Segismundo Casado (1893-18 December 1968) was President of the Second Spanish Republic from 5 March to 13 March 1939, succeeding Diego Martinez Barrio and preceding Jose Miaja.
Biography[]
Segismundo Casado was born in 1893 in Nava de la Mata, Spain. By 1936, he was a Major in the Spanish Republican Army, and he developed the army's tactics in central Spain during the Spanish Civil War. In 1938, he was given command of one of the five army corps of the Second Spanish Republic, and he used his power to oust Prime Minister Juan Negrin from the leadership of the government due to accusing him of turning Spain towards Stalinism and communism. Casado seized power in Madrid and put down all opposition to his rule, but he failed to negotiate peace with Nationalist Spain's leader Francisco Franco, who wanted unconditional surrender. Casado went into exile in Venezuela until 1961, when he returned to Spain and was sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1968 at the age of 75.