Lluís Companys

Lluís Companys i Jover ( Catalan pronunciation: [ʎuˈis kumˈpaɲs]; 21 June 1882 – 15 October 1940) was a Catalan politician from Spain who served as president of Catalonia from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War.

Companys was a lawyer close to the labour movement and one of the most prominent leaders of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) political party, founded in 1931. He had a key role in the events of the proclamation and first steps of the Second Spanish Republic. Appointed president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in 1934 after the death of the previous president, Francesc Macià, his government tried to consolidate the recently acquired Catalan self-government and implement a progressive agenda, despite the internal difficulties. Opposed to the inclusion of the right-wing CEDA party in the coalition Spanish government during the strikes and insurgency in October 1934, on 6 October he proclaimed a new Catalan State. He and Catalan government officials were subsequently arrested and imprisoned.