Juan Negrín

Biography

Juan Negrín López was a physiologist of international renown — he had studied under Nobel laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal — when the civil war transformed him into a statesman. He became Prime Minister in May 1937, replacing the ineffectual Largo Caballero, and immediately set about creating the conditions for resistance to continue: professionalizing the army, centralizing supply, and — controversially — relying heavily on Soviet military and political support. His 'Thirteen Points' of 1938 were a moderate peace proposal designed to attract Western support; they were ignored. Negrín's determination to continue fighting even as defeat became inevitable has been interpreted both as heroic resistance and as prolonging unnecessary suffering. He hoped — perhaps naively — that the coming European war would force France and Britain to intervene. When Franco's victory was complete in April 1939, Negrín flew to exile, organizing a government-in-exile and maintaining the Republic's legitimacy for decades. He died in Paris in 1956, his reputation tarnished by association with Communist policies and the gold transfer to Moscow, but rehabilitated by historians who came to appreciate the near-impossible position he had occupied.

Key Battles