Second government of Antonio Maura

2nd government of Antonio Maura
Government of Spain
1907–1909
Maura in 1910
Date formed	25 January 1907
Date dissolved	21 October 1909
People and organisations
Monarch	Alfonso XIII
Prime Minister	Antonio Maura
No. of ministers	8 [a]
Total no. of members	12 [a]
Member party	Conservative
Status in legislature	Minority (single-party) (Jan–May 1907) Majority (single-party) (May 1907–1909)
Opposition party	Liberal    Liberal Democratic (Jan–Feb 1907)
Opposition leader	Segismundo Moret Eugenio Montero Ríos (Jan–Feb 1907)
History
Predecessor	Vega de Armijo
Successor	Moret III

The second government of Antonio Maura, was formed on 25 January 1907, following the latter's appointment as prime minister of Spain by King Alfonso XIII and his swearing-in that same day, ^[1] as a result of the Marquis of Vega de Armijo's resignation from the post on 24 January. ^{[2] [3]} It succeeded the Vega de Armijo government and was the government of Spain from 25 January 1907 to 21 October 1909, a total of 1,000 days, or 2 years, 8 months and 26 days. ^[4]

The cabinet comprised members of the Conservative Party and two military officers. ^[5] It came to be known as the "Long Government" (gobierno largo), ^{[6] [7]} due the length of its tenure when compared to that of previous cabinets: thirteen governments had succeeded each other in the five years since the coming of age of Alfonso XIII on 17 May 1902. ^[8] It resigned following the political crisis resulting from the Tragic Week and Francisco Ferrer's execution. ^[9]

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. ^{[10] [11]}

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. ^[12] 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. ^{[13] [14]} 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. ^[15]

Cabinet crisis

King Alfonso XIII held a round of consultations on 24–25 January 1907 to determine a solution to the political crisis arising from Vega de Armijo's resignation. ^{[16] [17] [18]}

Consultations King of Spain
Date	Consultee	Office/position	Party
24 January 1907	Eugenio Montero Ríos	President of the Senate Prime Minister (former)		Lib–Dem /Dem
	José Canalejas	President of the Congress of Deputies		Lib–Dem /Dem
	Segismundo Moret	Prime Minister (former)		Lib–Dem /Lib
	José López Domínguez	Prime Minister (former) President of the Senate (former)		Military
	Antonio Maura	Leader of the Conservative Party Prime Minister (former)		Conservative
	Marcelo Azcárraga	Prime Minister (former) President of the Senate (former)		Military
	Alejandro Pidal y Mon	President of the Congress of Deputies (former)		Conservative
	2nd Marquis of Pidal	President of the Senate (former)		Conservative
	Count of Tejada de Valdeosera	President of the Senate (former)		Conservative
	Marquis of Vega de Armijo	Prime Minister Leader of the Liberal Party		Lib–Dem /Dem
25 January 1907	Antonio Maura	Leader of the Conservative Party Prime Minister (former)		Conservative
Nominations
Outcome →	Nomination of the Marquis of Vega de Armijo (Liberal)  Declined Nomination of Antonio Maura (Conservative) Accepted
Sources [16] [17] [19]

The outcome of the consultations led Alfonso XIII to entrust the formation of a new government to the Marquis of Vega de Armijo, who declined the nomination due to the internal divisions within the Liberal Party; ^[20] then to Antonio Maura, who accepted the nomination. ^[1]

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers was structured into the office for the prime minister and eight ministries. ^[1]

← Maura II Government → (25 January 1907 – 21 October 1909)
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Prime Minister	Antonio Maura		Conservative	25 January 1907	21 October 1909	[21]
Minister of State	Manuel Allendesalazar		Conservative	25 January 1907	21 October 1909	[22]
Minister of Grace and Justice	Juan Armada y Losada		Conservative	25 January 1907	21 October 1909	[22]
Minister of War	Francisco Loño		Military	25 January 1907	30 June 1907†	[22]
Minister of the Navy	José Ferrándiz y Niño		Military	25 January 1907	21 October 1909	[22]
Minister of Finance	Guillermo de Osma y Scull		Conservative	25 January 1907	23 February 1908	[22]
Minister of Governance	Juan de la Cierva		Conservative	25 January 1907	21 October 1909	[22]
Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts	Faustino Rodríguez-San Pedro		Conservative	25 January 1907	21 October 1909	[22]
Minister of Development	Augusto González Besada		Conservative	25 January 1907	14 September 1908	[22]
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Minister of War	Nicasio Montes Sierra took on the ordinary discharge of duties from 30 June to 3 July 1907. [23]
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Minister of War	Fernando Primo de Rivera		Military	3 July 1907	1 March 1909	[24]
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Minister of Finance	Cayetano Sánchez Bustillo		Conservative	23 February 1908	14 September 1908	[25]
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Minister of Finance	Augusto González Besada		Conservative	14 September 1908	21 October 1909	[26]
Minister of Development	José Sánchez-Guerra		Conservative	14 September 1908	21 October 1909	[27]
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office	Ref.
Minister of War	Arsenio Linares Pombo		Military	1 March 1909	21 October 1909	[28]

