Mendizábal, Juan Alvarez

Born Feb. 25, 1790, in Cádiz; died November 1853, in Madrid. Spanish politician.

Mendizábal took part in the uprising led by R. Riego y Núñez in 1820. He emigrated to Great Britain after the defeat of the Spanish Revolution of 1820-23, returning to Spain in 1835, when an amnesty was declared. He became a leader of the Progresista Party. During the Spanish Revolution of 1834-43, Mendizábal served as prime minister from September 1835 to May 1836, but resigned under the pressure of the court camarilla, which opposed his reforms (the latter included the abolition of entailed estates and seignorial rights and the sale of church lands). From August 1836 to 1837, Mendizábal served in the Calatrava government. He emigrated in 1843, after the victory of the counterrevolution, returning to Spain in 1847.