The Secretary General of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo is the head of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labor; CNT), a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions. The position is elected by a congress or plenary session of the confederation. The position's powers are limited to technical and administrative affairs.
Since the confederation does not have fixed headquarters, the elected Secretary General's local federation becomes the confederation's central operations and a local plenary session of the local federation chooses the secretariats for other leadership positions. Together they are known as the Secretariado Permanente del Comité Confederal (Permanent Secretariat of the Confederal Committee, or SPCC). They, together with other regional federation's secretaries general, form the full Confederal Committee. The first general secretary of the CNT, chosen at its 1910 constitutional congress, was José Negre. He had been secretary general of Solidaridad Obrera, a Catalan union and precursor to the CNT. Thus Barcelona was the first headquarters.
The CNT operated clandestinely during years of repression and splintered. Sources support several timelines of CNT Secretaries General during this time.
Unless specified otherwise, the Headquarters of the CNT's Secretary General and National Committee during this period were based in Barcelona.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josep Negre (1875–1939) | November 1910 | September 1911 | |||
| September 1911 | 1914 | During this period, the CNT was banned by the government and organised clandestinely. | ||||
| 2 | Manuel Andreu (1889–1968) | November 1915 | August 1916 | Legal restrictions against the CNT were lifted and it resumed public activity in 1915. | ||
| 3 | Francisco Jordán (1886–1921) | August 1916 | February 1917 ‡ | |||
| 4 | Francisco Miranda (1869–1950) | March 1917 | August 1917 ‡ | |||
| – | Manuel Buenacasa (1886–1964) | August 1917 | November 1917 | Interim Secretary General, while Francisco Miranda was imprisoned. | ||
| (4) | Francisco Miranda (1869–1950) | December 1917 | July 1918 | |||
| 5 | Manuel Buenacasa (1886–1964) | August 1918 | December 1918 | |||
| 6 | Evelio Boal (1884–1921) | January 1919 | December 1919 | As Provisional Secretary General. | ||
| December 1919 | March 1921 ‡ | Killed in June 1921. | ||||
| 7 | Andreu Nin (1892–1937) | March 1921 | May 1921 | |||
| 8 | Joaquim Maurín (1896–1950) | August 1921 | February 1922 ‡ | |||
| 9 | Joan Peiró (1887–1942) | May 1922 | December 1922 < | -- Christie says until July 1923 --> | ||
| 10 | Salvador Seguí (1887–1923) | December 1922 | 10 March 1923 † | Assassinated by pistoleros. | ||
| 11 | Manuel Adame (1901–1945) | July 1923 | 16 August 1923 ‡ | |||
| 12 | Paulino Díez (1892–1980) | August 1923 | 25 December 1923 ‡ | Headquartered in Seville. | ||
| 13 | José Gracian Galán | April 1924 | June 1924 ‡ | Headquartered in Zaragoza. | ||
| – | Unknown | June 1924 | September 1925 | During this period, the CNT was outlawed by the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and carried out its activities clandestinely. The identity of the secretary general at this time is unknown. < | -- Speculated to have been Ángel Pestaña.--> | |
| 14 | Avelino González (1894–1938) | September 1925 | June 1926 | Headquartered in Gijón. | ||
| 15 | Segundo Blanco (1899–1957) | July 1926 | November 1926 | Headquartered in Gijón. | ||
| 16 (9) | Joan Peiró (1887–1942) | January 1927 | May 1929 | |||
| 17 | Ángel Pestaña (1886–1937) | June 1929 | June 1930 | |||
| 18 | Progreso Alfarache (1888–1964) | 27 June 1930 | 27 September 1930 ‡ | |||
| 19 | Francesc Arín | October 1930 | December 1930 | Serving as Interim Secretary General. | ||
| December 1930 | December 1931 | The Second Spanish Republic was established during this period. | ||||
| 20 (17) | Ángel Pestaña (1886–1937) | December 1931 | March 1932 | |||
| 21 | 19 March 1932 | January 1933 ‡ | ||||
| 22 | Miguel Yoldi (1903–1961) | December 1933 | February 1935 | |||
| 23 | Horacio Prieto (1902–1985) | March 1935 | 18 July 1936 | Headquartered in Zaragoza. Provisionally replaced following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. | ||
| – | (1904–1945) | 18 July 1936 | September 1936 | Provisional Secretary General during the early months of the Spanish Civil War. | ||
| (23) | Horacio Prieto (1902–1985) | September 1936 | November 1936 | |||
| 24 | Mariano Vázquez (1909–1939) | November 1936 | February 1939 | Headquarters transferred from Barcelona, to Madrid and then Valencia. Term ended by the conclusion of the Catalonia Offensive. Died in Paris in June 1939. | ||
During this period, the CNT worked clandestinely both inside Spain and in French exile. A schism among the exiles created two confederal committees with their own corresponding secretaries general.
