Ramón María Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia (5 August 180023 April 1868) was a Spanish general and statesman who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

on several occasions during the reign of Isabella II. He was also known in Spain as ''El Espadón de Loja'', "The Big Sword of Loja".

Biography

He was born at Loja,

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, a son of José María de Narváez y Porcel, 1st Count of Cañada Alta, and wife María Ramona de Campos y Mateos. He entered the army at an early age, and saw active service under Francisco Espoz y Mina in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

in 1822. He was in his sympathies a Conservative, and could not fully support the Radical opposition to

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

, whom he served after his restoration. When the king died in 1833, Narváez became one of the Conservative supporters of Isabel II. He achieved great popularity by his victory over Miguel Gómez Damas, the

Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

general, at the Battle of Majaceite near Arcos de la Frontera, in November 1836. After clearing La Mancha of brigands by a vigorous policy of suppression in 1838 he was appointed captain-general of

Old Castile Old Castile ( ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions across the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Santander (now Cantabria ...

, and commander-in-chief of the army of reserves. In 1840, for the part he had taken at

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

in the insurrection against Baldomero Espartero, Count of Luchana and the Progresista party, he was compelled to take refuge in France, where, in conjunction with Maria Cristina, he planned the expedition of 1843 which led to Espartero's overthrow. On 3 May 1844 Narváez became the 26th

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, on 1 July 1844 the 102nd

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

until 21 August 1844, and on 18 November 1845 was created field-marshal and ''Duque de Valencia'', but his policy was too reactionary to be tolerated long, and he was compelled to quit office on 12 February 1846. He then held the post of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

at Paris, until again called to preside over the council of ministers as the 28th Prime Minister from 16 March 1846 to 4 April 1846 and 105th Minister of Foreign Affairs from 16 March 1846 to 5 April 1846, and again as the 34th Prime Minister and 111th Minister of Foreign Affairs on 4 October 1847; but misunderstandings with Maria Cristina led to his resignation as Minister on 23 October 1847 and as Prime Minister in the following year on 19 October 1849. On the next day, however, he was recalled as the 36th Prime Minister on 20 October 1849, remaining in office until 10 January 1851. He was the 58th

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of the Order of the Tower and Sword in 1848. His ministry succeeded that of General

Leopoldo O'Donnell Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and Grandee who was Prime Minister of Spain on several occasions. Early life He was born at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Cana ...

for a short time as 45th Prime Minister between 12 October 1856 and 15 October 1856, and he again returned to power for a few months as 52nd Prime Minister between 16 September 1864 and 19 May 1865. He once more replaced O'Donnell as the 54th Prime Minister on 11 July 1866, and was still in office when he died at

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 ...

on 22 April/23 April 1868. On his deathbed, he was asked to forgive his enemies. His answer would become infamous, as he stated "I don't need to forgive my enemies — I have had them all shot."Grave Tidings: An Anthology of Famous Last Words
Paul Berra, He married French Marie Alexandrine de Tascher, 369th

Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa on 22 July 1844. He was succeeded in his titles by his nephew, son of his older brother José de Narváez y Campos, 2nd Count of Cañada Alta, and wife and cousin Epifania Porcel y Valdivia, José María de Narváez y Porcel (d. 1890), 2nd Duke of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, 1st Marquess of Oquendo, 3rd Count of Cañada Alta and 2nd Viscount of Aliatar, married to Josefa María del Águila y Cevallos (d. 1888), 13th Marchioness of Espeja, daughter of Luis Ramón del Águila y Alvarado, 12th Marquess of Espeja, and wife Josefa Manuela Petra de Cevallos y Alvarez de Faria (daughter of Pedro de Cevallos y Guerra (1759–1838) and wife Josefa Juana Alvarez de Faria y Sánchez-Zarzosa, maternal aunt of Manuel de Godoy), and had issue. Ramon Maria de Narvaez by Vicente Lopez 1772 1850

Ramon Maria de Narvaez by Vicente Lopez 1772 1850

Honours

* France: Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Portugal: Grand Cross of the Military Order of the Tower and Sword * : Knight of the Order of St. Andrew * Spain ** Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

** Knight Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegild ** Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

** Knight of the Order of Alcántara **Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

References

*
Royal Decree of November 18, 1845, on creation of Narváez ''duque de Valencia''
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez, Ramon Maria 1800 births 1868 deaths People from the Province of Granada Field marshals Foreign ministers of Spain 101 Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Spanish captain generals Spanish generals Spanish Roman Catholics People of the Chincha Islands War People of the Dominican Restoration War Prime ministers of Spain Moderate Party (Spain) politicians Leaders of political parties in Spain