José María Valiente Soriano (1900-1982) was a Spanish politician. He commenced his career in Acción Nacional and gained recognition as leader of Juventudes de Acción Popular, the youth branch of CEDA. In 1935 he joined Carlism; his political climax fell on the period of 1955-1967, when he was leading the mainstream Traditionalist organisation. After 1971 he unsuccessfully engaged in buildup of conservative monarchist groupings. He served in the Republican parliament during two terms between 1933 and 1936; between 1967 and 1977 during two terms he held a mandate in the Francoist Cortes. In 1937-1942 he was member of Consejo Nacional of Falange Española Tradicionalista. Family and youth None of the sources consulted provides information on Valiente's distant ancestors; it is known that his paternal grandfather José Valiente was related to a Murcian town of Yecla, but it is not known what he was doing for a living. His son and Valiente's father, also José Valiente (died 1938), in the late 1870s frequented the local Yeclan Colegio de los Padres Escolapios, and obtained “bachillerato de arte” in 1881. He then studied law at an unspecified university and at least since the mid-1890s served as a notary in Yecla. He married Micaela Soriano e Ibáñez; nothing is known either about her or her family except that her parents were also the natives of Yecla. The couple had 3 children; José Maria was only son. They initially settled in the Valencian town of Chelva, where Valiente served as a notary. In 1900 the family moved to Valencia, where Valiente was admitted to the local notary corps. He served in the Levantine capital for some 20 years; in 1920 or 1921 he moved to Madrid and kept practicing as a notary. The young José María was brought up in Valencia; in the mid-1910s he was frequenting the local Colegio de San José, run by the Jesuits, and was doing well; in 1917 he obtained bachillerato at Instituto de Valencia. Following preparatory courses in Murcia he then enrolled at law in Universidad Central in Madrid and followed the licenciatura curriculum between 1917 and 1921. Some time in the early 1920s Valiente Soriano moved to Italy to pursue his academic career in Università di Bologna, where in 1923 he passed the Esame di Laurea in Giurisprudenza. It is not clear whether back in Spain Valiente was further related to Universidad Central, as he got his title