Santiago Carrillo

Born Jan. 18, 1915, in Gijón, in Asturias, Spain. Figure of the Spanish and international workers’ movement. The son of a worker.

Carrillo joined the Federation of Socialist Youth in 1928. At the same time, he began to work as an apprentice in the printing shop of the newspaper El Socialista and subsequently became a member of the editorial board. Carrillo was elected to the committee of the Madrid organization of the Federation of Socialist Youth in 1930 and was a member of the executive committee of the federation from 1932 to 1936. He was the director of the central organ of the federation, Renovación, from 1932 to 1934 and was general secretary of the federation from 1934 to 1936. Carrillo joined the Revolutionary Committee in October 1934 during the armed uprising and was arrested for his role on this committee. He actively participated in the creation of the United Socialist Youth of Spain in April 1936. Both communist and socialist youth joined this new organization, of which Carrillo was elected general secretary. He joined the Communist Party of Spain in 1936. During the National Revolutionary War of the Spanish People (1936–39) against the Italian and German interventionists and the fascist rebels, he became a member of the junta for the defense of Madrid.

Carrillo emigrated after the defeat of the Spanish republic. Hebecame a member of the Central Committee of the CommunistParty of Spain in March 1937. He was a candidate member ofits politburo from 1937 to 1945 and has been a member of thepolitburo since 1945. In 1960 he became a member of the execu-tive committee. He was secretary of the Communist Youth In-ternational in 1940. Carrillo became a member of the secretariatof the Spanish party’s Central Committee in 1954 and has beengeneral secretary since 1960.