Antonio Tejero

Antonio Tejero Molina (born 1932, Málaga) was a Spanish Lieutenant-Colonel, and the most visible figure in the attempted coup d'état - also known as the 'Tejerazo' - against the Spanish democracy on February 23 1981.

He entered the Guardia Civil in 1951 and was the leader of the "Comandancia" in Guipúzcoa, but had to ask to be transferred to another region when his public declarations against the Ikurriña was known. His life is filled with pro-coup episodes, and he played an important role in the coups during the "transición" (Spanish transition to democracy) in San Sebastian, Málaga and Madrid.

Tejero was the last of the coup leaders to be released from jail on December 2, 1996, having served 15 years in the military prison at Alcalá de Henares. As of 2006, he lives between Madrid and Alhaurín de la Torre close to Málaga.

He occasionally sends letters to the "Melilla Hoy" newspaper criticising current politics. Fact|date=February 2007

ee also

*23-F attempted coup d'état
*Operación Galaxia