Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
O
O'Donnell Joris, Leopoldo (duque
de Tetuán)
(1809-1867)
Spanish soldier and statesman
Descended from an aristocratic family of
Irish Catholic exiles that had already given
many notable soldiers to the service of their
adopted country, O'Donnell earned rapid
promotion during the First Carlist War and
became the youngest general in the royal
army. When the regent, Queen Mother
M
ARIA
C
HRISTINA
, was forced to leave for
France in 1840, O'Donnell was one of those
who followed her abroad. He led an unsuc-
cessful invasion attempt in 1841, but when
the usurping regime of General B
ALDOMERO
E
SPARTERO
was overthrown in 1843,
O'Donnell's faithful services were rewarded
with the governorship of C
UBA
(1844-48).
In the confused political situation of
1854 O'Donnell turned against his former
friend, Maria Christina, who still exercised
considerable influence over I
SABELLA
II.
With the support of many civilians who
had become disillusioned with the queen
mother's now-conservative alignments,
O'Donnell organized a military revolt
against her. Espartero, once Maria Christi-
na's antagonist, was called out of retire-
ment to defend her but instead formed an
alliance with his old opponent, O'Donnell.
Out of this series of maneuvers emerged a
new administration, with Espartero as
prime minister, O'Donnell as war minister,
and Maria Christina once again banished.
However, the ambitious younger officer
could not long be held as a subordinate,
and in 1856 O'Donnell supplanted his asso-
ciate as head of government.
During the next 10 years O'Donnell
remained the dominant figure in the politi-
cal and military leadership of Spain, actu-
ally holding the office of premier in 1856,
1858-63, and 1865-66. He even combined
the position of chief minister with that of
field commander when in 1859-60 he took
personal charge of the campaign in
M
OROCCO
that led to the victory at T
ETUÁN
.
For this achievement he was created duke
of Tetuán, adding to the title count of
Lucena that he had been awarded for an
earlier battlefield success.
In the perilous world of Spanish mili-
tary politics O'Donnell was one of the most
adroit personalities. Flexible in his beliefs
(some said he had no firm principles at
all), he apparently created the Liberal
Union Party, which reflected a generally
moderate stance to serve his own needs
rather than those of any faction. In 1866
his brutal treatment of those who had
joined in General J
UAN
P
RIM
's uprising cre-
ated an outcry that forced his resignation.
O'Donnell died within a year, leaving him
no chance to make yet another comeback
297
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