Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco was the Head of State of Spain from April 1, 1939 â November 20, 1975. He also held the position of Prime Minister of Spain from January 30, 1938 â June 8, 1973.
Franco gained power through an attempted military coup d'etat in 1936 that developed quickly into the Spanish Civil War. Franco's Falangists fought the elected republican government for three years before finally defeating the Republicans outside Madrid on April 1, 1939. With the fall of Madrid, Franco assumed control of Spain.
Franco ruled Spain as a dictator for many years, under his rule hundreds of thousands of his political opponents were murdered at his command (some sources suggest the number is closer to 2 million, but this is likely an exaggeration). [1]