Antonio Ortega was an acting president of Real Madrid

Real Madrid

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

 between 1937 and 1938 during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. He was acting on behalf of Rafael Sánchez Guerra

Rafael Sánchez Guerra

Rafael Sánchez-Guerra was President of Real Madrid between 1935 and 1936.His presidency coincided with the Spanish Civil War and Sánchez-Guerra was a prominent Republican, refusing to flee Madrid as it was about to fall into the hands of Franco...

, a prominent Republican

Second Spanish Republic

The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

, 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

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 in the left-wing militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

s and helped defend Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

in the early days of the war. He was arrested at the end of the war and disappeared. His final fate is unknown.