Francisco Serrano y Domínguez

Son of Francisco Serrano y Cuenca, Spanish military officer who attained the rank of mariscal de campo; educated at Seminario de Nobles at Vergara; joined a cavalry regiment as cadet (1822); promoted to alférez (1823); was transferred to coast-guard regiment as second lieutenant (1830); joined a cuirassier regiment in Madrid (1833); distinguished himself during the First Carlist War (1833-1840); promoted to colonel (1838) and shortly after to brigadier (1839); elected to the Cortes, where he represented Málaga and Jaén (1839-1844); promoted to mariscal de campo (1840), lieutenant general (1843); vice president of the Congreso de los Diputados (30 Apr 1843 - 26 May 1843); appointed minister of war (9 May 1843 - 19 May 1843) in the government removed by the Regent Baldomero Espartero; conspired with Juan Prim y Prats and Luís González Bravo López de Arjona to overthrow the regency of Espartero (1843); principal creator of the Provisional Government (28 Jun 1843 - 10 Nov 1843), in which he temporarily exercised all ministerial duties until 23 Jul 1843; continued to serve as minister of war (23 Jul 1843 - 1 Dec 1843); appointed senator for life (15 Aug 1845); became a favorite of Queen Isabel II and obtained enormous influence over her, provoking a political scandal; served as captain general of Granada (8 Oct 1847 - 7 Aug 1848); traveled to Russia to study military organization; took part in many military pronunciamientos; supported revolutionary movement and was stripped of ranks and honors (14 Jul 1854), but restored to all dignities (24 Jul 1854) after the victory of the revolution; elected to the Cortes (1854-1856) as a deputy for Jaén; contributed to creation of the Unión Liberal; appointed as head of the General Department of Artillery (1856); captain general of Castilla la Nueva (4 Jun 1856 - 7 Aug 1856); promoted to captain general of the army (18 Jul 1856); served as Spanish Ambassador in Paris (1856-1857); returned to Madrid to serve as director general of the artillery (5 Jul 1858 - 2 May 1860); appointed (20 Sep 1859) to Cuba as Governor and Captain General (served 24 Nov 1859 - 10 Dec 1862), where directed the annexation of Santo Domingo (now Dominican Republic); on his return to Spain, he was created duke (24 Nov 1862); briefly served as minister of state (17 Jan 1863 - 2 Mar 1863); captain general of Castilla la Nueva (21 Jun 1865 - 26 Dec 1865); appointed President of the Senado (12 Dec 1865 - 11 Jul 1866); was imprisoned (1866) for his protest against illegal dissolution of the Cortes; exiled to the Canary islands (1868); landed at Cádiz (19 Sep 1868) and defeated a loyalist force at Alcolea (27 Sep 1868); recognized as commander-in-chief of the Spanish army by decree of the Junta Provisional Revolucionaria de Madrid (3 Oct 1868); upon entering Madrid (evening 3 Oct 1868), formed a ministry where he assumed the office of President of the Provisional Government (8 Oct 1868 - 25 Feb 1869) and Council of Ministers (8 Oct 1868 - 25 Feb 1869); issued a decree (6 Dec 1868) for convocation of the Cortes Constituyentes (Constituent Cortes); was elected by the constituencies of Madrid and Jaén to the Constituent Cortes which convened on 11 Feb 1869; entrusted by the Constituent Cortes (22 Feb 1869) to form a new government and entered the office of President of the Executive Power (25 Feb 1869 - 18 Jun 1869); following the promulgation of the Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (6 Jun 1869), was named Regent of the Kingdom (18 Jun 1869 - 2 Jan 1871); served as President of the Council of Ministers (4 Jan 1871 - 24 Jul 1871, 26 May 1872 - 13 Jun 1872) and war minister (4 Jan 1871 - 24 Jul 1871) under King Amadeo I; elected to the Cortes (1871-1872) as a deputy for Jaén; took the field as commander-in-chief against the Carlists (1872); after the proclamation of the republic (11 Feb 1873), retired to France, returning to Spain few months later; after the coup d'état of General Manuel Pavía y Rodríguez de Alburquerque, assumed the office of President of the Executive Power (3 Jan 1874 - 30 Dec 1874); left Madrid (9 Dec 1874) to assume command of the armies fighting Carlist insurrection, arriving at Logroño, a city in northern Spain (10 Dec 1874); when faced an attempt of restoration of the Borbon monarchy in Madrid and provinces (29 Dec 1874 - 31 Dec 1874), he chose not to interfere and communicated his decision to the government in Madrid (30 Dec 1874); after a short stay in France, returned to praise the restoration of King Alfonso XII; continued political career as senator (1877-1886) and a leader of the right centrists; was appointed ambassador to France (12 Nov 1883), but recalled to serve as President of the Senado (12 Dec 1883 - 31 Mar 1884). Biography source: [15]