predecessor successor birth_name birth_place death_date death_place nationality party office birth_date order term_start image article_title term_end name occupation
office established jesús maría de leizaola josé antonio aguirre lecube bilbao , spain 22 march 1960 paris , france spanish basque nationalist party president of the basque country 6 march 1904 1st 7 october 1936 agirre lekube lehendakaria -lrb- cropped -rrb- . jpg josé antonio aguirre -lrb- politician -rrb-
 22 march 1960 josé antonio aguirre lawyer
josé antonio aguirre -lrb- politician -rrb-

josé antonio aguirre y lecube -lrb- 6 march 1904 -- 22 march 1960 -rrb- was a major political figure of basque nationalism and the first president of the basque autonomous community , from 1936 to 1960 .
he assumed the position of first `` lehendakari '' or president of euzkadi -lrb- the basque lands of spain not including navarre -rrb- during the spanish civil war .
however , by the time the government was put together and made effective , most of the basque region was occupied by the military rebels ' troops , except for biscay .
given the dire circumstances , he set about creating a basque army to fight on the side of the republic .
after losing the war , he had to organize the flight of thousands of refugees in the basque country .
he helped the allies in the second world war , hoping that the help would be reciprocated in the fight against francisco franco in spain .
with the help of prominent families , such as the house de sarachaga , ibarra , and macmahon , the president escaped from spain to belgium , later to nazi germany and spent a year there with a false passport .
he went to argentina to begin a journey in the american continent to re-organize the basque government in the exile .
he finally settled in paris and spent his last years there , working for the basque refugees .
