Segismundo Moret y Prendergast (2 June 1833 – 28 January 1913) was a Spanish politician and writer. He was theprime minister of Spain on three occasions and thepresident of the Congress of Deputies on two occasions.

The Most Excellent Segismundo Moret
Photograph byKaulak
Prime Minister of Spain
In office 1 December 1905 – 6 July 1906
Monarch	Alfonso XIII
Preceded by	Eugenio Montero Ríos
Succeeded by	José López Domínguez
In office 30 November 1906 – 4 December 1906
Monarch	Alfonso XIII
Preceded by	José López Domínguez
Succeeded by	Antonio González de Aguilar
In office 21 October 1909 – 9 February 1910
Monarch	Alfonso XIII
Preceded by	Antonio Maura
Succeeded by	José Canalejas
Personal details
Born	Segismundo Moret y Prendergast 2 June 1833 Cádiz, Spain
Died	28 January 1913 (aged 79) Madrid, Spain
Signature

Moret was born inCádiz on 2 June 1833. His mother's family, thePrendergasts, were ofIrish descent. He studied at theUniversidad Central inMadrid, where, in 1858, he became professor of political economy while he continued his studies in jurisprudence.

In 1863, Moret was elected representative to parliament as an independent representing the town ofAlmadén in the province ofCiudad Real. He was re-elected in 1868 after theRevolution of 1868 and took part in the writing of the newSpanish Constitution of 1869. He was noted for his eloquence.

AsMinister of Overseas in the government presided by General Prim in 1870, Moret, himself a member of the Spanish Abolitionist Society,^[1] pushed for the abolition ofslavery and the creation of aconstitution forPuerto Rico. In 1871, he was Minister of the Treasury (hacienda) in the first government ofKing Amadeo I, and in 1872, he was appointed ambassador inLondon but resigned months later months and accepted a directorship in a large British bank.

With the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne in 1875, Moret returned toSpain, where he founded thePartido Democrático-Monárquico party. He was again elected deputy forCiudad Real in 1879 and rallied to the monarchy in 1882. In 1883, he was appointed Minister of the Interior (Gobernación), and after 1885, he joined theLiberal Party in which he cooperated withPráxedes Mateo Sagasta as Minister of State (estado, foreign affairs, 1885–1888), Interior (Gobernación, 1888, 1901, 1902), Development (Fomento) (1892), State (Estado, foreign affairs, 1892, 1894) and Overseas Colonies (Ultramar, 1897–1898). When Sagasta died, he participated in the quarrels for the control of the party.

In 1897, as Minister for Overseas Colonies (Ultramar), Moret decreed the autonomy forCuba andPuerto Rico. He opposed thewar against the United States in 1898.^[2] In 1902, he collaborated in the creation of the Institute of Social Reform, which was a precursor of the future Ministry of Labour.

In 1905, after the resignation of Montero Rios, Moret became prime minister but was forced to resign in July 1906 after he had lost his majority in the parliament (Cortes Generales) although he became again prime minister briefly the same year (30 November – 4 December).

After the bloody confrontations of the "Tragic Week" in 1909 in Barcelona, Moret was again appointed prime minister after the resignation ofAntonio Maura while he was also Minister of the Interior. He was forced to resign in February 1910 when he was replaced byJosé Canalejas. He denounced theCanalejas Ministry as "a democratic flag being used to cover reactionary merchandise".^[3]

In 1912, after the assassination of Prime Minister Canalejas and the appointment of a new prime minister,Álvaro Figueroa Torres, Count of Romanones, Moret was elected as the 155thpresident of the Congress of Deputies, which he was until his death, on 28 January 1913. It was his second term as speaker of the Spanish lower house; from July 15, 1901 to April 3, 1902, he had served as the 147th speaker.

• List of prime ministers of Spain
• Monument to Moret (Cádiz)
• Reign of Alfonso XIII of Spain