| Name | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1939 | November 1939 | ||
| January 1940 | July 1940 | ||
| July 1940 | February 1941 | ||
| December 1942 | August 1943 | ||
| September 1943 | September 1944 | ||
| September 1944 | March 1945 | ||
| April 1945 | July 1945 | ||
| July 1945 | October 1945 | ||
| November 1945 | March 1946 | ||
| March 1946 | April 1946 | ||
| May 1946 | April 1947 | ||
| May 1947 | August 1947 | ||
| August 1947 | November 1947 | ||
| April 1948 | July 1949 | ||
| July 1949 | June 1951 | ||
| June 1951 | June 1953 | ||
| October 1960 | October 1961 | ||
| April 1962 | February 1964 | ||
| April 1964 | April 1965 | ||
| May 1965 | September 1968 |
| Name | Election date | Agency | Town | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mariano Rodríguez Vázquez 1 | February 25, 1939 | Paris | ||
| June 1943 | National Plenary (confederal) | Mauriac | ||
| September 1943 | National Plenary (confederal) | Tourniac | ||
| March 1944 | National Plenary (confederal) | Muret | ||
| October 1944 | National Plenary (confederal) | Toulouse | ||
| May 1945 | Paris Congress | Paris |
1. After his death, Germinal Esgleas Jaume took over.
| Name | Election date | Agency | Town | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | ||
| August 1946 | National Plenary (confederal) of Regionals | Toulouse | ||
| October 1947 | Congress of Local Federations | Toulouse | ||
| April 1947 | I Intercontinental Conference | - | ||
| October 1948 1 | Congress of Local Federations | - | ||
| February 1949 | II Intercontinental Conference | Toulouse | ||
| May 1950 | I National Plenary (confederal) | Toulouse | ||
| April 1951 | II Intercontinental Plenary | Toulouse | ||
| July 1952 | III Intercontinental Plenary | Aymare | ||
| July 1953 | IV Intercontinental Plenary Session | Toulouse | ||
| August 1954 | 5th Intercontinental Plenary | Toulouse | ||
| August 1955 | VI Intercontinental Plenary Session | Toulouse | ||
| July 1956 | VII Intercontinental Plenary Session | Toulouse | ||
| August 1957 | VIII Intercontinental Plenary Session | Toulouse | ||
| August 1958 | IX Intercontinental Plenary | Toulouse | ||
| September 1959 | X Intercontinental Plenary | Vierzon | ||
| August 1960 | Congress of Local Federations | Limoges |
1.He resigned in December 1948.
| Name | Election date | Agency | Town | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 1945 | Plenary of Regionals of Origin | Toulouse | ||
| August 1946 | Plenary | Toulouse | ||
| December 1947 | I National Plenary (confederal) of Regionals | Toulouse | ||
| May 1948 | Plenary | - | ||
| February 1949 | II National Plenary (confederal) | - | ||
| June 1950 | III National Plenary (confederal) | - | ||
| June 1952 | IV National Plenary (confederal) | - | ||
| March 1954 | V National Plenary (confederal) | - | ||
| November 1955 | VI National Plenary (confederal) | - | ||
| August 1957 | VII National Plenary (confederal) | - | ||
| October 1958 | VIII National Plenary (confederal) | - | ||
| March 1960 | IX National Plenary (confederal) | Clermont Ferrand |
| Name | Election date | Agency | Town | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1961 | Congress of Local Federations | Limoges | ||
| August 1962 | Intercontinental Plenary | Toulouse | ||
| October 1963 | Congress of Local Federations | Toulouse | ||
| August 1965 | Congress of Local Federations | Montpellier | ||
| August 1967 | Intercontinental Plenary | Marseille | ||
| August 1969 | Intercontinental Plenary | Bordeaux | ||
| August 1971 | Intercontinental Plenary Session | Marseille | ||
| 1 | August 1973 | Intercontinental Plenary Session | Marseille | |
| August 1975 | Congress of Local Federations | Marseille |
1. He resigned in January 1975.
| Name | Took office | Left office | Headquarters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1976 | April 1978 | Madrid | ||
| April 1978 | December 1979 | Barcelona | ||
| December 1979 | January 1983 | Madrid | ||
| January 1983 | - | - | ||
| July 1983 | - | - | ||
| 1985 | - | - | ||
| March of 1986 | 1990 | Granada | ||
| 1990 | - | Valencia | ||
| November 1992 | - | Barcelona | ||
| May 1995 | December 1995 | Granada | ||
| December 1995 | February 1998 | Madrid | ||
| December 1998 | October 2000 | Bilbao | ||
| October 2000 | March 2003 | Madrid | ||
| April 2003 | July 2005 | Vitoria-Gasteiz | ||
| July 2005 | August 2007 | Seville | ||
| August 2007 | December 2010 | Torrelavega | ||
| December 2010 | April 2013 | Córdoba | ||
| April 2013 | April 2015 | Valladolid | ||
| April 2015 | July 2017 | Santiago de Compostela | ||
| July 2017 | 2019 | Bilbao | ||
| Miguel García Romero | 2019 | November 2021 | Lebrija | |
| Isabel Arenales | November 2021 | December 2021 | Valladolid | |
| December 2021 | January 2024 | Madrid | ||
| Erika Conrado Arredondo | January 2024 | present | Granollers |