Francisco Franco (1892 - 1975), Spanish general; head of Spain (1939 - 1975). He reorganized the country as a totalitarianstate, with laws passed to eliminate opposition. Many thousands of Franco's political opponents were imprisoned. In 1947, he declared Spain a kingdom with himself regent. In January 1955, Juan Carlos (1938 - ), grandson of a former king of Spain, arrived in Spain from Italy with Franco's approval to be educated and presumably to b e groomed for the throne. —Conquest of Chaos Approved Glossary (8.7.92)