Ibárruri (Gómez), (Isidora) Dolores

known as La Pasionaria (Spanish: "The Passionflower")

born Dec. 9, 1895, Gallarta, near Bilbao, Spain

died Nov. 12, 1989, Madrid

Spanish communist leader.

The daughter of a poor miner, she became radicalized in her youth. In 1918 she published an article using her pseudonym ("The Passionflower"), and in 1920 she joined the new Communist Party of Spain. After a turbulent career, she emerged as a deputy in the Republican parliament. By the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 she had won fame as a fiery and even violent street orator, and she coined the Republican battle cry, "No pasarán!" ("They shall not pass!"). With Francisco Franco's victory in 1939 she fled to the Soviet Union; she returned in 1977 after his death and the party's relegalization. Reelected to parliament, she resigned because of ill health, but she remained honourary president of the party until her death.

* * *