List of directors general of the Civil Guard (Spain)

This article lists the directors general of the Civil Guard, the national gendarmerie and a law enforcement agency of Spain.

The director general is the official of the Ministry of the Interior who commands the Civil Guard, and heads the Directorate-General of the Civil Guard.

List Name Appointed Dismissed Notes Francisco Javier Girón 2 September 1844 10 July 1854 1st term. Antonio María Alós 18 July 1854 1 August 1854 Facundo Infante Chaves 1 August 1854 19 July 1856 José MacCrohon y Blake 1 September 1856 12 October 1856 Francisco Javier Girón 12 October 1856 1 July 1858 2nd term. Isidoro de Hoyos y Rubín de Celis 2 July 1858 21 November 1863 1st term. Ángel García-Loygorri y García de Tejada 29 September 1864 25 June 1865 Isidoro de Hoyos y Rubín de Celis 25 June 1865 28 December 1865 2nd term. Francisco Serrano Bedoya 28 December 1865 11 July 1866 1st term. Rafael Acedo Rico y Amat 11 July 1866 11 March 1867 José Antonio Turón y Prats 11 March 1867 16 September 1868 1st term. Anselmo Blaser y San Martín 16 September 1868 26 September 1868 Glorious Revolution. Juan Antonio de Zaratiegui y Zeliqueta 26 September 1868 25 October 1868 Francisco Serrano Bedoya 25 October 1868 18 June 1872 2nd term. Cándido Pieltain y Jove-Huergo 19 June 1872 26 March 1873 Proclamation of the First Spanish Republic (11 February 1873). Mariano Socías del Fangar y Lledó 5 July 1873 19 September 1873 Juan Acosta Muñoz 19 September 1873 10 October 1873 Segundo de la Portilla Gutiérrez 10 October 1873 18 January 1874 José Antonio Turón y Prats 18 January 1874 28 September 1874 2nd term. Fernando Cotoner y Chacón 28 September 1874 21 January 1882 Restoration of the monarchy (29 December 1874). Tomás García-Cervino y López de Sigüenza 23 January 1882 5 November 1883 1st term. Agustín de Burgos y Llamas 5 November 1883 26 April 1884 Ramón Fajardo Izquierdo 26 April 1884 4 August 1884 Remigio Moltó y Díaz-Berrio 6 August 1884 9 December 1885 Tomás García-Cervino y López-Sigüenza 9 December 1885 3 December 1887 2nd term. José Chinchilla y Díez de Oñate 13 January 1888 11 December 1888 1st term. Thomás O'Ryan y Vázquez 11 December 1888 13 November 1890 Luis Dabán y Ramírez de Arellano 14 November 1890 22 January 1892 Romualdo Palacio González 30 January 1892 8 February 1899 José Chinchilla y Díez de Oñate 8 February 1899 2 March 1899 2nd term. Antonio Dabán y Ramírez de Arellano 16 March 1899 27 July 1901 Federico Ochando 27 July 1901 30 August 1902 Luis de Pando y Sánchez 30 August 1902 13 July 1903 Camilo García de Polavieja 13 July 1903 23 November 1903 Arsenio Linares y Pombo 23 November 1903 6 December 1903 Vicente Martitegui 7 December 1903 28 January 1905 1st term. Joaquín Sánchez Gómez 28 January 1905 25 August 1910 Vicente Martitegui 25 August 1910 25 January 1912 2nd term. Ángel Aznar y Butigieg 31 January 1912 3 March 1913 Ramón Echagüe y Méndez Vigo 3 March 1913 30 October 1913 Agustín de Luque y Coca 30 October 1913 10 December 1915 1st term. Enrique de Orozco 10 December 1915 23 July 1916 Antonio Tovar y Marcoleta 23 July 1916 20 April 1917 Agustín de Luque y Coca 20 April 1917 26 June 1917 2nd term Salvador Arizón y Sánchez Fano 26 June 1917 6 December 1918 Juan Zubia y Bassecourt 6 December 1918 26 March 1925 Ricardo Burguete Lana 27 March 1925 3 November 1928 José Sanjurjo 3 November 1928 3 February 1932 Proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic (14 April 1931). Miguel Cabanellas 3 February 1932 15 August 1932 1st term. Cecilio Bedia de la Cavallería 15 August 1932 15 February 1935 Asturian Revolution of 1934. Miguel Cabanellas 15 February 1935 7 January 1936 2nd term. Sebastián Pozas Perea 7 January 1936 24 July 1936 Remained loyal to the Republic following the Spanish coup of July 1936. Spanish Civil War Eliseo Álvarez-Arenas Romero 6 September 1939 13 April 1942 Integration of the Carabineros into the Civil Guard (1940). Enrique Cánovas Lacruz 13 April 1942 1 July 1943 Camilo Alonso Vega 24 July 1943 30 May 1955 Longest-serving Director General of the Civil Guard. Pablo Martín Alonso 30 June 1955 8 February 1957 Eduardo Sáenz de Buruaga 8 February 1957 23 April 1959 Antonio Alcubilla Pérez 23 April 1959 7 December 1962 Creation of the (1959). Luis Zanón Aldalur 10 December 1962 31 December 1965 Ángel Ramírez de Cartagena y Marcaida 14 January 1966 21 September 1967 Antonio Cores Fernández de Cañete 6 October 1967 22 January 1969 Luis Díez-Alegría 7 March 1969 13 January 1972 Carlos Iniesta Cano 21 January 1972 13 May 1974 Assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco (20 December 1973). José Miguel Vega Rodríguez 17 May 1974 10 October 1975 Ángel Campano López 10 October 1975 23 December 1976 Death of Francisco Franco (20 November 1975) and the Montejurra massacre (9 May 1976). Antonio Ibáñez Freire 23 December 1976 2 May 1978 1977 Atocha massacre. Carlos Oliete Sánchez 2 May 1978 2 July 1979 Pedro Fontenla Fernández 2 July 1979 19 April 1980 José Luis Aramburu Topete 24 April 1980 26 October 1983 1981 coup attempt (23F), led by Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero of the Civil Guard. José Antonio Sáenz de Santa María 2 November 1983 3 October 1986 Luis Roldán 31 October 1986 3 December 1993 Ferrán Cardenal de Alemany 3 December 1993 7 May 1996 Santiago López Valdivielso 7 May 1996 30 April 2004 2004 Madrid train bombings. Carlos Gómez Arruche 30 April 2004 28 April 2006 Joan Mesquida Ferrando 28 April 2006 21 April 2008 Unified command of the National Police Corps and the Civil Guard. Simultaneously served as the Director General of the Police. Francisco Javier Velázquez 21 April 2008 31 December 2011 Arsenio Fernández de Mesa 3 January 2012 18 November 2016 José Manuel Holgado Merino 18 November 2016 29 June 2018 2017 Barcelona attacks and the 2017–2018 constitutional crisis. Félix Vicente Azón Vilas 29 June 2018 18 January 2020 María Gámez Gámez 18 January 2020 28 March 2023 First woman to hold this office. Mercedes González Fernández 28 March 2023 Incumbent

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