Luis Cornide Quiroga

Luis Cornide Quiroga (1884 – 6 November 1946) was a Spanish lawyer, academic, businessman, politician, and sports leader who served as the 1st president of Deportivo de La Coruña between 1906 and 1908. He was a Deputy of Spain for A Coruña on two occasions in the 1930s, and was later persecuted by the Franco regime, being sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Early life and education Born in 1884 in Monforte de Lemos, Galicia, Cornide first studied at the Escolapios school, but after his father died, the family moved to A Coruña, thanks to the help of a relative who was a magistrate. entering the Corps of court and judicial clerks, where he served as a secretary of the Regional Court in 1906.

In 1900, the 16-year-old Cornide became president of the Tunas de Santiago, coinciding with the time that Casa de la Troya was typed by Alejandro Pérez Lugín, who described Cornide as "a slave to books and constant discourse", and as having "as much heart as head".

Sporting career In 1903, the 19-year-old Cornide became the secretary of the League of Friends of La Coruña, which organized boat races between its members and those of the Sala Calvet, a gymnasium for the practice of various exercises, such as rowing, fencing, tennis, weightlifting, and football. a position that he held for two years, until 1908, when he was replaced by Laureano Martínez Brañas.

In the early 1910s, Cornide established a law firm in Hercules, where he quickly earned a strong reputation. He also collaborated with the newspaper La Voz de Galicia and in 1927, he was president of El Eco Choral Society. he underwent lectures of the Economical National Union of Madrid, at the end of which he wrote La economía gallega y la solidaridad económica nacional ("The Galician economy and national economic solidarity").

Political career Politically active, Cornide was part of the Grupo de Acción Republicana and won a seat in the Cortes as an independent liberal during the general elections of June 1931. As a member of the Finance Committee, he played a key role in the discussions about the banking regulation bill. During this Republican period, he formed close ties with several influential figures, particularly the socialist leader Indalecio Prieto. During the Second Spanish Republic, Cornide was one of five politicians who had presided a football club, the others being Sevilla's Manuel Blasco, Real Madrid's Rafael Sánchez Guerra, FC Barcelona's Josep Sunyol, and RCD Mallorca's Ángel Vázquez Humasqué.

In February 1934, after winning the corresponding competition, Cornide was appointed vice-secretary of the Supreme Court, and a few months later, he became its secretary. During the build-up for the 1936 Spanish general election, Cornide was stabbed in the streets of A Coruña by Communist Party members, but he survived and went on to be re-elected as a member of the Cortes for A Coruña, once again as an independent. When the Spanish Civil War broke out on 18 July 1936, he was in Madrid, where he faced ongoing harassment from communist and anarchist groups, but eventually, Prieto secured him a safe-conduct pass that allowed him to leave the country, spending some time in exile before returning to his homeland in July 1938.

Soon after, however, Cornide was accused of the crime of "aiding rebellion", being arrested and tried by a court-martial, but thanks to his high rank, the trial, which took place on 12 August, was conducted by senior military officers, and its proceedings, which were held in the courtroom of the Infantry Regiment, were presided over by the local military governor, while his defense was led by Infantry Commander Ángel Lloveres. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but he was released after only a year in the Dueso Prison in Santoña, being reinstated in his professional career, and then relocated to Madrid.

Death At the time of his death on 6 November 1946, Cornide was serving as the secretary of government of the Supreme Court. He was also the uncle of Enrique Cornide Ferrant, a renowned Coruña-based lawyer and writer.