Juan Olazábal Ramery (1863–1937) was a Spanish Traditionalist politician, first as a Carlist, then as an Integrist, and eventually back in the Carlist ranks. In 1899-1901 he served in the Cortes, and in 1911-1914 he was a member of the Gipuzkoan diputación provincial. Between 1897 and 1936 he managed and edited the San Sebastián daily La Constancia. He is best known as the nationwide leader of Integrism, the grouping he led between 1907 and 1931.
Family and youth
Juan José Tomás Ramón María Melitón Santiago Olazábal Ramery was born to a very distinguished Gipuzkoan dynasty,see Ana Galdós Monfort, Mercedes Tranche Iparraguirre, Los Olazábal. Un ejemplo del surgimiento, persistencia y transformación de las élites locales en Irun (Siglos XV-XX), [in:] Boletín de estudios del Bidasoa, 26 (2010), pp. 167-183 much branched and intermarried with a number of other well known local families.see euskalnet service available here; see also Geni genealogical service here, Geneanet service here, and much worse Geneallnet entry here His father, Juan Antonio Olazábal Arteaga, held a number of estates in Eastern part of the province.Javier Real Cuesta, El Carlismo Vasco 1876-1900, Madrid 1985, , pp. 117-118, 250 Following his early death in 1867,Juan Antonio Olazábal Arteaga entry at Geni service here Juan and his siblings were raised by their mother, Prudencia Ramery Zuzuarregui.there seems to be some confusion as to the correct spelling of her segundo apellido. Most sources prefer the “Zuzuarregui” version, see e.g. the Ramery y Zuzuarregui, Liborio entry at Indice Historico de Diputados at the official Cortes service available here. There are authors, however, who prefer the “Zuazarregui” version, see José Antonio Vaca de Osma, Los vascos en la historia de España, Madrid 1995, , 9788432130953, p. 178. Some sources are inconsistent; the genealogical Geni service refers to most of the siblings “Zuazarregui”, with the exception of Prudencia, who is named “Zuzuarregui”, see here. The contemporary press used "Zuzuarregui", see El Siglo Futuro 13.01.94 here At the outbreak of the Third Carlist War the family sought refuge in France.Jose Urbano Asarta Epenza, Juan de Olazábal Ramery entry, [in:] Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online, available here Following their return to Spain Juan was educated in the Jesuit college in Orduña, where he met and befriended Sabino Arana, Euskera: se empieza inventando un idioma… [in:] Pais Vasco 01.02.05 available here to proceed with law studies in another Jesuit institute, Colegio del Pasaxe in the Galician A Guarda.Asarta Epenza, Juan de Olazábal Ramery He then moved to Universidad Central in Madrid,in an open letter of 1884 he is signed as "estudiante católico de Madrid", El Siglo Futuro 11.12.84, available here to graduate in 1885.in El Siglo Futuro 21.03.85 he is already signed as "licenciado", see here
Though the family in some sources is described as Carlist,Asarta Epenza, Juan de Olazábal Ramery in fact its different branches adhered to different political options. Juan's paternal uncle, Ramón Olazábal Arteaga, as coronel of miqueletesFrancisco Apalategui Igarzabal, Karlisten eta liberalen gerra-kontaerak, San Sebastian 2005, , pp. 41, 43, available here sided with the Isabelinos during the Third Carlist War, growing to the commander of the entire formationSerapio Mugica Zufiria, Geografía de Guipúzcoa, available at Instituto Geografico Vasco site here and also the civil governor of Irun.Apalategui 2005, p. 298 On the other hand, Juan's maternal uncle, Liborio Ramery Zuzuarregui,Asarta Epenza, Juan de Olazábal Ramery, see also Liborio Ramery Zuzuarregui entry at Geni service here made his name as a Carlist politician, Gipzukoan deputy to the Cortes and a Traditionalist writer. A distant relative from a paternal branch, Tirso de Olazábal y Lardizábal,Juan de Olazábal Ramery (b. 1702) and Domingo de Olazábal Ramery (b. 1703) were brothers; Juan Olazábal Ramery was the great-great-great-grandson of the former, while Tirso de Olazábal y Lardizábal was the great-great-grandson of the latter, see euskalnet; for simplified genealogical tree showing relationship between the two, see here became head of Gipuzkoan Carlism and one of the national party leaders.Carlos Cortabarria Igartua, Tirso de Olazábal Arbelaiz Lardizabal entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia available here, see also genealogical tree and numerous detailed info pieces at Luis Maria Zavala (ed.), La sociedad Vasca del siglo XIX en la correpondencia del archivo de la casa de Zavala, Lasarte 2008, , p. 67 and passim It was rather the influence of Juan's maternal family, especially Liborio, which combined with the Jesuit education formed him as a Carlist. Juan Olazábal has never married and had no children. Some members of the Olazábal family were active as Carlist politicians in the early Francoist era, though they were very distant Juan's relatives.the best known is Rafael Olazábal Eulate, active in Carlism between the 1930s and 1950s, see euskalnet
