On November 20, 1975, Franco, Spain's lifelong regent and fascist military dictator, died of illness in Madrid.
Francisco Franco (1892 - 1975) Spanish general and dictator
Franco was born on December 4, 1892, into a military family in Spain, in the military as a teenager. In 1907, he entered the Infantry Academy and graduated three years later. He has been serving in the military since graduation. In 1935, he was promoted to Chief of the General Staff of the Army.
General Francisco Franco, dressed in full military uniform, watches a military parade in Spain in 1969
In 1936 there was a rebellion against the government in the army, Franco was one of the main participants, became Grand Marshal of the National Army shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, and won the victory in the civil war in 1939 to unify the country, establish a dictatorship, and ruleD Spain with fascism until his death in 1975, a period known as the Franco period.
In 1969, Franco and his designated successor, Juan Carlos I, were at a military parade
However, during World War II, Franco kept Spain neutral and did not form a military alliance with the ideologically similar Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy (Axis), but Franco still signed an anti-communist agreement between Germany and the Great Japanese Empire in 1939, fighting for the free interests between the Allies and the Axis Powers, so that after the Civil War, Spain, which was devastated, would not be affected by the war again.
After World War II, he was isolated by European countries, but maintained a close alliance with the United States because of his staunch anti-communist stance. In 1947 Franco took up the post of Cordillo and has been firmly committed to economic liberalization, allowing Spain to benefit from the revival of Western Europe and grow into an industrialized, moderately developed country.
After his death in 1975, Juan Carlos I ascended to the throne, implemented democratic reforms, and ended the dictatorship in Spain. During Franco's reign, he won peace and stability in a flexible diplomatic manner, and enabled the country to develop rapidly and prosper economically after World War II. But he also used his fascist dictatorship to strike hard at dissidents, especially pro-communist or socialists, and prevented Spain from becoming a communist state.
U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower met with Franco during his visit to Spain in 1959
Coat of arms of Franco during the Spanish head of state