José
Aguirre
was
born in Spain in 1904. Aguirre trained
as a lawyer before becoming a Basque politician. On the outbreak of
the Spanish Civil War he formed the first
government of the Republic of Euzkadi. Aguirre pledged support for
the Popular Front government in return
for local home rule.
The relationship between
Aguirre and the Republican government became strained in 1937. Aguirre
feared that the government based in Valencia
wanted more control over the Basque affairs. At the same time Juan
Negrin suspected that the Basque government was trying to negotiate
a separate peace with the Nationalists.
The Nationalist
Army continued
to invade Basque territory and in July 1937 Aguirre was forced to
flee from Bilboa. He established a government in exile and remained
president of the Basque people until his death in 1960.
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