| Mateo Balbuena Iglesias | |
 Mateo Balbuena Iglesias (aged 102) in July 2016 | |
| Birth: | 21 September 1913 Castile and Leon, Spain |
| Death: | 16 July 2024 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Alava, Spain |
| Age: | 110 years, 299 days |
| Country: |  ESP
|
| Unvalidated | |
Mateo Balbuena Iglesias (21 September 1913 - 16 July 2024) was a Spanish supercentenarian whose age is currently unvalidated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). At the time of his death, he was the oldest known living man in Spain.
Biography[]
Mateo Balbuena Iglesias was born in Villamartin de Don Sancho, Castile and Leon, Spain on 21 September 1913 as the eldest of ten siblings.
In 1932, he joined the Communist Youth Union of Spain and was appointed Secretary of Agitation and Propaganda. He participated in the Revolution of 1934 and moved to Barakaldo around that time. There, he was involved in the merger of the Unified Socialist Youth (JSU) of Euskadi and served as the local secretary. On 17 July 1936, he called an urgent meeting of the JSU to requisition weapons, and on 22 July 1936 a dozen militiamen left for San Sebastian to subdue the rebels at the Hotel Maria Cristina. On 24 July 1936, he took part in the siege of the Loiola barracks. His experiences from the war period and the early post-war years were later documented in the books he wrote.
In April 1944, he married Consuelo Lopetegui. They were married for 78 years, until his wife’s death in September 2022 at the age of 102. From his 60s until he was over 100 years old, he continued writing books.
On 14 January 2024, following the death of 111-year-old Luis Torras Martinez, he became the oldest living man in Spain.
Mateo Balbuena Iglesias died in in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain on 16 July 2024 at the age of 110 years, 299 days. Following his death, then 110-year-old Luis Carrasco-Munoz Perez de la Isla became the oldest living man in Spain.
Gallery[]
References[]
- MATEO BALBUENA, EL REPUBLICANO CENTENARIO QUE TODAVÍA PUBLICA LIBROS Iñaki Anasagasti, 8 July 2016
- Mateo Balbuena, el último mohicano comunista Revista Hincapie, 20 July 2016
- Mateo Balbuena, memoria viva, acaba de escribir su libro "Manifiesto" EITB Radio Televisión Pública Vasca, 19 August 2018
- 110th birthday mention Facebook Post, 23 September 2023
- Agur a Mateo Balbuena, último combatiente del Ejército vasco, un comunista indomable Naiz, 17 July 2024
- Mateo Balbuena Iglesias, Spain’s oldest living man, dies at 110 Gerontology Research Group, 17 July 2024
| Spain's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • E) |
|
Mateo Miras Torregrosa • Unknown • Aurelio Diaz • A. L. M. • Galo Leoz Ortin • Josep Armengol Jover • Pablo Roy • Gregorio Merino Calvo • Antonio Urrea Hernandez • Alejandro Rivera Santalla • Joan Riudavets Moll • Jose Milena Munoz • Jose Maria Somohano Calvo • Miguel Rubio Gonzalez • Atilano Rivas Iglesias • Francisco Fernandez Pellicer • Miguel Suarez • Benito Vilda • Francisco Fernandez • Bienvenido Cilveti Urquia • Francisco Nunez Olivera • Jesus Mosteo Perez • Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia • Antonio Alvarado Largo • Luis Torras Martinez • Mateo Balbuena Iglesias • Luis Carrasco-Munoz Perez de la Isla • Jesus Redondo Bermejo |