Andreu Capdevila

Andreu Capdevila i Puig (1894–1987) was a Catalan textile worker, trade unionist and politician. As a member of the National Confederation of Labour (CNT), he became a leader of textile workers at the Fabra i Coats factory in Sant Andreu de Palomar. He participated in the suppression of the July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona, leading the storming of the Sant Andreu artillery barracks, and oversaw the collectivisation of the Fabra i Coats company during the Spanish Revolution of 1936. He then joined the Economic Council established by the Catalan government and oversaw the drafting of its Collectivisation Decree. In April 1937, he was appointed as the Catalan government's Minister of Economy, a post he served in until the May Days. He spent the rest of the war resisting attempts by his successor, Joan Comorera, to abolish the collectivisations. With the fall of Barcelona, Capdevila joined the evacuation of Republicans from the country. He spent the rest of his life in France, where he continued organising for the CNT and writing about his experiences in the Spanish Civil War.