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Fernando Reinlein, UMD Officer Turned Journalist, Dies at 80

His life traced the arc from military dissent under Franco to later recognition in democratic Spain.

Overview

  • He died in Madrid at age 80 on January 15, according to obituary reports.
  • An Infantry officer involved in the clandestine Unión Militar Democrática, he worked to steer Spain’s Armed Forces toward democracy in the 1970s.
  • He was arrested, court-martialed and expelled from the Army, receiving a four-year sentence and serving nearly two years in the Cartagena military prison.
  • Excluded from the 1977 amnesty, he was rehabilitated under a 1987 measure and in 2010 received the Military and Aeronautical Merit Crosses awarded by Defence Minister Carme Chacón.
  • After leaving the Army he built a notable journalism career, including directing Diario 16, later wrote for Infolibre, and served as president of the Foro Milicia y Democracia.