Fearing the growing influence of Nazi agents Franco acted and in May 1941 Gamero was deprived of his position, along with a number of pro-Nazis such as Dionisio Ridruejo and Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis.[8] Increasingly becoming noted for cronyism and financial corruption, Gamero was finally removed from his seat on the Council of State in 1943 after publicly calling for the restoration of the monarchy.[1] He remained a member of the Consejo de Estado, the Council of State, having gained admission through academic merit as a jurist.[2]
Later yearsedit
Deprived of his government office Gamero was part of a 1944 monarchist plot to overthrow Franco.[3] whilst he was also closely involved in the machinations of monarchist General Alfredo Kindelán.[1] By then Gamero was convinced the future of Spain lay in a constitutional monarchy. From 1946 onwards he worked on ideas for a new constitution and became part of the council of wise man advising Don Juan living in exile at Estoril in Portugal.[2] Devoting himself to business, he was on the board or helping to run a number of major Spanish companies covering banking,(vice-president of Banco Hispano-Americano, property (Vallehermoso) and shipbuilding (Astilleros Espanoles), and latterly became a founding shareholder in El Pais, the new newspaper that played a fundamental role in the transition to democracy.[2]
pedro, gamero, castillo, november, 1910, seville, december, 1984, madrid, spanish, politician, figure, spanish, civil, born, 1910, november, 1910sevilledieddecember, 1984, 1984, aged, madridnationalityspanishalma, materuniversity, sevilleoccupationbusinessmank. Pedro Gamero del Castillo 20 November 1910 in Seville 9 December 1984 in Madrid was a Spanish politician and figure in the Spanish Civil War Pedro Gamero del CastilloBornPedro Gamero del Castillo 1910 11 20 November 20 1910SevilleDiedDecember 9 1984 1984 12 09 aged 74 MadridNationalitySpanishAlma materUniversity of SevilleOccupationBusinessmanKnown forPoliticianPolitical partyFalange Contents 1 Early years 2 Government role 3 Later years 4 ReferencesEarly years editGamero first entered politics whilst attending the University of Seville where he was leader of the student movement 1 Initially a member of the monarchist Accion Espanola he joined the Falange in July 1936 and was soon appointed Civil Governor of Seville 1 He was involved in talks with Carlists leaders in Lisbon in 1937 over merging with the Falange but the contacts failed because of his endorsement of Don Juan de Borbon as rightful heir to the throne of Spain although subsequently Franco merged the two movements by decree 2 Following the establishment of the Falange Espanola Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista later that same year Gamero was appointed to its Junta Politica confirming his status as the rising star of the movement 1 In the final days of the civil war he served with the Spanish Navy 1 Government role editAfter the civil war Gamero was taken under the wing of Ramon Serrano Suner and became his protege 3 In 1939 he became the youngest minister in Franco s post war government serving as Minister without Portfolio and vice general secretary of the Movement from 1939 1 He was even acting General Secretary for a spell in 1940 4 However Gamero was no Francisco Franco loyalist and his ambitions for Serrano Suner led to problems for him He consulted in January 1941 with Hans Lazar the press secretary of the German Embassy and told him that a Serrano Suner government would commit to the Axis powers and thus asked for him to arrange for the Nazis to publicly back his mentor 5 Nevertheless Gamero was a committed Catholic who beneath a pro German exterior was alienated by what he saw as the godless nature of the Nazi vision and offered discreet support to British efforts to keep Spain out of the war through contacts at the British embassy in Madrid 6 After growing differences with Franco Gamero became the first minister to offer his resignation in public in March 1941 However Franco did not accept the resignation until May as part of a cabinet reshuffle 7 In July 1943 Gamero along with various members of the Cortes and several senior army officers called upon Franco to prepare for the post Second World War era by restoring the monarchy under Don Juan 2 Fearing the growing influence of Nazi agents Franco acted and in May 1941 Gamero was deprived of his position along with a number of pro Nazis such as Dionisio Ridruejo and Sancho Davila y Fernandez de Celis 8 Increasingly becoming noted for cronyism and financial corruption Gamero was finally removed from his seat on the Council of State in 1943 after publicly calling for the restoration of the monarchy 1 He remained a member of the Consejo de Estado the Council of State having gained admission through academic merit as a jurist 2 Later years editDeprived of his government office Gamero was part of a 1944 monarchist plot to overthrow Franco 3 whilst he was also closely involved in the machinations of monarchist General Alfredo Kindelan 1 By then Gamero was convinced the future of Spain lay in a constitutional monarchy From 1946 onwards he worked on ideas for a new constitution and became part of the council of wise man advising Don Juan living in exile at Estoril in Portugal 2 Devoting himself to business he was on the board or helping to run a number of major Spanish companies covering banking vice president of Banco Hispano Americano property Vallehermoso and shipbuilding Astilleros Espanoles and latterly became a founding shareholder in El Pais the new newspaper that played a fundamental role in the transition to democracy 2 References edit a b c d e f g Philip Rees Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 1990 p 145 a b c d e Gamero del Castillo archive Real Academia de la Historia Madrid a b E de Blaye Franco and the Politics of Spain Penguin Books 1976 p 159 Paul Preston Franco London 1995 p 258 Paul Preston Franco London 1995 p 415 Jimmy Burns Papa Spy London 2009 pp 115 116 Manuel del Arco Los 90 Ministros de Franco Madrid 1971 Preston Franco p 435 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pedro Gamero del Castillo amp oldid 1163420076, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
