| Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado | |
|---|---|
| First Deputy Prime Minister | |
| In office 23 September 1976 – 26 February 1981 |
|
| Prime Minister | Adolfo Suárez |
| Preceded by | Fernando de Santiago y Díaz de Mendívil |
| Succeeded by | Rodolfo Martín Villa |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 5 July 1977 – 6 April 1979 |
|
| Prime Minister | Adolfo Suárez |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado April 30, 1912 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | December 15, 1995 (aged 83) Torremocha del Campo, Spain |
| Resting place | Villaviciosa de Odón cemetery |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Political party | None |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Spain |
| Service/branch | Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, 1st Marquis of Gutiérrez Mellado (April 30, 1912 - December 15, 1995) was a Spanish general and government minister. Appointed Chief of Staff of the Spanish Army in June 1976, Gutiérrez Mellado served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain from September 21, 1976 to February 26, 1981, holding the Defence portfolio from July 4, 1977. All this time the President of the Government (i.e., Prime Minister) was Adolfo Suárez.
During the failed Coup d'état on February 23rd 1981, Gutiérrez-Mellado was one of only three members of the Spanish Congress of the Deputies (with Suarez and the communist Santiago Carrillo) to physically confront the armed Guardia Civil troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Tejero.
On 7 October 1994 Gutiérrez-Mellado was raised into the Spanish nobility by King Juan Carlos I with the hereditary title marqués de Gutiérrez-Mellado (English: Marquess of Gutiérrez-Mellado).
A retired captain-general, Gutiérrez-Mellado was killed in 1995 at the age of 83 in a car crash on the highway from Madrid to Guadalajara. He was buried the next day in the Villaviciosa de Odón cemetery, the town he lived in for several years. After his death his daughter María del Carmen Gutiérrez-Mellado and Blasco became the 2nd Marquise of Gutiérrez-Mellado.[1]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fernando de Santiago as Vice President for Defence (first in the succession line) |
First Vice President of the Spanish Government in the Suárez I and Suárez II cabinets September 21, 1976 – February 26, 1981 |
Vacant
until December 1981
Title next held by
Rodolfo Martín Villa |
| Preceded by Félix Álvarez-Arenas as Minister of the Army |
Spanish Minister of Defence July 4, 1977 – February 26, 1981 |
Succeeded by Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún |
| Preceded by Pascual Pery as Minister of the Navy |
||
| Preceded by Carlos Franco as Minister of the Air Forces |
||
| Spanish nobility | ||
| New title | Marquess of Gutiérrez Mellado 1994–1995 |
Succeeded by María del Carmen Gutiérrez- Mellado and Blasco |