Alejandro Mon y Menéndez

In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisMonand the second or maternal family name isMenéndez.

The Most Excellent Alejandro Mon y Menéndez
Prime Minister of Spain
In office 1 March 1864 – 16 September 1864
Monarch	Isabella II
Preceded by	Lorenzo Arrazola
Succeeded by	Ramon Maria Narvaez
Personal details
Born	(1801-02-26)26 February 1801 Oviedo
Died	1 November 1882(1882-11-01)(aged 81)
Nationality	Spanish

Alejandro Mon y Menéndez(26 February 1801 inOviedo,Principality of Asturias,Spain – 1 November 1882) was a Spanish politician and jurist who wasprime minister of Spainin 1864, during the reign of QueenIsabella II.

Early life

Mon was born inOviedoand was the eldest son of Miguel Mon y Miranda and Francisca Menéndez y de la Torre. His only sister, Manuela, was married to theAsturianPedro José Pidal, 1st Marquis of Pidal,another prominent politician who served several times as prime minister.

He studied law in theUniversity of Oviedo,where he became interested in politics and approached theModerate Party.

Political career

In theregencyof QueenMaria Christina of the Two Sicilies(1833–1840), Mon was appointed for his first high political office,minister of financefrom 1837 to 1838, in a moderate cabinet headed byNarciso Fernández de Heredia, 2nd Count of Heredia-Spínola.During theregencyof theprogressivistBaldomero Espartero(1840–1843), he was in none of the cabinets but remained active in political life.

When the moderates came back to power in 1844, a period started known as theModerate Decade,Mon was called by the new prime minister,Ramón María Narváez, 1st Duke of Valencia,again as minister of finance. He held this post from 1844 to 1845 and carried out thetax reform of 1845,which established the basis of the current tax system of Spain. It was executed in collaboration withRamón de Santillán,and it is popularly known as theMon-Santillán reform.

After the downfall of the moderates, theunionistLeopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan,offered him several ministerial portfolios, which he always declined. Mon preferred to be in posts away from the first line of political life, such as ambassador to theHoly Seeor to France. However, he returned to active politics in 1864, when he replacedLorenzo Arrazola y Garcíaas prime minister, but his cabinet lasted only nine months because of the social and political instability. Five years later, theSpanish Glorious Revolutiontook place.

Retirement

Mon lived long enough to see the reign ofAmadeo I of Spain,theFirst Spanish Republicand finally theRestorationof KingAlfonso XII,which he supported as a personal friend ofAntonio Cánovas del Castillo.However, he was not active politically during the Restoration but kept only the honorary post oflife senator.He retired to his home town, Oviedo, where he died in 1882.

References

• Comin, Francisco,Alejandro Mon y Menéndez (1801−1882). Pensamiento y reforma de la Hacienda,Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, Madrid, 2001.ISBN978-84-8008-095-8
• Fernández de la Mora, Gonzalo (2001),Mon en su sigloin galeon(in Spanish)