Rafael Fernández Álvarez

Who was Rafael Fernández Álvarez?

Rafael Luis Fernández Álvarez was a Spanish politician and former political exile. Fernández served as the President of the Regional Council of Asturias from 1978 until 1981 before becoming the first President of the Principality of Asturias from 1881 until May 1983. He was a member of the regional Federación Socialista Asturiana and the larger Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.

Rafael Luis Fernández Álvarez was born into a poor family on September 17, 1913, in Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, Spain. His father, Carlos, was employed at the Fábrica de Armas, an arms factory in Oviedo. His mother, Dolores, operated a catering business in Oviedo. Fernández Álvarez enrolled at the University of Oviedo, but did not complete his law degree at the university. He received a scholarship to study at a university in Belgium, which he attended from 1933 until 1934.

Fernandez became politically active early in life and joined the Socialist Youth of Spain at the age of 17. He became the organization's Secretary General in 1932. Fernadez then served as a member of the Socialist Provincial Committee of the Popular Front in Asturias during the Spanish Civil War. Fernandez, a supporter of the Republicans, fled into exile following the victory of the Nationalists and the establishment of Francoist Spain in 1939 under General Francisco Franco. He spent time in Paris and Rhode Island before landing in the Mexican port city of Veracruz. He worked a series of menial jobs upon arrival in Mexico City, starting as a dishwasher at the Cantábrico restaurant.