José Antonio Aguirre

After the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera ended in 1930, a new political era began in Spain. In 1931 and 1932, Aguirre intervened decisively in failed attempts at Basque devolution, which called for self-government, including in Navarre. On 5 November 1933, two weeks before a general election, a referendum was held in Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay on new wording for the Statute of Devolution, which abandoned the inclusion of Navarre. The wording was approved by an overwhelming majority (459,000 votes in favour, 14,000 against), but in Álava, the votes in favour did not reach 50%. As a result of the dissolution of the legislature for the general election, the hesitation of radical government, and Carlist opposition to the incorporation of Álava in the statutory process, devolution was prevented until 1 October 1936, when the Spanish Civil War started.

José Antonio Aguirre was born in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. He studied in the Basque Country's first Ikastola, a school in which all lessons were given in Basque. He later studied law at the University of Deusto. After his father's death in 1920, Aguirre moved with his family to Algorta, near Bilbao. At 16 years of age, he had to become a father figure to his 10 younger brothers and sisters. After finishing his law studies, he began working in the family business, Chocolates Aguirre. He later took responsibility for the business and introduced many reforms, including free health care and paid holidays, which significantly improved conditions for the workers in the factory. He also donated part of the business's revenue to the poor and advocated for social housing. Until 1937, Chocolates Bilbaínos S.A. was the second-largest business in its sector in Spain. Aguirre was a football player for Athletic Bilbao; he won the Copa del Rey with the club in 1923. During the Spanish Civil War, he was one of the main promoters of the Basque Country national football team, which played in Europe and the Americas to raise funds for Basque refugee children whose parents had been forced into exile. In 1926, after completing his military service, he began work as an attorney at Esteban Bilbao's office. Soon after, he founded his own firm, which focused on political issues and the working conditions of the lower class. At the time, Spain was ruled by the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera. Aguirre, a…

Aguirre's life was the subject of a Soule folk play, Aguirre presidenta ("President Aguirre"). He wrote a book about his experiences, Escape Via Berlin: Eluding Franco in Hitler's Europe (New York, 1942).