Negrín, Juan

Negrín, Juan (1894-1956), Spanish scholar and last prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, overthrown by Franco in 1939 (see Francisco Franco). Negrín was born in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. After studying in Italy and Germany, he returned to Spain to become a professor of physiology at the University of Madrid. His political prominence began with his appointment as minister of finance in 1936. The next year, after Stalinist pressure forced the violent repression of the workers' movements in Catalonia and the fall of the Caballero cabinet, President Azaña made him prime minister. During the military collapse of the republic in 1938 and 1939 he was also minister of national defense.