The Iberian Pact formalized non-aggression between Portugal and Spain, helping keep the Iberian Peninsula outside Nazi Germany's wartime continental system.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 17 March 1939
- Date ratified
- 25 March 1939
- Portuguese signatory
- Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar
- Spanish signatory
- Ambassador Nicolás Franco
- Additional protocol signed
- 29 July 1940, after the Fall of France
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
As the Spanish Civil War neared its end in early 1939, Portugal and Spain sought to stabilize relations on the Iberian Peninsula. Both countries, governed by authoritarian regimes under Salazar and Franco respectively, shared an interest in formalizing mutual non-aggression amid rising European tensions.
On 17 March 1939, Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar and Spanish Ambassador Nicolás Franco signed the Portuguese–Spanish Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression in Lisbon. The treaty was ratified on 25 March 1939, with an additional protocol appended on 29 July 1940 following the Fall of France.
The pact inaugurated regular high-level meetings between Franco and Salazar and proved instrumental in keeping the Iberian Peninsula outside Hitler's continental system during World War II, representing a significant reorientation of Ibero-diplomatic relations that persisted beyond the immediate wartime context.
Political Outcome
Non-aggression treaty signed; Iberian Peninsula kept outside Nazi Germany's wartime continental system
Uncertain and historically tense Iberian relations, Iberian Peninsula potentially exposed to Nazi influence
Formalized friendship and non-aggression between Portugal and Spain, with coordinated neutrality during World War II