Valentin Galarza Morante

Valentín Galarza Morante (El Puerto de Santa María, April 22, 1882 - Madrid, June 9, 1952) was a Spanish soldier, known for his role in the run-up to the war. Spanish civil and during the first years of the Franco dictatorship. Known for his monarchical and anti-Falangist positions, he was for some time Minister of the Interior, as well as a member of the National Council of the Movement and attorney in the Francoist Cortes.

Biography

Born on April 22, 1882 in El Puerto de Santa María, he embarked on a military career from an early age. He entered the General Military Academy of Toledo when he was 20. Later, in 1906, he entered the Higher War School of Madrid, from which he would emerge 5 years later with a degree and the rank of captain.

Military conspiracies

In April 1931 the Second Republic was proclaimed, although Valentín Galarza did not sympathize with the new regime. In fact, the Minister of War Manuel Azaña even commented on him:

Galarza is intelligent, capable and helpful, scurry, obedient [...] and the most dangerous.

A supporter of General José Sanjurjo, Galarza was involved in the failed coup d'état of 1932. Founding member of the far-right and clandestine Spanish Military Union (UME), during this time he remained in contact with other military conspiracies led by Juan Antonio Ansaldo and Juan Vigón. He was in charge of recruiting senior Army officers to support the future uprising, receiving 5,000 pesetas a month from the plot to maintain propaganda in the barracks and a network of infiltrators in the Police. Due to the wide circle of contacts he had, he ended up being part of the conspiratorial group that existed around generals Franco and Emilio Mola. A personal friend of Francisco Franco, Galarza also had a very important role acting as a liaison between Franco and the UME. In these years He already held the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Designed to the Ministry of War in Madrid, during 1936 he played an essential role in the preparation of the military uprising against the republican government, also serving as a link between several generals involved in the conspiracy. That is why he would come to being known by the nickname "El Técnico." Mola even commissioned him to investigate General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano's commitment to the military conspiracy before meeting with him.

On July 18, 1936, when the Civil War broke out, Galarza was in Madrid and would be arrested by the authorities. He remained imprisoned until February 9, 1939, when he was released by the troops. of General Manuel García Valiño.

Franco dictatorship

Shortly after the end of the war, in the spring of 1939 he was assigned to Franco's headquarters and promoted to the rank of colonel. In September 1939 he was appointed undersecretary of the Presidency of the Government, located close to Franco himself. Galarza joined the FET and the JONS, the single party of the Franco dictatorship, in 1940. That same year he was named direct head of the FET-JONS Militias, and president of the National Heritage Administration Council. Despite his militancy in the single party, Galarza was known for his anti-Falangist tendencies and for his monarchist affiliation.He was very critical of the growing influence of the Falangists in the circles of power. Likewise, he was clearly hostile to Ramón Serrano Suñer, Franco's brother-in-law, foreign minister and openly sympathizer of the fascist powers. According to the British ambassador to Spain, Samuel Hoare, Galarza was a supporter of the Allies. Between 1940 and 1943 he received million-dollar bribes from the United Kingdom to dissuade Franco from participating in the Second World War alongside the Axis powers.

On May 5, 1941, he was appointed Minister of the Interior by Franco. Captain Luis Carrero Blanco replaced him as undersecretary of the Presidency of the government. Until that moment the Interior portfolio had been vacant, although Serrano Suñer had great power over it through the Undersecretary of the Interior José Lorente Sanz. Galarza's appointment was received with great hostility from broad Falangist sectors and caused a cascade of resignations: that of José Lorente, José Finat —director General of Security—, as well as ten civil governors. He also encountered the opposition of Pedro Gamero del Castillo, deputy secretary general of FET and the JONS, who refused to cooperate with Galarza in the appointment of the civil governors. Despite the protests, Franco remained firm and kept the military man in his position. The new minister proceeded to undertake a purge among the highland positions of the state administration, especially in key positions in the Ministry. of the Interior. However, Franco withdrew Galarza's control over the press and propaganda powers—which became controlled by the Vice-Secretary of Popular Education—which meant losing one of the most important powers of this ministry.

In the exercise of the position, on February 3, 1942, he presided over the reopening of the national tourist hostel of Alcalá de Henares called Hostería del Estudiante, incorporated into the Network on May 28, 1930, but which had been seriously damaged during the Spanish civil war.

In August 1942, the so-called Begoña Attack occurred, which was considered by soldiers such as Galarza and General Varela as a Falange attack against the Army, for which they demanded the dismissal of Serrano Suñer. The "Caudillo" ended up dismissing Serrano shortly after, on September 3, but wanted to make a record of who had power, and at the same time dismissed Varela and Galarza, replacing them with two people loyal to his leadership.

After his dismissal, Galarza associated with monarchist dissidents. He would reach the rank of general. Between 1943 and 1946 he was attorney in the Francoist Cortes, appointed to the position by Franco himself. In June 1943 he was one of the most prominent monarchists who signed a manifesto sent to the dictator in which they requested the restoration of the monarchy. Franco did not take any steps in that direction and in fact Galarza would be one of the signatories who would end up losing his position in the Francoist Cortes due to his participation. Retired from public life, he died in Madrid on June 9, 1952..

Posthumous indictment

He was one of the thirty-five senior officials of the Franco regime accused by the National Court in the summary carried out by Baltasar Garzón, for the crimes of illegal detention and crimes against humanity committed during the Spanish Civil War and in the first years of the regime; He was not prosecuted when his death was confirmed.