Defence High Command | |
---|---|
Alto Estado Mayor | |
Active | 1939–1980 |
Country | Spain |
Branch | Armed forces |
Type | Military staff |
Part of | Spanish Armed Forces |
Headquarters | Madrid |
Commanders | |
First Chief | Brigadier General Juan Vigón Suerodíaz |
Last Chief | Lieutenant General Ignacio Alfaro Arregui |
Insignia | |
Abbreviation | AEM |
Emblem (until 1975) | |
Emblem (1975–1980) |
The Defence High Command (Spanish: Alto Estado Mayor, AEM) was the principal staff body of the Spanish Armed Forces during the Francoist regime and the transition to democracy. It operated between 1939 and 1980, and was in charge of coordination between the staffs of the three branches of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and the Air Force). [1] [2]
The AEM was created on 30 August 1939 with the objective of having a "body of coordination, study and information, which would provide to the supreme command the elements of suitable judgment for the orientation of its designs". In this way the Defence High Command is constituted with the following tasks:
For this it was necessary on the one hand the appointment of a General-Chief who would be a member and secretary of the National Defense Junta, and on the other hand the creation of a secretariat and three sections: a military, an economic and an informational.
On 5 February 1944, the need to act against foreign intelligence services within Spain was raised. That is why a new military intelligence agency began operating, the so-called "Third Information Section of the Defence High Command " (SIAEM). However, due to problems of coordination between the various counterintelligence mechanisms of the time, it was decided in 1945 to divide the powers: the Defence High Command would be in charge of espionage and counterintelligence of military character both inside and outside the country, while the Ministry of the Interior would be in charge of the internal security of the country, and the rest of the ministries would collect the general information according to their needs.
After the death of Franco in 1975, the administrative structure of the Armed Forces was reorganized. The AEM disappeared in 1980 when all its functions were taken over by the Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff (JUJEM), which was succeeded in 1984 by the Defence Staff (EMAD).
† denotes people who died in office.
No. | Portrait | Chief of the AEM | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Juan Vigón (1880–1955) | Brigadier General30 August 1939 | 27 June 1940 | 302 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [3] | |
2 | Francisco Martín-Moreno (1880–1941) | Divisional General30 July 1940 | 23 April 1941 † | 267 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [4] [5] | |
3 | Fidel Dávila Arrondo (1878–1962) | Lieutenant General5 May 1941 | 20 July 1945 | 4 years, 76 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [6] [7] | |
4 | Luis Orgaz Yoldi (1881–1946) | Lieutenant General19 October 1945 | 31 January 1946 † | 104 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [8] | |
(1) | Juan Vigón (1880–1955) | Lieutenant General15 February 1946 | 25 May 1955 † | 9 years, 99 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [9] | |
5 | Carlos Asensio Cabanillas (1896–1970) | Lieutenant General3 June 1955 | 6 June 1958 | 3 years, 3 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [10] [11] | |
6 | Captain General Agustín Muñoz Grandes (1896–1970) [lower-alpha 1] | 6 June 1958 | 11 July 1970 † | 12 years, 35 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [12] | |
7 | Manuel Díez-Alegría (1906–1987) | Lieutenant General23 July 1970 | 14 June 1974 | 3 years, 326 days | Army | Francisco Franco | [9] [13] | |
8 | Carlos Fernández Vallespín (1913–1977) [lower-alpha 2] | Lieutenant General15 June 1974 | 28 April 1977 † | 2 years, 317 days | Army | Francisco Franco Juan Carlos I | [14] [15] | |
9 | Felipe Galarza Sánchez (1913–1994) [lower-alpha 3] | Lieutenant General23 July 1977 | 12 September 1978 | 1 year, 51 days | Air Force | Juan Carlos I | [16] [17] | |
10 | Ignacio Alfaro Arregui (1918–2000) [lower-alpha 3] | Lieutenant General12 September 1978 | 19 May 1980 | 1 year, 250 days | Air Force | Juan Carlos I | [18] [19] |
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Manuel Díez-Alegría Gutiérrez was a Spanish military officer who served as Chief of the Defence High Command (Alto Estado Mayor, AEM) between 1970 and 1974, i.e., chief of staff of the Spanish Armed Forces during the Francoist dictatorship.
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Ignacio Alfaro Arregui was a Spanish military officer who served as Chief of the Defence High Command (Alto Estado Mayor, AEM) between 1978 and 1980, and as President of the Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff (Junta de Jefes de Estado Mayor, JUJEM) between 1978 and 1982. The offices he held made him chief of staff of the Spanish Armed Forces at the time.
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