Colonel Antonio Ortega

Antonio Ortega was an acting president of Real Madrid between 1937 and 1938 during the Spanish Civil War. He was acting on behalf of  Rafael Sánchez Guerra, a prominent Republican, who was unable to take an active role in managing the club. Ortega took over as acting president from another Republican, Juan Jose Vallejo. Ortega, a communist, was a colonel in the left-wing militias and helped defend Madrid in the early days of the war. He was arrested at the end of the war and disappeared. His final fate is unknown.