José Calvo Sotelo, 1st Duke of Calvo Sotelo, GE was a Spanish jurist and politician. He was the minister of finance during the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera and a leading figure during the Spanish Second Republic. During this period. he became an important part of Spanish Renovation, a monarchist movement. Calvo Sotelo's assassination in July 1936 by the bodyguard of PSOE party leader Indalecio Prieto was an immediate prelude to the triggering of the Spanish military coup of July 1936 that was plotted since February 1936, the partial failure of which marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

The Spanish Republic, commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic, was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissolved on 1 April 1939 after surrendering in the Spanish Civil War to the Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco.