Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares

Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, 1st Duke of Sanlúcar, 3rd Count of Olivares, , known as the Count-Duke of Olivares (taken by joining both his countship and subsequent dukedom) (6 January 1587 – 22 July 1645), was a Spanish royal favourite (Spanish: valido) of Philip IV and minister. He was appointed as Grandee on 10 April 1621, a day after the ending of the Twelve Years' Truce, and was a key figure that shaped state policy in Spain until January 1643. During his rule, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform. His policy of committing Spain to recapture Holland led to a renewal of the Eighty Years' War while Spain was also embroiled in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In addition, his attempts to centralise power and increase wartime taxation led to revolts in Catalonia and in Portugal, which brought about his downfall.

Rise to power

Olivares was born in Rome in 1587, where his father, Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Count of Olivares, from one of Spain's oldest noble families, was the Spanish ambassador. His mother died young, and his father brought him up under a strict parental regime. While in Rome, Olivares appointed Tomás Fernández de Medrano to serve in his service from 1582 to 1590. He returned to Spain in 1599, and became student rector at Salamanca University. By background, he was both a man of letters and well trained in arms.