MAURA, ANTONIO

born May 2, 1853, Palma, Majorca, Spain died Dec. 13, 1925, Torrelodones in full Antonio Maura Y Montaner statesman and five times prime minister of Spain whose vision led him to undertake a series of democratic reforms to prevent revolution and foster a constitutional monarchy. His tolerance and lack of knowledge of human nature, however, tended to obscure his otherwise brilliant political career. Maura was elected to the Cortes (Spanish parliament) of 1881 and in 1890 became minister for the colonies in the Liberal cabinet of Prxedes Mateo Sagasta. He resigned when his reforms that would have granted autonomy to Cuba failed to pass (1894). Later, as minister of the interior (1902), he conducted elections notable for their honesty. Maura first became premier in December 1903 but resigned a year later in protest against what he thought was an attempt to seize personal power by King Alfonso XIII. During his second tenure (190709) as premier, Maura was able to pass some of his projects, such as reforming local governments and making education compulsory. His attempt to promote Spanish political influence and commercial interests in Morocco, however, provoked the Rif War, which set off a general strike (July 1909) and anticlerical violence in Barcelona. After the execution of the propagandist Francisco Ferrer, Maura reestablished the constitutional guarantees in Barcelona and Gerona. He was forced to resign, however, in October. In December 1912 Maura resigned his seat in the Cortes as well as his post of Conservative Party leader. He headed three more short-lived governments in periods of crisis: MarchNovember 1913, AprilJuly 1919, and August 1921March 1922.