Eugenio Montero Rios

Eugenio Montero Ríos was born on November 13, 1832 in Santiago de Compostela, a city in Galicia, Spain. He was the second of four children of a pianist mother and a lawyer father. He studied Law at the University of Santiago de Compostela and obtained his doctorate at the Complutense University of Madrid. He worked as a lawyer and professor of Canon Law at the University of Oviedo and later at the University of Madrid. He joined the Progressive Party and was elected deputy for Pontevedra in 1863. He participated in the Glorious Revolution of 1868 that overthrew Queen Isabella II and supported the candidacy of Amadeo I as king. He was appointed minister of Grace and Justice three times during the reign of Amadeo I (1870-1873) and introduced several reforms in the judicial system and the civil code. He also defended the autonomy of Galicia and other regions within a federal framework. After the proclamation of the First Spanish Republic in 1873, he retired from politics and returned to his academic career. He opposed the Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1874 and joined the Republican Party. He was elected senator for life in 1886 and became president of the Senate in 1891. He was also president of the Supreme Court from 1894 to 1897. He was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Paris in 1898 that ended the Spanish-American War and ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the United States. He resigned from his positions in protest against this treaty and became one of the leaders of the opposition to the Conservative government. In 1902, he joined the Liberal Party led by José Canalejas and became minister of Development in his cabinet from 1902 to 1903. He promoted public works, education, agriculture and industry. In 1905, he succeeded Canalejas as prime minister and formed a coalition government with other liberal factions. He continued his reformist agenda and tried to solve the social and regional conflicts that plagued Spain. However, he faced strong opposition from the Conservatives, the Catholic Church, the military and some nationalist groups. He resigned in December 1905 after losing parliamentary support. He remained as president of the Senate until his death on May 12, 1914 in Madrid at the age of 81. He was buried in his family estate in Lourizán, Pontevedra.