Francisco Javier Ramírez Sinués (1898–1977) was a Spanish politician and official. In the mid-1930s he approached Carlism and in 1933 to 1935 he served as a Traditionalist deputy in the Cortes. He accepted the wartime political unification into Falange Española Tradicionalista. His career climaxed during early Francoism; in 1938 to 1939 he served as civil governor of the province of Soria, and in 1939 to 1943 he performed the same role in the province of Álava. After the mid-1940s he mostly withdrew into privacy, punctuated by sporadic demonstrations of support for the Alfonsist pretender Don Juan and for Franco.
Family and youth
The Ramirez family was initially related to Ariza,Marcelino Cortés Valenciano, Tauste en la encrucijada: 1850-1923. Radiografía de la Villa a través de la familia Ramírez, [in:] Tauste en su historia: actas de las III Jornadas sobre la Historia de Tauste, Zaragoza 2003, ISBN 8460635554, p. 105 an Aragonese town near Calatayud. The great-great-grandfather of Ramírez Sinués, Lorenzo Ramírez, left his native village of Bordalba and settled in Tauste in Western Aragón in the late 18th century.Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 105 In the mid-19th century his son Iñigo Ramírez Martínez was already the first taxpayer of the town,Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 112 owned some 170 hectares,Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 113 a mill and a confectionery manufacture.Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 114 His son and the grandfather of Ramírez Sinués, Angel Ramírez Carrera (1821-1893), purchased further 630 hectares during so-called desamortización de Madóz in the 1860s.Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 116 He was active in the Conservative Party, served in the provincial diputationCortés Valenciano 2003, p. 119 and in 1881-1886 held a seat in the Cortes;see the Ramírez Orúe ticket at the official Cortes service, available here his career marked the economic and political climax of the family.Cortés Valenciano 2003, pp. 118-128 His son Javier Ramírez Orúe (1871-1943)he is wrongly listed as „Javier Ramirez de Orne” at the indexing service of the Zaragoza municipal cemetery, see here in 1897La Dinastía 31.01.1897, available here married Manuela Sinués Lambea from the neighboring Gallur (died 1943);Pensamiento Alaves 12.05.43, available here she was daughter to local terrateniente family, also enriched during the desamortización.Francisco Javier Lambán Montañés, La reforma agraria republicana en Aragón, 1931-1936 [PhD thesis Universidad de Zaragoza], Zaragoza 2014, p. 383
Ramírez Orúe tried to follow in the footsteps of his father; he was also elected Conservative provincial deputy in 1896Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 129 and 1915,Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 131 in 1917 growing to president of Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza.Cortés Valenciano 2003, pp. 131-132 Despite renewed attempts and due to personal conflict with the Aragonese cacique family of Castellano,first with Tomás Castellano Villarroya and then his son Tomás Castellano Echenique, Cortés Valenciano 2003, pp. 129, 132 he has never managed to obtain the parliamentary ticket. However, his party connections ensured the 1922 nomination to gobernador civil of Valladolid; following 5 months at this post he was transferred to similar role in Tarragona, but for unclear reason Ramírez resigned after just 2 months.Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 133 Businesswise, he was the moving spirit behind construction of the Gallur-Sádaba railway line, inaugurated in 1915.Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 138 In 1924-1925 he bought 11,000 ha near Alfajarín and further 10,000 ha near Farlete; historians speculate that both purchases might have been at least partially fictitious, the shady deal agreed with vending local aristocrats.Lambán Montañés 2014, pp 346, 460 The transactions rendered Ramírez the 24th and then the 11th largest rural taxpayer in Aragon.Lambán Montañés 2014, p. 351
It is not clear whether Javier had any siblings; neither any of the sources consulted provides information on his early education. At unspecified time, though probably at the turn of the 1910s and 1920s, he studied law, most likely at the University of Zaragoza.Cortés Valenciano 2003, p. 141 Following military service in the local Aragón unitEjército de la Península 1925, available here in 1923El Debate 29.12.23, available here he married María de los Dolores de Círia del Castillo-Olivares, born in Ciudad Real.El Avisador Numantino 08.07.39, available here, Gabriela Sierra, Francisco Gracia, Zaragoza en el Congreso de los Diputados, Zaragoza 2012, ISBN 9788499111636, p. 57 She was daughter to Alfredo de Círia y Arbeleche, Conde de Valparaíso and Marqués de Añavete, owner of numerous estates in Aragón and elsewhere.Castillo-Olivares genealogical site, available here The couple settled in Zaragoza, where Ramírez Sinués practiced as a lawyer.Guillermo Sáez Aznar, Aquellos Abogados de Provincias. La red aragonesa de Serrano Suñer durante la Segunda República, [in:] La Segona República. Cultures i projectes polítics. Congrés Internacional d’Història, Bellaterra 2016, available here It is not clear to what extent he was involved in management of the massive rural economy of his father; some authors claim he was barely related to his native Tauste,Sierra, Gracia 2012, p. 57 but in public he at times appeared as “agrario”.La Libertad 28.11.33, available here Javier and Dolores had 7 children,named Juana, José Andrés, Carmen, Pedro, Dolores, Pilar and Concepción, Pablo del Castillo-Olivares y Jiménez, Historia del apellido del Castillo-Olivares, available here born between the mid-1920sthe first child was Juana. The second one, José Andrés, was born in 1927, see the Zaragoza municipal cemetery database, available here and the late 1930s.the last one, María Concepción, was born in 1938, El Avisador Numantino 10.12.38, available here None of the Ramírez Círia descendants became a public figure; neither any of 16 grandchildren from Ramírez Martín, Ramírez Días, García Ramírez and Vicente Ramírez families did.surnames referred after Pablo del Castillo-Olivares y Jiménez, Historia del apellido del Castillo-Olivares, available here
