Don

Don (honorific)

Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...

 Fernando Fernández de Córdova y Valcárcel, 2nd Marquis of Mendigorría (Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, 1809 – 1883), was a Spanish military, politician, and Prime minister of Spain

Prime Minister of Spain

The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...

 for one day.

Born into a military family, he and his brother Luis

Luis Fernández de Córdova

Luis Fernández de Córdova was a Spanish military general and diplomat.Hhe was the elder brother of Fernando Fernández de Córdova...

 fought in the First Carlist War

First Carlist War

The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.-Historical background:At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women...

 on the side of Isabelinos. He belonged to the Partido Moderado.


In 1847 he became Lieutenant General and as Captain-General of Catalonia during the Second Carlist War

Second Carlist War

The Second Carlist War, or the War of the Matiners or Madrugadores , was a short civil war fought primarily in Catalonia by the Carlists under General Ramón Cabrera against the forces of the government of Isabella II...

, he put down the isolated rebel cells in that region by early 1849.

In May 1849 he was sent to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 to help to protect Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

 against the Italian Revolution of 1848

Roman Republic (19th century)

The Roman Republic was a state declared on February 9, 1849, when the government of Papal States was temporarily substituted by a republican government due to Pope Pius IX's flight to Gaeta. The republic was led by Carlo Armellini, Giuseppe Mazzini and Aurelio Saffi...

. He led a force of 4,000 Spanish soldiers, who were deployed in Gaeta

Gaeta

Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....

 and placed at the Pope's disposition. This marked the Spanish Army's first expeditionary venture into Italy since the War of the Austrian Succession

War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession  – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...

 a hundred years prior. Spanish columns secured the region and assisted the French in their operations at Itri

Itri

Itri is a small city and comune in the central Italian region of Latium and the Province of Latina.Itri is an agricultural centre divided in two parts by a small river, the Pontone. It lies in a valley between the Monti Aurunci and the sea, not far from the Gulf of Gaeta...

.

He became War Minister and was even Prime Minister for one day (July 18, 1854) in full political crisis, which ended when Baldomero Espartero became head of the "progressive Biennium" of 1854-1856.

Fernando had always supported Queen Isabella II of Spain

Isabella II of Spain

Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...

, but backed the Revolution of 1868

Glorious Revolution (Spain)

The Glorious Revolution took place in Spain in 1868, resulting in the deposition of Queen Isabella II.An 1866 rebellion led by General Juan Prim and a revolt of the sergeants at San Gil barracks, in Madrid, sent a signal to Spanish liberals and republicans that there was serious unrest with the...

 against the Crown, and joined the Radical Democratic Party

Radical Democratic Party (Spain)

The Radical Democratic Party was one of the Spanish political parties that contended for power during the reign of Amadeo I and the First Spanish Republic , opposing the Constitutional Party....

.

In 1872 under King Amadeo I of Spain

Amadeo I of Spain

Amadeo I was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy...

, he became acting Prime Minister between June 13 and June 16, before retiring completely from political life in 1873.
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