Early career
Already as a student Olazábal engaged in public activity taking part in Carlist-sponsored Catholic initiatives, e.g. protests against krausism-flavored heterodoxy in educationEl Siglo Futuro 11.12.84 available here or against promotion of figures like Giordano Bruno;El Siglo Futuro 21.03.85 available here instead, he advocated Catholic orthodoxy as fundament of public education in Spain. In 1888 both Olazábal Ramery brothers, Juan and Javier,he was head of public works department in Gipuzkoa, civil engineer specialising in road construction, and head of Integrism in Toledo; died in 1926, see El Siglo Futuro 21.12.27 available here, El Siglo Futuro 19.04.28 available here and El Siglo Futuro 10.01.89 available here. His sister Caya was also a Carlist activist, see El Siglo Futuro 16.05.08, available here defected from mainstream Carlism and joined its breakaway branch led by Ramón Nocedal, known as Integrism;in historiography the Integrist secession is interpreted in 4 different ways. Jordi Canal presents 3 of them: as a result of personal conflict between Nocedal and Carlos VII, as a result of ideological conflict within Carlism, as a result of wider European trend - see Jordi Canal i Morell, La masonería en el discurso integrista español a finales del siglo XIX: Ramón Nocedal y Romea, [in:] José Antonio Ferrer Benimeli (ed.), Masonería, revolución y reacción, Alicante 1990, , p. 774, also his Las “muertes” y las “resurrecciones” del carlismo. Reflexiones sobre la escisión integrista de 1888, [in:] Ayer 38 (2000), pp. 115-136. Another proposal is advanced by Clemente, who presents Integrism as antidemocratic ideology of the wealthy few who parasitised on popular and democratic Carlism, see Josep Carles Clemente, Los días fugaces. El carlismo, de las guerras civiles a la transición, Cuenca 2013, , p. 28, also his Breve historia de las guerras carlistas, Madrid 2011, , 9788499671697, pp. 7-18 they followed the example of their uncle Liborio, who entered the Integrist executive as secretario of junta central.Jordi Canal i Morell, Banderas blancas, boinas rojas: una historia política del carlismo, 1876-1939, Madrid 2006, , 9788496467347, p. 88 In 1889 they were already active in various minor Integrist public initiatives.El Siglo Futuro 17.06.89 available here Juan returned to Gipuzkoa, building the party structures and mobilising its popular support in the province, which soon turned out to be a national Integrist stronghold.detailed account in María Obieta Villalonga, Los integristas guipuzcoanos. Desarrollo y organización del Partido Católico Nacional en Guipúzcoa (1888-1898), Bilbao 1996, , 9788470863264 In the 1891 elections the party gained 2 mandates in the province, one conquered by Juan's uncle LiborioRamery y Zuzuarregui, Liborio at Indice Historico de Diputados and one by the party leader Nocedal.see Nocedal y Romea, Ramon entry for 1891 at Indice Historico de Diputados at the official Cortes service available here Since at that time Integrism and mainstream Carlism competed with vehement hostility, the latter success looked triumphant: Nocedal defeated the Gipuzkoan mainstream Carlist leader, Tirso Olazábal.Agustín Fernández Escudero, El marqués de Cerralbo (1845-1922): biografía politica [PhD thesis], Madrid 2012, p. 237 Nocedal was also re-elected in the subsequent elections of 1893.see Nocedal y Romea, Ramon entry for 1893 at Indice Historico de Diputados at the official Cortes service available here
Following the death of Liborio Ramery in 1894,see El Siglo Futuro 13.01.94 available here Juan Olazábal took his place in provincial party leadership. The same year he was already representing the province at national party gatherings,together with Benito Ameztoy, Ignacio Echaide and Luis Maria Echeverria, El Siglo Futuro 03.08.94 available here hosting party meetings at his Mundaiz estate in 1895La Iberia 15.07.95, available here and formally growing to segundo adjunto of the Gipuzkoan branch in 1896.presided by Ramón Zavala y Salazar, El Siglo Futuro 06.07.96 available here He was engaged in negotiations with other parties during local electoral campaigns. An alliance with the conservatives, known as Union Vasconavarra, produced 3 Integrist mandates into the San Sebastian ayuntamiento in 1893;Real Cuesta 1985, p. 123 the same coalition produced the same outcome in 1895, this time Olazábal elected as concejal.Asarta Epenza, Juan de Olazábal Ramery, see also El Siglo Futuro 16.05.95 available here He made himself renowned for defending traditional local establishments against the centralising and modernising designs of the Madrid government. In 1896 he was forced to resign after a failed attempt to block ministerial legislation he considered detrimental to the interests of the city, but was reinstated following a successful appeal and served until 1899.Asarta Epenza, Juan de Olazábal Ramery
La Constancia