Porfirio Franca

Porfirio Franca y Álvarez de la Campa (1878 – 1950) was a Cuban Conservative business man, banker^[3] and a member of the Pentarchy of 1933.

Porfirio Franca y Álvarez de la Campa
Commissioner of Finance[1]
In office September 5, 1933 – September 10, 1933
Constituency	Republic of Cuba
Personal details
Born	Porfirio Franca y Álvarez de la Campa[2] 1878 Havana, Cuba
Died	1950
Nationality	Cuban
Children	3

Early history

Porfirio Franca was born in Havana, Cuba in 1878.^[4]

In 1902, Franca was founding member of the Vedado Tennis Club in Vedado which he presided over for 15 years.^[5]

He managed the local Havana branch of the National City Bank of New York and was director of the Banco Nacional de Cuba.^[6]

In 1923, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Porfirio Franca, who held the Cuban seat until 1938.^[7] He was instrumental in staging the 1930 Central American and Caribbean Games in Havana.

Politics

After Gerardo Machado was deposed on August 12, 1933, Franca declined to accept an offer as the Secretary of the Treasury under the incoming Céspedes administration.^[5] Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada served as President of Cuba from August 13 to September 1933 before an executive committee was appointed which included Porfirio Franca.

Pentarchy of 1933

The five members of the pentarchy, from the left in the picture, Josée M. Irisari, Porfirio Franca, Guillermo Portela, Ramon Grau, and Sergio Carbó.

From September 5 to September 10, 1933, Franca acted as the Commissioner of Finance in the five-man Executive Commission of the Provisional Government of Cuba, which included José Irisarri, Guillermo Portela, Ramón Grau, and Sergio Carbó. Franca resigned his post as a commissioner after former Sargeant Fulgencio Batista was named Chief of Staff of the Army, fearing an attack upon him by Batista who had led the Sargeants' Revolt.^[8] Franca agreed to serve on the executive commission until a new president was named which was Dr. Ramón Grau of the Pentarchy, on September 10, 1933.^[9]

Death

Porfirio Franca y Álvarez de la Campa died in 1950.

References

1. "The Mexican Minister for Foreign Affairs (Puig) to the Secretary of State | Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1933, The American Republics, Volume V". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
2. "Cuba Heads of State". latinamericanstudies.org. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
3. Kapcia, Antoni (2002). "The Siege of the Hotel Nacional, Cuba, 1933: A Reassessment". Journal of Latin American Studies. 34 (2): 283–309. doi:10.1017/S0022216X02006405. JSTOR 3875790.
4. Kapcia, A. (2022). Historical Dictionary of Cuba. United States: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
5. "Cuban Rulers Biography of Wide Interest - Newspapers.com™". Evening Report. 8 September 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
6. Benjamin, J. R. (1977). The United States and Cuba: Hegemony and Dependent Development, 1880–1934. United States: University of Pittsburgh Press.
7. "María Caridad Colón, la primera mujer cubana que integra el COI". misiones.cubaminrex.cu. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
8. "The Ambassador in Cuba (Welles) to the Secretary of State | Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1933, The American Republics, Volume V". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
9. "San Martin Is Named by Commission - Newspapers.com™". Herald and Review. 11 September 1933. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-05-17.