Notes

1. Does not include the prime minister.

References

1. Soldevilla 1908, p. 44.
2. Cuenca Toribio, José Manuel (2022). "Personajes: Antonio Aguilar Ochoa y Correa". Historia Hispánica (in Spanish). Royal Academy of History. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
3. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 38–41.
4. Cuenca Toribio, José Manuel (2022). "Personajes: Antonio Maura y Montaner". Historia Hispánica (in Spanish). Royal Academy of History. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
5. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 44–47.
6. Martínez Ruiz, Maqueda Abreu & De Diego 1999, pp. 121–123.
7. González 2002, p. 308.
8. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 47–48.
9. Soldevilla 1910, pp. 406–409.
10. Calero 1987, p. 275.
11. Constitution (1876) , arts. 32 & 54.
12. Martorell Linares 1997, pp. 139–143.
13. Calero 1987, pp. 283–289.
14. 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.]"
15. Calero 1987, pp. 289–291.
16. "Solución de la crisis. Maura, encargado". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 25 January 1907. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
17. "La crisis". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 25 January 1907. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
18. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 41–43.
19. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 41–44.
20. Soldevilla 1908, pp. 43–44.
21. "Real decreto nombrando Presidente del Consejo de Ministros a D. Antonio Maura y Montaner, Diputado a Cortes" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (26). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 305. 26 January 1907.
22. "Reales decretos nombrando: Ministro de Estado, a D. Manuel Allendesalazar; de Gracia y Justicia, a D. Juan Armada Losada; de la Guerra, a D. Francisco Loño; de Marina, a D. José Ferrandiz y Niño; de Hacienda, a D. Guillermo Joaquín de Osma y Scull; de la Gobernación, a D. Juan de La Cierva y Peñafiel; de Instrucción pública, a D. Faustino Rodríguez San Pedro; de Fomento, a D. Augusto González Besada Mein" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (26). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 306. 26 January 1907.
23. "Real orden disponiendo que el General de División D. Nicasio de Montes y Sierra, Subsecretario de este Ministerio, continúe encargado del despacho ordinario del mismo" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (176). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 1175. 25 June 1907.
24. "Real decreto nombrando Ministro de la Guerra al Capitán General del Ejército D. Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, Marqués de Estella" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (185). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 42. 4 July 1907.
25. "Real decreto nombrando Ministro de Hacienda a D. Cayetano Sánchez Bustillo" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (55). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 781. 24 February 1908.
26. "Real decreto nombrando Ministro de Hacienda a D. Augusto González Besada" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (259). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 1148. 15 September 1908.
27. "Real decreto nombrando Ministro de Fomento a D. José Sánchez Guerra" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (259). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 1148. 15 September 1908.
28. "Real decreto nombrando Ministro de la Guerra al Teniente general don Arsenio Linares Pombo" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (61). State Agency for the Official State Gazette: 536. 2 March 1909.

Bibliography

• Constitución de la Monarquía Española (PDF) (Constitution). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). King of Spain. 30 June 1876. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
• Soldevilla, Fernando (1908). El Año Político 1907 (in Spanish). Madrid: National Library of Spain . Retrieved 28 August 2025.
• Soldevilla, Fernando (1910). El Año Político 1909 (in Spanish). Madrid: National Library of Spain . Retrieved 22 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.
• Martínez Ruiz, Enrique; Maqueda Abreu, Consuelo; De Diego, Emilio (1999). Atlas histórico de España. El Reinado de Alfonso XIII (1902-1931) (in Spanish). Vol. 2. Bilbao: Ediciones KAL. pp. 121–132. ISBN   9788470903502.
• González, María Jesús (2002). "'Neither God Nor Monster': Antonio Maura and the Failure of Conservative Reformism in Restoration Spain (1893–1923)" (PDF). European History Quarterly . 32 (3). SAGE Publications: 307–334. ISSN   0265-6914 . Retrieved 21 August 2025.

External links

• The governments of the second period of the Conservative Party (1907–1909) (under Alfonso XIII). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).

Preceded by Vega de Armijo

Government of Spain 1907–1909

Succeeded by Moret III