He took part in the wars in Africa
in 1909–1910, participating in the battles of Aid Yedida, Benicorfet, Hosmar Beni, Beni-Salem and the march on
Chefchaouen. After his promotion to lieutenant colonel, he was appointed military attaché to the Embassy of Spain in Berlin. He joined the military revolt of 17 July 1936 as Chief of Indigenous Affairs and was responsible for organizing about 50,000 Moorish troops to assist Franco's revolt. On 18 July, he went to inform the Khalifa Muley Hassan and the Grand Vizier of
Tetouan that a military rebellion that was taking place, getting the support of both leaders. This action earned him the friendship and cooperation of the Moroccan authorities for the rest of his stay. at anchor at
Ceuta in May 1939. He is flanked by
Admiral Hermann Böhm and
Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff. Authorized by Franco, he negotiated with
Karl-Erich Kühlenthal (military attaché of the German Embassy in Paris and friend) for transport planes, which would be bought by German private companies. He was appointed High Commissioner of Spain in Morocco on 13 April 1937. On 2 December 1937 the newly created
National Council of the Movement met for the first time, and Beigbeder was one of five soldiers who participated as a member. . In August 1939 he was appointed Foreign Minister by Franco, a post he occupied until 16 October, 1940. After the beginning of
World War II and the unstoppable advance of German troops on the European front, Franco replaced the
Anglophile Beigbeder with
Ramón Serrano Suñer, Franco's brother-in-law and a known
Germanophile. Beigbeder was accused of having a weakness for foreign women, including an English friend, Rosalinda Powell Fox, who might have been a spy, and was put under house arrest in
Ronda. In 1945 he was put in charge of a mission to
Franklin D. Roosevelt which helped to mitigate the hostility of the victorious
Allies towards Franco. == Appearance in film and literature ==