Salvador de Madariaga

Salvador de Madariaga trained as an engineer in Paris before turning to writing and international affairs. He worked at the League of Nations on disarmament and taught Spanish at Oxford. The Second Republic appointed him ambassador to the United States in 1931, followed by service in Paris. ^{1, 2}

Madariaga’s later life was largely spent outside Spain. He wrote on Spanish and international subjects and participated in the movement for European cooperation. ^{1, 2}

His efforts to influence Washington continued long after his brief embassy appointment. On 10 March 1947, Madariaga met John Hickerson and other State Department officials to argue that Franco’s rule weakened Western security. According to Hickerson’s memorandum, he believed the dictatorship obstructed economic recovery and gave the Soviet Union a propaganda advantage. He proposed a private Anglo-American demand for Franco’s departure, potentially delivered by Winston Churchill, followed by public pressure if the approach failed. Petroleum and cotton restrictions were among the instruments he advocated. ³

Madariaga favored a constitutional monarchy under Don Juan, but urged Washington and London to state general principles of representative government and freedom rather than prescribe Spain’s institutions. Hickerson resisted American sponsorship of a restoration before Spaniards had voted on it. American economic and political aid, Hickerson explained, could follow only after public elections had endorsed a monarchy. ³