Don Fernando Fernández de Córdova y Valcárcel, 2nd Marquess of Mendigorría (2 September 1809, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

– 30 October 1883, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

), was a Spanish military, politician, and

Prime minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...

for one day.

Biography

Born into a military family as the son of José de Córdoba y Rojas, he and his brother

Luis Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

fought in the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

on the side of ''Isabelinos''. He belonged to the ''Partido Moderado''. In 1848, he became Lieutenant General and as

Captain General of Catalonia The office of Captain General of Catalonia (; ) was created in 1713 by the Nueva Planta decrees of King Philip V of Spain to replace that of Viceroy of Catalonia. List of Captains General of Catalonia Under Philip V Under Ferdinand VI ...

during the Second Carlist War, he put down the isolated rebel cells in that region by early 1849. In May 1849 he was sent to Italy to help to protect

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

against the Italian Revolution of 1848. He led a force of 4,000 Spanish soldiers, who were deployed in

Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...

and placed at the Pope's disposition. This marked the Spanish Army's first expeditionary venture into Italy since the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

a hundred years prior. Spanish columns secured the region and assisted the French in their operations at

Itri Itri is a small city and ''comune'' the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy. Itri is an agricultural centre divided in two parts by a small river, the Pontone. It lies in a valley between the Monti Aurunci and the sea, not far from the Gul ...

. He became War Minister and was even Prime Minister for one day (18 July 1854) in full political crisis, which ended when

Baldomero Espartero Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Álvarez de Toro (27 February 17938 January 1879) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He served as the Regent of the Realm, three times as Prime Minister and briefly as President of the Congress of Deputies ...

became head of the "progressive Biennium" of 1854–1856. Fernando had always supported Queen

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

, but backed the

Revolution of 1868 The Glorious Revolution ( or ) took place in Spain in 1868, resulting in the deposition of Queen Isabella II. The success of the revolution marked the beginning of the with the installation of a provisional government. Background Leading up ...

against the Crown, and joined the Radical Democratic Party. In 1872, under King

Amadeo I of Spain Amadeo I (; 30 May 184518 January 1890), also known as Amadeus, was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The only king of Spain to come from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy a ...

, he became acting Prime Minister between 13 June and 16 June, before retiring completely from political life in 1873.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez de Cordova, Fernando 1809 births 1883 deaths Politicians from Buenos Aires Spanish generals Prime ministers of Spain Government ministers of Spain Radical Democratic Party (Spain) politicians Moderate Party (Spain) politicians Captains General of Catalonia Government ministers during the First Spanish Republic