| Lluís Nicolau d'Olwer | |
| Office: | Minister of the Economy |
| Term Start: | 14 April 1931 |
| Term End: | 16 December 1931 |
| Office2: | Deputy for Barcelona |
| Term Start2: | 11 July 1931 |
| Term End2: | 9 October 1933 |
| Office3: | Governor of the Bank of Spain |
| Term Start3: | March 1936 |
| Term End3: | August 1938 |
| Predecessor3: | Alfredo de Zavala y Lafora |
| Successor3: | Antonio Goicoechea |
| Office4: | Deputy for Barcelona |
| Term Start4: | 28 February 1936 |
| Term End4: | 2 February 1939 |
| Birth Date: | 20 January 1888 |
| Birth Place: | Barcelona, Spain |
| Death Place: | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Nationality: | Spanish |
| Occupation: | Writer, politician |
Lluís Nicolau d'Olwer (20 January 1888 in Barcelona – 24 December 1961 in Mexico City) was a Catalan politician, historian and writer. He served as the Minister of Economics in the provisional government of the Second Spanish Republic from April to December 1931 and later headed the Bank of Spain (1936–38).
A son of the notary Joaquín Nicolau and Anna d'Olwer (who was of Irish ancestry), he studied philosophy and literature in Barcelona before completing a doctorate in Madrid. In 1917, he published the first study of Catalan literature written in the Catalan language. In 1918, he became a member of the philology department of the Institute of Catalan Studies and a representative of the Regionalist League in the municipality of Barcelona.[1]
As a member of the Cultural Committee, he initiated modern teaching policies and in 1922 was a co-founder of the Acció Catalana. Between 1926 and 1931, he suffered persecution from the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.[1] In 1933, he was deputy chairman of the London Economic Conference and governor of the Bank of Spain. During the Spanish Civil War he sought exile in France. When the Germans occupied France during the Second World War, he was arrested by the Gestapo but managed to escape. He went to Mexico where he served as a minister without portfolio in the Republican government-in-exile led by José Giral.[2] After the war, he continued to live in Mexico where he was appointed a member of the College of Mexico. He continued to publish works on European and Latin American history until his death.[1]