Ignacio de Urquijo y Olano, II Count of Ospín de Urquijo
(Bilbao, 1907-Markina-Xemein, 2002)
Refounder (1945) and director (1957-1959) of the Royal Basque Society of the Friends of the Country.
He was a diplomat, historian and expert in Basque studies, and educated within a family that was dedicated to studying the Basque language and culture, in which his uncles Gabriel Adolfo (1866-1933) and Julio de Urquijo Ybarra (1871-1950) gained prominence.
He studied law at the University of Deusto and furthered his education in France and England. He was the founder, first President (1942) and Honorary President of the Basque Institute of Hispanic Culture, Vice President of the Barcelona Centre for Culture (1954), Director of the Royal Basque Society of the Friends of the Country (1957), President of the Ateneo de Bilbao, Corresponding Member of Euskaltzaindia (1957) and the Royal Academy of History (1959).
From 1958 to 1970 he was ambassador to Spain in Ecuador, carrying out significant diplomatic and cultural work that earned him the appointment of Honorary Academic Member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language.