Carlist
There is no evidence of Ramírez Sinués’ public engagements during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship; information on his activity during the early Republican period is confusing. Some sources claim that he was member of Acción Popular Agraria Aragonesa,Guillermo Sáez Aznar, La sombra de gobernación, [in:] Jerónimo Zurita 93 (2018), p. 193 the conservative organization animated by local landholders; the Ramirez property was from the onset target of expropriation designs,already in 1931 the local UGT unit claimed that the Alfajarín estate is not cultivarted and serves only for hunting and growing rabbit population; they demanded action, Lambán Montañés 2014, p. 461 for the time being delayed by talks about voluntary cession of some property.Lambán Montañés 2014, p. 461 Other sources maintain that already in 1931 Ramírez entered Comunión TradicionalistaMelchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol. XXX, Sevilla 1979, p. 79 and contributed to its local weekly, Lunes.Pensamiento Alaves 28.08.39, available here. According to later opiniony, “persona de dotes intelectuales y religiosas, reflejadas en sus artículos en el semanario tradicionalista”, Iker Cantabrana, Octavistas contra Oriolistas. La lucha por el control de las instituciones, [in:] Antonio Rivera (ed.), Dictadura y desarrollismo. El franquismo en Alava, Vitoria 2009, ISBN 9788496845305, p. 138 During the 1933 election campaign he was initially reported as a candidate of Candidatura de Defensa Agraria,La Voz de Aragon 14.11.33, available here which was soon re-formatted as a coalition list of Unión de Derechas; the Carlists advertised him as their candidate.Pensamiento Alaves 23.11.33, available here, El Siglo Futuro 11.11.33, available here He was comfortably elected and joined the Carlist parliamentary minority.see his ticket at the official Cortes service, available here
Ramírez was barely active in Cortes, and his interventions were related mostly to agriculture.Sierra, Gracia 2012, p. 57 As full-time member he entered Comisión de Importaciones de Trigo, and as deputy commissions of audit, budget and war.referred after Sierra, Gracia 2012, p. 57 In 1934 he formed a commission investigating the October events in BarcelonaLa Prensa 26.10.34, available here and afterwards he signed a related motion to bring Azaña before Tribunal de Garantias.La Libertad 14.03.35, available here He was known mostly for initiatives related to infrastructure buildup in Aragón: development of telephone grid,La Voz de Aragon 27.03.34, available here trade,La Voz de Aragon 26.07.34, available here railway network,El Adelanto 09.01.35, available here hydrographic worksLa Voz de Aragon 03.09.35, available here and sugar beets industry; during some of these projects he worked with another Aragón deputy, Ramón Serrano Suñer.La Voz de Aragon 16.04.35, available here
Within Carlism Ramiréz remained in the second row; he did not enter the party executive bodies and seldom spoke at public rallies. A scholarly monograph barely mentions his name.see Martin Blinkhorn, Carlism and Crisis in Spain 1931-1939, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 9780521207294 His appearances are related to religious eventssee e.g. the 1934 religious act in Centro Católico, in Congregación de San Luis, in intronization of Sacred Heart of Jesus, grand religious rally in Zaragoza, and his presidency in some of these gatherings, Pensamiento Alaves 14.06.34, available here, La Voz de Aragon 07.05.35, available here, La Voz de Aragon 05.11.35, available here rather than to strictly Traditionalist gatherings, mostly in Aragónsee his presence during a 1934 rally in Borja, Tradición 01.07.34, available here, or during a 1935 gathering in Zaragoza, El Siglo Futuro 12.03.35, available here and exceptionally also elsewhere.the exceptional case was his presence during launch of new printing machinery of the Madrid daily El Siglo Futuro, see Pensamiento Alaves 24.04.35, available here In Carlist propaganda he was dedicated relatively little space.in a Carlist propaganda booklet he was featured on 1 page with very vague information provided, hailed as “hombre de estudio”, “prestigio intelectual”, and "ferviente propagandista de la Tradición", El Tradicionalismo español ante la opinión pública, s.l. 1934, p. 105 In terms of political strategy he joined the faction which supported a general monarchist alliance; in 1935 Ramírez was among signatories of the newly founded Bloque Nacional,Ferrer 1979, p. 106 entered its local Aragonese presidencyLa Voz de Aragon 01.01.35, available here and appeared in some common propaganda initiatives.e.g. in July 1935 he joined the initiative to build a monument to Cid Campeador in Burgos, Diario de Burgos 19.07.35, available here In 1935 he was appointed delegado regional of Juventudes Tradicionalistas.Ferrer 1979, p. 79 He did not field his candidature in the 1936 elections and it is not clear whether he was engaged in fighting expropriation, which eventually affected the Ramírez properties in May 1936.in April of 1936 Instituto de Reforma Agraria embarked on peculiar and singular policy with regard to some properties in Aragón, Sobradiel and Alfajarín; it authorized occupation of lands of Javier Ramirez Orue and then distributed some 6,000 ha among 468 farmers, Lambán Montañés 2014, pp. 451, 461. Javier Ramirez protested to IRA and his last document was dated June 10, 1936; he claimed the estate has been hipotecated, Lambán Montañés 2014, p. 469. Following Nationalist takeover of Western Aragón Ramirez Orúe addressed Comisión de Agricultura of Junta Técnica del Estado and got most of the expropriated area restituted to him in December 1936, Lambán Montañés 2014, p. 470