José Antonio Primo de Rivera death (although his sentence was commuted). Franco appointed his own brother-in-law Serrano Suñer to replace him. The reign of Francisco Franco nurtured a convenient cult of personality around the dead figure of Primo de Rivera whom Falangists dubbed "El Ausente" (The Missing One). The founder of Falange was anointed a martyr of the "crusade against Marxism." Notwithstanding the apparent veneration by the Francoist State, it remains true that the Missing One's demise had removed a dangerous opponent: Primo de Rivera had been Marquess, a doctor of civil law, a political thinker; Franco owned no comparable pedigree, no comparable education and
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 2nd Duke of Primo de Rivera, 4th Marquis of Estella (11 July 1904 – 8 May 1964) was a Spanish aristocrat, lawyer, politician and diplomat. He was the second son of former dictatorial Prime Minister Miguel Primo de Rivera and younger brother of the founder of the Falangist movement José Antonio Primo de Rivera. He studied law at Universidad Central de Madrid and called to the bar in Cádiz. Following World War II he was Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom and mayor of