Spanish politician and writer
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Moret
and the second or maternal family name is
Prendergast
.
Segismundo Moret y Prendergast
(2 June 1833 ? 28 January 1913) was a Spanish politician and writer. He was the
prime minister of Spain
on three occasions and the
president of the Congress of Deputies
on two occasions.
Biography
[
edit
]
Moret was born in
Cadiz
on 2 June 1833. His mother's family, the
Prendergasts
, were of
Irish
descent. He studied at the
Universidad Central
in
Madrid
, where, in 1858, he became professor of political economy while he continued his studies in jurisprudence.
In 1863, Moret was elected representative to parliament as an independent representing the town of
Almaden
in the province of
Ciudad Real
. He was re-elected in 1868 after the
Revolution of 1868
and took part in the writing of the new
Spanish Constitution of 1869
. He was noted for his eloquence.
As
Minister of Overseas
in the government presided by General Prim in 1870, Moret, himself a member of the Spanish Abolitionist Society,
[1]
pushed for the abolition of
slavery
and the creation of a
constitution
for
Puerto Rico
. In 1871, he was Minister of the Treasury (
hacienda
) in the first government of
King Amadeo I
, and in 1872, he was appointed ambassador in
London
but resigned months later months and accepted a directorship in a large British bank.
With the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne in 1875, Moret returned to
Spain
, where he founded the
Partido Democratico-Monarquico
party. He was again elected deputy for
Ciudad Real
in 1879 and rallied to the monarchy in 1882. In 1883, he was appointed Minister of the Interior (
Gobernacion
), and after 1885, he joined the
Liberal Party
in which he cooperated with
Praxedes Mateo Sagasta
as Minister of State (
estado
, foreign affairs, 1885?1888), Interior (
Gobernacion
, 1888, 1901, 1902), Development (
Fomento
) (1892), State (
Estado
, foreign affairs, 1892, 1894) and Overseas Colonies (
Ultramar
, 1897?1898). When Sagasta died, he participated in the quarrels for the control of the party.
In 1897, as Minister for Overseas Colonies (
Ultramar
), Moret decreed the autonomy for
Cuba
and
Puerto Rico
in a vain attempt to avoid their secession. He opposed the
war against the United States in 1898
.
[2]
In 1902, he collaborated in the creation of the Institute of Social Reform, which was a precursor of the future Ministry of Labour.
In 1905, after the resignation of Montero Rios, Moret became prime minister but was forced to resign in July 1906 after he had lost his majority in the parliament (
Cortes Generales
) although he became again prime minister briefly the same year (30 November ? 4 December).
After the bloody confrontations of the "
Tragic Week
" in 1909 in Barcelona, Moret was again appointed prime minister after the resignation of
Antonio Maura
while he was also Minister of the Interior. He was forced to resign in February 1910 when he was replaced by
Jose Canalejas
. He denounced the
Canalejas Ministry
as "a democratic flag being used to cover reactionary merchandise".
[3]
In 1912, after the assassination of Prime Minister Canalejas and the appointment of a new prime minister,
Alvaro Figueroa Torres
, Count of Romanones, Moret was elected as the 155th
president of the Congress of Deputies
, which he was until his death, on 28 January 1913. It was his second term as speaker of the Spanish lower house; from July 15, 1901 to April 3, 1902, he had served as the 147th speaker.
See also
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References
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[1]
He was elected in 1849 but never took the seat and it was declared vacant;
[2]
He was elected in 1894 but never took the seat
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