Juan Sáenz-Díez García (1904–1990) was a Spanish entrepreneur and áenzDíezGarcíCarlist politician. In business he is known among key managers of the Simeón García family conglomerate. In politics he counted among architects of cautiously collaborative course during mid-Francoism and leader of a Traditionalist organization Comunión Tradicionalista, active during the transición period. He is also recognized as owner of an iconic Galician daily El Correo Gallego.
Family and youth
Both Sáenz-Díez and Garcia families originated from the comarca of Cameros in the Logroño province. Juan's paternal grandfather, Pedro Sáenz-Díez Ibarra, was related to petty textile manufacturing in Torecilla de Cameros. His son and Juan's father, Acisclo Sáenz-Díez de la Riva (1867-1905), was also born in Cameros. As a youngster he left his native town and moved to Galicia, not an unlikely decision as there was a notable influx of migrants from Logroño to Galicia at the time. He settled in Santiago, assisting relatives in family business and becoming a successful entrepreneur. At unspecified data he married Isabel García Blanco (1873–1956), daughter of a trade tycoon Simeón García de Olalla y de la Riva (1823–1889). Also a Riojano from Cameros and also a migrant to Galicia, back in the 1850s he launched a trading company dealing in textiles. By the late 1880s he was already operating a number of companies which grew to major business; active in all of Northern Spain from Galicia to Catalonia, they gave rise to a family fortune. Acisclo and Isabel settled in Santiago; it is not clear how many children the couple had.
Following the death of his father-in-law it was Acisclo Sáenz-Díez who became – together with his mother-in-law, Juana Blanca Navarrete – the moving spirit behind the Simeón García trading empire. Though not admitted as partner, he grew to manager of the key family company, Viuda y Hijos de Simeón García, developing the retail network further on. He also engaged in local Galician electricity and railway businesses, launching some new companies on his own. Following premature death of Acisclo the widow moved to Barcelona, but it is not clear whether the young Juan was raised in Santiago or in the Catalan capital; none of the sources consulted provides also any information on his early education. He studied probably in Santiago; neither the faculty where he studied nor the graduation date is known. In the mid-1920s he was already engaged in running the family business.
In 1933 Juan Sáenz-Díez married María de las Mercedes Gándara García (d. 1978); she was the daughter of Joaquín de la Gándara y Carrillo, a fiscal official and owner of land property in Miranda del Duero, and Cándida García Verde, the sister of Carlist leader José María García Verde; in the early 1920s Joaquín de la Gándara had claimed the title of Barón de Velasco. The couple settled in Madrid; they had 8 children. The best known of them, Juan Ignacio Sáenz-Díez de la Gándara, was to become a professor of Arabic studies, expert in numismatics and during early transición an UCD Cortes deputy. Javier is a lawyer and artist, while Carmen Sáenz-Díez de la Gándara was president of a pro-life organization in Lugo. Two sons dedicated their lives to religion: Fernando was a Jesuit priest while José Luis Sáenz-Díez de la Gándara was a parochial priest in Carabanchel. Also Juan's granddaughter, Fátima Santaló Sáenz-Díez, became a nun, while her sister Mercedes was champion of Spain in the discus throw.
Businessman
Though not majority partners, the Sáenz-Díez Garcías emerged as the most influential branch of all the Simeón García descendants, holding some 30% stakes in the family conglomerate. Juan was from his youth being prepared to enter the business. Having reached the legal age, in 1923 he was registered as member of the board of Hijos de Simeón García de Santiago SRC and Hijos de Simeón García S.A, two companies forming part of the family retail group; it is not clear what exactly his role was. In the late 1920s he lived in the United States, getting familiar with the New York stock exchange; the heirs of Simeón García lost some $1m during the Wall Street 1929 crash. Back in Spain he resumed duties in other family companies, though he attempted also to start his own business; he launched a manufacturing company Iría S.A. and in the mid-1930s became president of Coloniales Sáenz-Díez S.A., an enterprise trading in colonial and overseas goods.