Famous Spanish Leaders

Felipe VI of Spain is the current King of Spain, reigning since 2014. He ascended the throne upon the abdication of his father, Juan Carlos I. His mother is Queen Sofía. As the king, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces as well. He also serves as the honorary president of several associations and foundations. 

Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador best remembered for his expeditions that eventually paved the way for the Spanish conquest of Peru. Along with Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Pizarro became the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of Panama. After two failed expeditions to Peru, Pizarro led a third and successful campaign to conquer Peru.

Stephen Austin, also known as the Father of Texas, was born to a lead-mining businessman in Missouri who later bought a piece of land from the Mexican government. Austin developed the land and mediated between American and Mexican people for control over it, eventually leading to the Texas Revolution.

Alfonso XIII began ruling as the king of Spain under the regency of his mother, María Cristina. His strategy of rotating governments led to 33 governments in 21 years. Known as El Africano for his support to those who wished to colonialize African countries, he eventually had to leave Spain.

Francisco Franco overthrew the Second Spanish Republic by leading the Nationalist forces as their general during the Spanish Civil War. Subsequently, Franco ruled over Spain as a dictator from 1939 to 1975. He had such an impact as a dictator that the period between the Nationalist victory and Franco's death is known as Francoist Spain in the history of Spain.

Former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy is a qualified lawyer and had stepped into politics at the tender age of 26. Under his leadership, the People’s Party shifted from being staunchly right to center-right. He was eventually ousted by a vote of no-confidence after the Catalan independence crisis.

Born to a baker, Spanish journalist Carles Puigdemont had humble beginnings. He was drawn to politics while attending meetings with his uncle as a teenager and later joined the Catalan pro-independence movement, becoming the president of Catalonia. He went into exile in Belgium to evade arrest for misuse of funds.

Spanish business magnate and civil engineer Florentino Pérez leads Grupo ACS as its CEO. He is also famous as the president of the football club Real Madrid and has the reputation of hiring and firing managers at his will. A self-made billionaire, he brought in the Galácticos era in football.

While Belgian politician Léon Degrelle initially wished to study law, he stepped into politics after failing his law exams repeatedly. He later went on to establish the Rexist Party of Belgium. A Nazi supporter, he fought for the German army during Germany’s occupation of Belgium during World War II.

Spanish lawyer and PSOE politician Felipe González has been the longest-serving freely elected prime minister of Spain. Born to a livestock farmer in Seville, he had initially aspired to be a civil engineer but later switched to law. At 40, he was the youngest European head of government.

The only daughter of Habsburg archduke Maximilian I, who became the Holy Roman Emperor, Margaret of Austria was also the duchess of Savoy by virtue of her marriage to Philibert II, Duke of Savoy. A patron of the arts, she owned a huge library and had several painters at her court.

Remembered as the founder of St. Augustine in Florida, USA, Spanish admiral and explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés has also been credited with planning the first regular trans-Atlantic convoys. Ruthlessly loyal to the Spanish king, he massacred the entire population of a nearby French post and established a string of forts along the Atlantic coast to protect Spanish interests.

An adviser of King Charles I and, Philip II of Spain, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and diplomat. A master of logistics, he had an unshakable self-confidence, which helped him to sail through most adverse situations. Notable for his conquest of Portugal, he is also remembered for his tyranny as the governor-general of Netherlands.

Spanish nobleman, politician and writer Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas, KOS of the Baroque era is counted among the most prominent writers of Spain's Golden Age. Quevedo adhered to the conceptismo style compared to his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora’s culteranismo style. His notable works include the picaresque novel El Buscón and the satirical prose Los Sueños.