Serrano Súñer, Ramón

Serrano Súñer, Ramón (rämōn` sĕrä`nō snyĕr`), 1901–2003, Spanish politician. A conservative member of the Cortes (1933–36), he joined his brother-in-law, Francisco Franco, early in the Spanish civil war (1936–39) and became Nationalist minister of the interior (1937–40), of the press and propaganda (1939–40), and of foreign affairs (1940–42). Serrano Súñer played a major role in the political construction of the Franco state. A leading advocate of Spanish collaboration with the Axis during World War II, he had to resign as foreign minister and as president of the political council of the Falange when Franco adopted a cooler attitude toward Germany and Italy. He retired from public life in 1947.