Government of the Marquis of Vega de Armijo

Government of the Marquis of Vega de Armijo
Government of Spain
1906–1907
The Marquis before 1904
Date formed	4 December 1906
Date dissolved	25 January 1907
People and organisations
Monarch	Alfonso XIII
Prime Minister	Antonio Aguilar y Correa, Marquis of Vega de Armijo
No. of ministers	8 [a]
Total no. of members	8 [a]
Member party	Liberal–Democratic
Status in legislature	Majority (single-party)
Opposition party	Conservative
Opposition leader	Antonio Maura
History
Predecessor	Moret II
Successor	Maura II

The government of Antonio Aguilar y Correa, Marquis of Vega de Armijo, was formed on 4 December 1906, following the latter's appointment as prime minister of Spain by King Alfonso XIII on 3 December and his swearing-in the next day, as a result of Segismundo Moret's resignation from the post on 3 December in the wake of the "crisis of the letter" (crisis del papelito). It succeeded the second Moret government and was the government of Spain from 4 December 1906 to 25 January 1907, a total of 52 days, or 1 month and 21 days. ^[1]

The cabinet comprised members of the Liberal–Democratic alliance and two military officers. With the Liberals deeply divided over the Law of Associations and a proposal to reform consumption taxes, ^[2] the government collapsed on 23 January, unable to arrange an agreement between the various party factions. ^[3]

Formation

Overview

The Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a semi-constitutional monarchy during the Restoration period, awarding the monarch—under the royal prerogative—the power to appoint government members (including the prime minister); the ability to grant or deny the decree of dissolution of the Cortes , or the adjournment of legislative sessions, to the incumbent or aspiring government that requested it; and the capacity to inform, inspect and ultimately control executive acts by granting or denying the signature of royal decrees; among others. ^{[4] [5]}

The monarch would play a key role in the turno system by appointing and dismissing governments, which would then organize elections to provide themselves with a parliamentary majority. ^[6] As a result, governments during this period were dependent on royal confidence, which was frequently secured or lost based on the leaders' ability to guarantee the internal unity and parliamentary cohesion of their parties. ^{[7] [8]} In practice, the royal prerogative was not exercised freely by the monarch, but was carried out through the opening of a round of consultations—with the presidents of the chambers, the leaders of the main parties, the potential candidates and other notable figures—prior to government formation, or when prime ministers raised a matter of confidence to the monarch. ^[9]

Cabinet crisis

The political fallout from the "crisis of the letter" (crisis del papelito), which had brought down the previous cabinet under López Domínguez, was instrumental in causing the downfall of Segismundo Moret's second government after only four days in power. ^{[10] [11] [12]} Having been rejected by several high-profile Liberal members during the cabinet's formation, internal turmoil within his party—with resignation threats from the presidents of the Congress and Senate (José Canalejas and Eugenio Montero Ríos, respectively) and the tabling of a motion of no confidence in the Senate by members of his own group—forced Moret to preemptively resign on 3 December 1906 to avoid a major parliamentary defeat. ^{[13] [14]}

Unlike common practice, and due to the previous round of consultations having been held only five days earlier on 28 November, King Alfonso XIII opted instead for directly summoning prospective prime ministerial candidates to determine a solution to the political crisis arising from Moret's resignation. ^{[15] [16]}

Consultations King of Spain
Date	Consultee	Office/position	Party
3 December 1906	Eugenio Montero Ríos	President of the Senate Prime Minister (former)		Lib–Dem /Dem
	Marquis of Vega de Armijo	President of the Congress of Deputies (former)		Lib–Dem /Dem
Nominations
Outcome →	Nomination of Eugenio Montero Ríos (Liberal)  Declined Nomination of the Marquis of Vega de Armijo (Liberal) Accepted
Sources [15] [16]

The outcome of the consultations led Alfonso XIII to entrust the formation of a new government to Eugenio Montero Ríos, who declined the nomination out of his desire to prevent further divisions within the Liberal Party; ^[16] then to the Marquis of Vega de Armijo, who accepted the nomination. ^[17] A cabinet comprising members of the Liberal–Democratic alliance and two military officers was formed and sworn in the next day. ^[18]

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers was structured into the office for the prime minister and eight ministries. ^[18]

