Emilio Mola

Emilio Mola
Nickname(s)	El Director (The Director)
Born	(1887-07-09)9 July 1887 Placetas, Cuba, Kingdom of Spain
Died	3 June 1937(1937-06-03) (aged 49) Alcocero, Burgos, Nationalist Spain
Buried	Pamplona Cemetery (1937–1961) Monument to the Fallen (1961–2016) Cremated (2016) 42°29′00″N 1°22′50″W / 42.48328°N 1.38050°W / 42.48328; -1.38050
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain (1904–1931)  Spanish Republic (1931–1936)  Nationalist Spain (1936–1937)
Service/branch	Spanish Army
Years of service	1904–1932 1933–1937
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	Military Governor of Navarre Commander of the Army of the North
Battles/wars	Rif War Spanish Civil War
Awards	Military Medal Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand

Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War.

After the death of Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, Mola commanded the Nationalists in the north of Spain, while Franco operated in the south. Attempting to take Madrid with his four columns, Mola praised local Nationalist sympathizers within the city as a "fifth column", possibly the first use of that phrase. He died in an air crash in bad weather, leaving Franco as the pre-eminent Nationalist leader for the rest of the war. Sabotage, though suspected, has never been proven.