Joaquín Milans del Bosch

Who was Joaquín Milans del Bosch?

Joaquín Milans del Bosch y Carrió was a Spanish military officer of Catalan origin. The change in the ideological orientation of the Milans del Bosch family was completed with his generation; traditionally, they had been liberal military officers, but during the twentieth century they aligned themselves with reactionary forces.

His father died when he was three years old. He was raised under the protection of his uncle, Lorenzo Milans del Bosch. He joined the cavalry army at a young age and lived through the Restoration, embracing the cause of Alfonso XII. He fought in the Third Carlist War, in Melilla and in the Philippines, where he coincided with the future dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera. Following the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, he returned to Spain where, after a few different military and diplomatic posts, he was named assistant to Alfonso XIII and Gentilhombre de camara con ejercicio. Closely linked to the king, he was later posted to Madrid and Morocco, where he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant general.