The Directorate-General for Security (, DGS) was a Spanish agency under the Ministry of the Interior responsible for public order policy throughout Spain.Origen de la Dirección General de Seguridad (I)

First created in March 1858 as Directorate-General for Security and Public Order, it was dissolved in October that year. It was re-established in 1886 as Directorate-General for Security and suppressed in 1888. Finally, the agency was re-established once more in 1912, lasting until the Spanish transition to democracy.

The agency was briefly renamed the Directorate-General for Public Order between 1921 and 1923, when it regained its original name. After the Spanish Civil War, the agency increased its role in controlling public order during Franco's dictatorship, becoming one of the main instruments of Francoist repression. It was abolished in 1979 when the current Directorate-General of the Police took over its functions.Jesús Martínez (1998); pág. 32

History

Origins and creation On March 24, 1858, a General Directorate of Security and Public Order was created, with Manuel Ruiz del Cerro appointed to the position.Gaceta de Madrid núm. 85, página 1 (26 de marzo de 1858) However, this body had a very short existence, and was dissolved in October of that year. In 1886, a General Directorate of Security was re-established under the Ministry of the Interior to centralize all existing police services and security forces.Origen de la Dirección General de Seguridad (I)Gaceta de Madrid núm. 300, pp. 282-283 (27 de octubre de 1886) Marshal Antonio Dabán y Ramírez de Arellano was appointed as its first Director General of Security .  The agency was abolished in July 1888, but was re-established at the end of 1912. From then on, the new agency became an important instrument of government public order policies.

Between June 1921 and November 1923 the organization was called "General Directorate of Public Order", later recovering its original name.

Spanish Civil War and Falangist Spain After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the DGS (Directorate General of Security) came under Republican control, but proved powerless to control the extrajudicial killings , secret prisons , and other "uncontrolled acts" that became commonplace in the early months.  In those days of July, the Director of Security, Alonso Mallol, was horrified by the situation and was unable to effectively curb it.  

Following the end of the Civil War and the establishment of the Francoist dictatorship, the latter profoundly reorganized the DGS, concentrating numerous services under its direct control and thereby increasing its power.BOE núm. 269, pág. 5333 (23 de septiembre de 1939)  The policy of the victorious side was far from national reconciliation and was based entirely on the vision of victory over the vanquished .  The new Law for State Security further emphasized this new character of the DGS.  ]

José Ungría Jiménez was appointed the new director general immediately after the end of the war, and José Finat y Escrivá de Romaní succeeded him.BOE núm. 269, pág. 5333 (23 de septiembre de 1939)  In fact, Escrivá de Romaní would become known for his extremely harsh repression and even invited Heinrich Himmler to visit Madrid, with the idea of establishing police collaboration with the Gestapo.  

From 1941, the DGS was entrusted with the task of monitoring public morality and compliance with the rules imposed based on directives on conduct and dress drawn up by the Catholic Church. During the summer period especially, the DGS reported on these instructions (the use of "indecent bathing garments" was prohibited, requiring coverage of the chest and back, and the mandatory use of skirts for women and sports trousers for men) and imposed fines "on those who did not observe behavior in accordance with the required morality."

Its headquarters, which at this time was located in the Royal Post Office in the Puerta del Sol (Madrid), became notorious as a torture center, with well-known cases such as those of the communist leader Julián Grimau, President Companys, and the socialist leader Tomás Centeno ,  the latter of whom died under mysterious circumstances in the offices of the Directorate General.  The period of Carlos Arias Navarro as Director General, under the ministry of Camilo Alonso Vega, was particularly marked by repression.Jesús Martínez (1998); pág. 169 The General Police Corps also had offices in the Puerta del Sol, including those of the Political-Social Brigade

On September 13, 1974, the armed organization ETA-V Assembly carried out the so-called Calle del Correo bombing by planting a powerful bomb in the nearby Rolando cafeteria. The target was the numerous police officers who frequented the establishment, but of the thirteen people killed by the explosion, only one was a police officer. ETA never dared to claim responsibility for the attack.

Dissolution Following Franco's death and the beginning of the Spanish transition to democracy, in 1978 the DGS was reorganized to adapt it to the realities of the time.  In 1979 the agency was abolished, becoming the current Directorate-General of the Police.BOE núm. 148, pp. 14849-14850 (22 de junio de 1978)

Directors General of Security PeriodStartEndingNameGameReign of Alfonso XIII (1902-1931)November 27, 1912December 5, 1916Ramón Méndez AlanísJanuary 5, 1916April 18, 1919Manuel de la Barrera y CaroMilitaryApril 18, 1919April 20, 1921Fernando de Torres AlmuniaApril 20, 1921December 8, 1922Millán Millán de Priego y BedmarDecember 8, 1922September 27, 1923Carlos Blanco PérezMilitarySeptember 27, 1923January 29, 1924Miguel Arlegui BayonésMilitaryFebruary 6, 1924April 12, 1925José González HernándezMilitaryApril 12, 1925February 13, 1930Pedro Bazán EstebanMilitaryFebruary 13, 1930April 15, 1931Emilio MolaMilitarySecond Republic (1931-1939)April 15, 1931May 14, 1931Carlos Blanco PérezMilitaryMay 14, 1931December 18, 1931Angel Galarza GagoPRRSDecember 18, 1931March 4, 1932Ricardo Herráiz EsteveMarch 4, 1932March 6, 1933Arturo Menéndez LópezMilitaryMarch 6, 1933September 14, 1933Manuel Andrés CasausARSeptember 14, 1933June 1, 1935José Valdivia and Garci-BorrónMilitaryNovember 6, 1935December 19, 1935José Gardoqui UrdanibiaMilitaryDecember 19, 1935February 22, 1936Vicente Santiago HodssonMilitaryFebruary 22, 1936July 31, 1936José Alonso MallolGOJuly 31, 1936December 31, 1936Manuel Muñoz MartínezGODecember 31, 1936May 20, 1937Wenceslao Carrillo AlonsoPSOEMay 28, 1937July 18, 1937Antonio Ortega GutiérrezMilitaryOctober 15, 1937April 1, 1938Carlos de Juan RodríguezPSOEApril 1, 1938April 10, 1938Paulino Gómez SaizPSOEApril 10, 1938April 17, 1938Juan Ruiz OlazaránPSOEApril 17, 1938March 13, 1939Eduardo Cuevas de la PeñaMilitaryMarch 13, 1939March 29, 1939Vicente Girauta LinaresPSOEFrancoist Dictatorship (1939-1975)January 5, 1939September 26, 1939José Ungría JiménezMilitarySeptember 26, 1939May 10, 1941José Finat and Escrivá de RomaníFET y de las JONSMay 10, 1941June 30, 1942Gerardo Caballero OlabézarMilitaryJune 30, 1942July 27, 1951Francisco Rodríguez MartínezMilitaryJuly 27, 1951June 25, 1957Rafael Hierro MartínezMilitaryJune 25, 1957February 5, 1965Carlos Arias NavarroFET y de las JONSFebruary 9, 1965November 1, 1965Mariano Tortosa SobejanoMilitaryNovember 20, 1965February 1, 1974Eduardo Blanco RodríguezMilitaryFebruary 1, 1974December 12, 1975Francisco Dueñas GavilánMilitaryReign of Juan Carlos I (from 1975)December 12, 1975July 23, 1976Victor Castro SanmartinmilitaryJuly 23, 1976December 23, 1976Emilio Rodríguez RománFET y de las JONSDecember 23, 1976May 10, 1979Mariano Nicolás GarcíaFET and the JONS

See also Gerardo Caballero

References

Further reading