Carlos Fernández Vallespín Explained

Honorific Prefix:General
Carlos Fernández Vallespín
Office:President of the Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff
Term Start:2 February 1977
Term End:28 April 1977
Predecessor:Position established
Successor:Felipe Galarza Sánchez
Office2:Chief of the Defence High Command
Monarch2:Juan Carlos I
Term Start2:15 June 1974
Term End2:28 April 1977
Predecessor2:Manuel Díez-Alegría
Successor2:Felipe Galarza Sánchez
Birth Name:Carlos Fernández Vallespín
Birth Date:13 July 1913
Birth Place:Ferrol, Galicia, Kingdom of Spain
Death Place:Madrid, Spain
Death Cause:Myocardial infarction
Allegiance:
Nationalist faction

Branch:
(Wehrmacht)
Serviceyears:1935–1977
Rank:Lieutenant general
Commands:General Military Academy


Defence High Command
Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff
Battles:Spanish Civil War
World War II

Carlos Fernández Vallespín (13 July 1913 – 28 April 1977) was a Spanish military officer.

Biography

Carlos Fernández Vallespín was born in Ferrol, Galicia on 13 July 1913. He entered the Toledo Infantry Academy in 1935, and participated in the Spanish coup of July 1936 in Madrid at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, being wounded and taken prisoner by the Republicans. After managing to escape, he participated in various actions within the Nationalist faction. Following the Civil War, he fought on the Eastern Front of World War II, in the ranks of the Blue Division (Spanish; Castilian: División Azul, German: Blaue Division), or the 250th Infantry Division of the German Wehrmacht, being wounded again.

In 1965 he reached the rank of brigadier general. He served as director of the General Military Academy between 1968 and 1969.

In 1969 he was promoted to major general and was appointed General Commander of Ceuta.

In 1972 he was appointed lieutenant general and Captain General of the, based in Valladolid. In 1974 he was appointed Chief of the Defence High Command Spanish; Castilian: (Alto Estado Mayor, AEM),[1] the principal staff body of the Francoist Spanish Armed Forces, in charge of coordination between the general staffs of the three military branches. With the advent of democracy and the restructuring of the Armed Forces, he was appointed President of the newly created Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff Spanish; Castilian: (Junta de Jefes de Estado Mayor, JUJEM) in 1977.

Shortly after this last appointment, he died in Madrid of a myocardial infarction, on 28 April 1977.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Decreto por el que se nombra Jefe del Alto Estado Mayor al Teniente General don Carlos Fernández Vallespín . 27 June 2021 . 15 June 1974 . . 12434 . Spanish.
  2. News: Ha muerto el teniente general Fernández Vallespín . . 31 . Spanish . 29 April 1977 . 27 June 2021.