Luis Pidal y Mon

Luis Pidal y Mon, 2nd Marquess of Pidal (Madrid, 7 February 1842 – Madrid, 19 December 1913) was a Spanish politician and diplomat who held relevant position during the reign of Alfonso XIII.

Biography He was the eldest son of the politician and academic Pedro José Pidal y Carniado, 1st Marquess of Pidal and Manuela Mon y Menéndez.

He studied law at the Central University of Madrid and Rome. Like his brother Alejandro Pidal y Mon, he was ultra-conservative and monarchist. He fiercely resisted the Glorious Revolution of 1868 and accompanied the new King Alfonso XII on his journey from England, in order to take possession of the new crown after the Bourbon Restoration in 1874.

In 1887 he entered the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences (medal 32) replacing Antonio de los Ríos Rosas. In 1884 he was appointed Academician of the Royal Spanish Academy, although he did not take office until 1895 with the speech El drama histórico.

He was Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See in 1890 and appointed Minister of Public Works during the first government of Francisco Silvela in March 1899. He was the author of the secondary education reform that was harshly criticized by the liberals. In April 1901 he was replaced by Rafael Gasset Chinchilla.

He later was President of the Senate in 1905 and of the Council of State between 1907 and 1909.

He died in Madrid on 19 December 1913, having just been named a Knight of the Royal Order of the Golden Fleece.

Marriage and children He was married in 1887 to Cristina Chico de Guzmán, daughter of Senator Alfonso Chico de Guzmán y Belmonte. They had 4 children, including María de las Maravillas de Jesús (1891–1974), one of the great mystics of the twentieth century.