Capital Madrid Government Multi-party Republic Founded 1939 | Languages Spanish 1939–1940 (first) Diego Martínez Barrio | |
 | ||
Capital-in-exile Mexico City
(1940–46)
Paris
(1939–1940 / 1946–1977) 1970–1977 (last) José Maldonado Gonzalez | ||
The Government of the Spanish Republic in exile (Spanish: Gobierno de la República Española en el exilio) was a continuation in exile of the government of the Second Spanish Republic following the victory of Francisco Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War. It continued to exist until the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1977.
History
On the fall of the Republic in April 1939, the President (Manuel Azaña) and Prime Minister (Juan Negrín) went into exile in France. Azaña resigned his post and died in November 1940. He was succeeded as President by Diego Martínez Barrio, who had been Prime Minister in 1936. When Nazi Germany occupied France in 1940, the government was reconstituted in Mexico, which under the left-wing President Lázaro Cárdenas continued to recognise the Republic as the legal government of Spain, although Negrín spent the war years in London. Negrín resigned as Prime Minister in 1945 and was succeeded by José Giral.
Until 1945, the exiled Republicans had high hopes that at the end of World War II in Europe, Franco's regime would be removed from power by the victorious Allies and that they would be able to return to Spain. When these hopes were disappointed, the government-in-exile faded away to a purely symbolic role. The government moved back to Paris in 1946. There was also a Basque government in exile and a Catalan government in exile.
In the immediate postwar period it had diplomatic relations with Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Venezuela, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Albania. By contrast the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union did not recognise it.
After Franco's death in 1975, King Juan Carlos restored democratic government. In 1977 the exiled Republicans decided to accept the re-establishment of the monarchy and recognise the new government. On 1 July 1977 the Government of the Spanish Republic was formally dissolved. In a gesture of reconciliation, Juan Carlos I received the exile leaders at a ceremony in Madrid.