Antonio Magaz

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Magaz and the second or maternal family name is Pers.
Admiral

Antonio Magaz
Antonio Magaz in 1926
Birth nameAntonio Magaz y Pers
Born(1864-06-21)21 June 1864
Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain
Died13 October 1953(1953-10-13) (aged 89)
Madrid, Spanish State
Branch Spanish Navy
Years of service1878–?
RankAdmiral
Battles / warsSpanish-American War
Awards Grand Cross (with Red Decoration) of Military Merit
Grand Cross (with Red Decoration) of Naval Merit
Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild
Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Officer Cross of the Legion of Honour
Spouse(s)María de los Ángeles Fernández de Henestrosa y Fuentes-Bustillo
Children5 (Juan, Jaime, Carlos, Antonio and Andrés)
Other workVice President of the Military Directory (1923–1925)
Interim President of the Military Directory (1924–1925)
Spanish ambassador to the Holy See (1926–1930 and 1936)
Spanish ambassador to Nazi Germany (1937–1940)
Spanish ambassador to Argentina (1940–1943)

Antonio Magaz y Pers, 2nd Marquess of Magaz (21 June 1864 – 13 October 1953) was a Spanish naval officer, politician and diplomat. He served as vice president of the second Military Directory during the dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1925) and a gentilhombre de cámara con ejercicio to King Alfonso XIII.[1] He is mentioned in various sources as Marquess of Magaz or Admiral Magaz.

He married María de los Ángeles Fernández de Henestrosa y Fuentes-Bustillo (Madrid, 1863 – Madrid, 1934), and was the father of Juan, Jaime, Carlos, Antonio and Andrés Magaz y Fernández de Henestrosa. His grandson, Antonio Magaz y Sangro (Madrid, January 1926 – Santander, 12 June 1984) (son of Juan, who was shot on 7 November 1936 in Cárcel Modelo in Madrid) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Magaz.

Biography

He was the son of Juan Magaz y Jaime (Calatayud, 1823 – Madrid, 1901), 1st Marquess of Magaz, and Leonor Pers y Girandón. In 1878 he entered the Fleet Naval School aboard the frigate Asturias. In 1880 he was promoted to midshipman and, in 1884, to lieutenant. In his first years of service he sailed on the corvettes Ferrolana, Tornado and María de Molina, and on the frigates Blanca, Carmen, Zaragoza, Gerona and Lealtad.[2]

In 1892, as a lieutenant, he participated in the recreation of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus, carried out by a replica of the carrack Santa María, on the 400th anniversary of the voyage.[2]

In 1898 he participated in the Spanish-American War aboard the armored cruiser Vizcaya, entering into combat with the United States Navy on 3 July of that year at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, a battle in which the Spanish Navy fleet was destroyed.[3] He later took command of the gunboats Mac Mahón (1900) and Temerario (1909). In 1915 he went on to command the training corvette Nautilus and, the following year, he briefly directed the Naval Military Academy. He was later a prosecutor at the Supreme Council of War and Navy, and later went on to command the battleship España.[3]

In 1920 he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed Spanish Naval Delegate to the Permanent Commission of the League of Nations. In 1922 he went on to head the newly created Naval Aeronautics.[2]

"From the passing life—Spain is transformed." Page from the magazine La Esfera (22 September 1923) with portraits of members of the Military Directorate. Magaz is second from right in the upper row.

With the advent of the dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera he became part of the Military Directory, of which he was vice president (1923–1925) and interim president during the dictator's stay in Africa (1924–1925) during the Rif War.[2]

In 1930 he was appointed admiral and captain general of the Maritime Department of Cartagena.[3] From that position, on 14 April of the following year, he was in charge of seeing off King Alfonso XIII to his exile, after the elections that would give way to the Second Spanish Republic.

He was ambassador to the Holy See on two occasions (1926–1930 and 1936).[4][5][6] He was later ambassador to Berlin (1937–1940)[7] and Buenos Aires (1940–1943).[8]

Holy See

In 1936, he was commissioned by the National Defense Junta of Burgos to obtain the assent as ambassador to the Holy See; this was denied since the Holy See only recognized the representative of the Republican government, Luis de Zulueta, as ambassador. Finally, on 30 September, in the absence of the ambassador, Magaz took control of the seat and the following day raised the monarchical flag. The Holy See never officially recognized him, although finally, when Magaz was assigned to Berlin, it ended up recognizing his successor, Pedro de Churruca y Dotes.[4]

Berlin

During his stay in Berlin he carried out the relocation of the embassy from the former Thiele-Winkler Palace to its current headquarters in the diplomatic quarter.[9] Likewise, on 4 July 1939, he presented Adolf Hitler, at the Reich Chancellery, three paintings by Ignacio Zuloaga, offered on behalf of Francisco Franco.[10][11]

He developed an interesting activity in the acquisition of decorative objects and works of art for the future embassy, coinciding with a turbulent time in the art market due to the decision of the German government to consider most of the works of art of the avant-garde movements as degenerate art (German: Entartete Kunst), with the consequent depreciation of their value.[12]

The Marquessate's connection with the artistic avant-garde continued with his successor, Antonio Magaz y Sangro, author of a study on the painting of Fernando Zóbel.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Magaz y Pers, Antonio (1864–1953)" (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Biografía de don Antonio Magaz y Pers". Todoavante (in Spanish). 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Magaz y Pers, Antonio (1864–1953)". Mcnbiografias (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b Mejía, Alberto Royo (8 April 2010). "El Vaticano mostró desconfianza inicial ante el régimen de Franco (y II)" (in Spanish). InfoCatólica. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  5. ^ Marquina, Antonio (October 2006). "El Vaticano y el estallido de la Guerra Civil. El cardenal Gomá reparó el fracaso diplomático del Marqués de Magaz" (PDF). Unisci, Discussion Papers (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  6. ^ "ABC (Madrid) – 19/06/1926, p. 3 – ABC.es Hemeroteca". hemeroteca.abc.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  7. ^ "ABC SEVILLA (Sevilla) – 07/08/1937, p. 8 – ABC.es Hemeroteca". hemeroteca.abc.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  8. ^ "ABC SEVILLA (Sevilla) – 25/10/1940, p. 4 – ABC.es Hemeroteca". hemeroteca.abc.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  9. ^ Ignacio Sánchez de Lerín (4 March 2014). "La Cancillería de la Embajada de España en Berlín". exteriores.gob.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  10. ^ Digital, La Vanguardia. "Edición del viernes, 25 agosto 1939, página 4 – Hemeroteca – Lavanguardia.es". hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  11. ^ Javier Novo González (23 January 2006). "Ignacio Zuloaga y su utilización por el franquismo" (PDF). euskomedia.org (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  12. ^ Barron, Stephanie (1991). Degenerate Art. The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. ISBN 0-8109-3653-4. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  13. ^ Magaz Sangro, Antonio (1959). Zóbel: Pintura y Dibujos (in Spanish). Cayón. ISBN 978-84-606-8134-2. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
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