Luis Francisco de la Cerda, 9th Duke of Medinaceli

The Duke of Medinaceli
Born(1660-08-02)2 August 1660
Died26 January 1711(1711-01-26) (aged 50)
Title9th Duke of Medinaceli
Parent(s)Don Juan Francisco de la Cerda and
Doña Catalina de Aragón Folc de Cardona y Córdoba

Luis Francisco de la Cerda y Aragón, 9th Duke of Medinaceli (2 August 1660, El Puerto de Santa María – 26 January 1711, Pamplona) was one of the most powerful nobles of early modern Europe, a Grandee of Spain, statesman, diplomat, and royal tutor. He held an unparalleled concentration of hereditary titles and jurisdictions across Castile, Aragon, Valencia, and Catalonia, served as ambassador to the Holy See, viceroy of Naples, president of the Council of the Indies, and prime minister under Philip V, and was appointed tutor to the Prince of Asturias (future Louis I).

His career placed him at the center of Spanish, papal, imperial, and European politics during the final years of the Habsburg monarchy and the opening phase of the War of the Spanish Succession.