← Vega de Armijo Government → (4 December 1906 – 27 January 1907)
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Prime Minister	Marquis of Vega de Armijo		Lib–Dem /Dem	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[19]
Minister of State	Juan Pérez-Caballero		Lib–Dem /Lib	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[20]
Minister of Grace and Justice	Antonio Barroso y Castillo		Lib–Dem /Dem	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[20]
Minister of War	Valeriano Weyler		Military	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[20]
Minister of the Navy	The Marquis of Vega de Armijo took on the ordinary discharge of duties from 4 to 9 December 1906.
Minister of Finance	Juan Navarro Reverter		Lib–Dem /Dem	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[20]
Minister of Governance	Count of Romanones		Lib–Dem /Lib	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[20]
Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts	Amalio Gimeno		Lib–Dem /Dem	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[20]
Minister of Development	Francisco de Federico		Lib–Dem /Dem	4 December 1906	27 January 1907	[20]
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Minister of the Navy	4th Marquis of the Royal Treasury		Military	9 December 1906	27 January 1907	[21]

Notes

1. Does not include the prime minister.

References

1. Cuenca Toribio, José Manuel (2022). "Personajes: Antonio Aguilar Ochoa y Correa". Historia Hispánica (in Spanish). Royal Academy of History . Retrieved 28 August 2025.
2. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 4–10, 16–21 & 31–38.
3. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 38–41.
4. Calero 1987, p. 275.
5. Constitution (1876) , arts. 32 & 54.
6. Martorell Linares 1997, pp. 139–143.
7. Calero 1987, pp. 283–289.
8. Ferrera Cuesta, Carlos (2022). "Personajes: Segismundo Moret y Prendergast". Historia Hispánica (in Spanish). Royal Academy of History. Retrieved 18 August 2025.: "... according to the political practice of the Restoration, since voters did not determine majorities due to electoral manipulation, the requirement demanded of any leader to retain power was to guarantee the unity of the Party. [Spanish: ... según la práctica política de la Restauración, dado que los votantes no determinaban las mayorías a causa de la manipulación electoral, el requisito exigido a cualquier líder para conservar el poder pasaba por garantizar la unidad del Partido.]"
9. Calero 1987, pp. 289–291.
10. Ferrera Cuesta, Carlos (2022). "Personajes: Segismundo Moret y Prendergast". Historia Hispánica (in Spanish). Royal Academy of History. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
11. Soldevilla 1907, pp. 480–482.
12. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 1–2.
13. Medialdea, Sara (20 September 2015). "Segismundo Moret y la «crisis del papelito»". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2025.
14. Soldevilla 1907, pp. 471–481.
15. "La dimisión del gobierno". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 4 December 1906. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
16. Soldevilla 1907, pp. 481–482.
17. Soldevilla 1907, p. 482.
18. Soldevilla 1907, pp. 482–483.
19. "Real decreto nombrando Presidente del Consejo de Ministros a D. Antonio Aguilar y Correa, Marqués de la Vega de Armijo" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (339). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 883. 5 December 1906.
20. "Reales decretos nombrando: Ministro de Estado, a D. Juan Pérez Caballero; de Gracia y Justicia, a D. Antonio Barroso y Castillo; de la Guerra, a D. Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau; de Hacienda, a Don Juan Navarro Reverter; de la Gobernación, a D. Álvaro Figueroa y Torres; de Instrucción pública, a D. Amalio Gimeno y Cabañas, y de Fomento, a D. Francisco De Federico y Martínez" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (339). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 883–885. 5 December 1906.
21. "Real decreto nombrando Ministro de Marina a D. Juan Jácome y Pareja, Marqués del Real Tesoro, Contraalmirante de la Armada" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (344). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 939. 10 December 1906.

Bibliography

• Constitución de la Monarquía Española (PDF) (Constitution). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). King of Spain. 30 June 1876. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
• Soldevilla, Fernando (1907). El Año Político 1906 (in Spanish). Madrid: National Library of Spain . Retrieved 27 August 2025.
• Soldevilla, Fernando (1908). El Año Político 1907 (in Spanish). Madrid: National Library of Spain . Retrieved 28 August 2025.
• Calero, Antonio María (1987). "La prerrogativa regia en la Restauración: teoría y práctica (1875-1902)" (PDF). Revista de Estudios Políticos (in Spanish) (55). Madrid: Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies: 273–315. ISSN   0048-7694.
• Martorell Linares, Miguel Ángel (1997). "La crisis parlamentaria de 1913-1917. La quiebra del sistema de relaciones parlamentarias de la Restauración" (PDF). Revista de Estudios Políticos (in Spanish) (96). Madrid: Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies: 137–161. ISSN   0048-7694.

External links

• The governments of the second period of the Liberal Party (1905–1907) (under Alfonso XIII). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).

Preceded by Moret II

Government of Spain 1906–1907

Succeeded by Maura II