Grand Inquisitor  (Latin : Inquisitor Generalis , literally Inquisitor General  or General Inquisitor ) was the highest-ranked official of the Inquisition . The title usually refers to the inquisitor  of the Spanish Inquisition , in charge of appeals and cases of aristocratic importance, even after the reunification of the inquisitions. Secretaries-general of the Roman Inquisition  were often styled as Grand Inquisitor  but the role and functions were different.
The Portuguese Inquisition  was headed by a Grand Inquisitor, or General Inquisitor, named by the Pope  but selected by the king, always from within the royal family.
The most famous Inquisitor General was the Spanish Dominican  Tomás de Torquemada , who spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition.
List of Spanish Grand Inquisitors 
Tomás de Torquemada , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1483–1498)Diego de Deza , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1498–1507)
Separation of Inquisitions of Castile and Aragon 
Castile 
Adrian of Utrecht , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1518–1522)
Aragon 
Juan Pardo de Tavera , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1539–1545)Fernando Niño de Guevara , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1600–1602)Francisco Antonio de Lorenzana , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1794–1797)
Reunification of the Inquisitions 
From
 
To
 
Grand Inquisitor
 
Other positions held
  
1518
 
1522
 
Adrian of Utrecht 
Cardinal priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo , Bishop of Tortosa , later Pope
 
1523
 
1538
 
Alonso Manrique de Lara 
Bishop of Badajoz , Archbishop of Seville , Cardinal 
 
1539
 
1545
 
Juan Pardo de Tavera 
Archbishop of Toledo 
 
1546
 
1546
 
García de Loaysa 
Archbishop of Seville 
 
1547
 
1566
 
Fernando de Valdés y Salas 
Archbishop of Seville 
 
1566
 
1572
 
Diego de Espinosa 
Bishop of Sigüenza , Bishop of Cuenca 
 
1572
 
1572
 
Pedro Ponce de León 
Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo , Bishop of Plasencia 
 
1573
 
1594
 
Gaspar de Quiroga y Vela 
Archbishop of Toledo 
 
1595
 
1595
 
Jerónimo Manrique de Lara 
Bishop of Cartagena , Bishop of Ávila 
 
1596
 
1599
 
Pedro de Portocarrero 
Bishop of Calahorra , Bishop of Cuenca 
 
1599
 
1602
 
Fernando Niño de Guevara 
Archbishop of Seville 
 
1602
 
1602
 
Juan de Zúñiga Flores 
Bishop of Cartagena 
 
1603
 
1608
 
Juan Bautista de Acevedo 
Bishop of Valladolid , Patriarch of the Indias 
 
1608
 
1618
 
Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas 
Archbishop of Toledo 
 
1619
 
1621
 
Luis de Aliaga Martínez 
  
1622
 
1626
 
Andrés Pacheco 
Bishop of Cuenca , Patriarch of the Indias 
 
1627
 
1632
 
Antonio de Zapata Cisneros 
Archbishop of Burgos 
 
1632
 
1643
 
Antonio de Sotomayor 
Prior of Santo Domingo
  
1643
 
1665
 
Diego de Arce y Reinoso 
Bishop of Tuy , Bishop of Avila ,  Bishop of Palencia 
 
1665
 
1665
 
Pascual de Aragón 
Archbishop of Toledo 
 
1666
 
1669
 
Juan Everardo Nithard 
  
1669
 
1695
 
Diego Sarmiento de Valladares 
Bishop of Oviedo , Bishop of Plasencia 
 
1695
 
1699
 
Juan Tomás de Rocaberti 
Prior of Santo Domingo, Archbishop of Valencia 
  
1699
 
1699
 
Alonso Fernández de Córdoba y Aguilar 
Appointed Grand Inquisitor, but died before he could assume this office.
  
1699
 
1705
 
Baltasar de Mendoza y Sandoval 
Bishop of Segovia 
 
1705
 
1709
 
Vidal Marín del Campo 
Archbishop of Burgos 
 
1709
 
1710
 
Antonio Ibáñez de Riva Herrera 
Archbishop of Zaragoza , Archbishop of Toledo 
 
1711
 
1716
 
Francesco del Giudice 
Archbishop of Monreale 
 
1715
 
1715
 
Felipe Antonio Gil de Taboada
 
Commissioned as Grand Inquisitor but did not serve.
  
1717
 
1717
 
José de Molines
 
Proclaimed in Rome, but detained by Austrians and died without serving.
  
1718
 
1718
 
Felipe de Arcemendi
 
Died without serving.
  
1720
 
1720
 
Diego de Astorga y Céspedes 
Archbishop of Toledo 
 
1720
 
1733
 
Juan de Camargo y Angulo 
Bishop of Pamplona 
 
1733
 
1740
 
Andrés de Orbe y Larreategui 
Archbishop of Valencia 
 
1742
 
1746
 
Manuel Isidro Orozco Manrique de Lara 
Archbishop of Santiago 
 
1746
 
1755
 
Francisco Pérez de Prado 
Bishop of Teruel 
 
1755
 
1774
 
Manuel Quintano Bonifaz 
Titular Archbishop  of Farsala 
 
1775
 
1783
 
Felipe Beltrán Serrano 
Bishop of Salamanca 
 
1784
 
1793
 
Agustín Rubin de Ceballos 
Bishop of Jaén 
 
1793
 
1794
 
Manuel Abad y Lasierra 
Titular Archbishop  of Selymbria 
 
1794
 
1797
 
Francisco Antonio Lorenzana y Butrón 
Archbishop of Toledo 
 
1797
 
1808
 
Ramón José de Arce y Rebollar 
Archbishop of Burgos 
 
1808
 
1814
 
Abolition of the Inquisition
 
  
1814
 
1818
 
Francisco Javier Mier Campillo 
Bishop of Almería 
 
1818
 
1818
 
Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez 
Titular Archbishop  of Heraclea  (position rejected by himself)[ 2]  
1818
 
1820
 
Gerónimo Castillón y Salas 
Bishop of Tarazona 
 
List of inquisitors-general of Portugal 
D. Diogo da Silva (1536–1539), Archbishop of Braga . 
Cardinal Dom Henrique  (1539–1579), Archbishop of Braga , became King of Portugal.D. Manuel de Meneses (1578–1578), Bishop of Lamego  and Bishop of Coimbra , killed at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir . 
D. Jorge de Almeida (1580–1585), Archbishop of Lisbon . 
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria  (1586–1593), Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo , Viceroy of Portugal .D. António de Matos de Noronha (1596–1602), Bishop of Elvas . 
D. Jorge de Ataíde (1602), Bishop of Viseu , refused the position. 
D. Alexandre de Bragança, (1602–1604), Archbishop of Evora . 
D. Pedro de Castilho (1605–1615), Grand Chaplain of King Philip II of Portugal . 
D. Fernando Martins Mascarenhas  (1615–1628), Bishop of Algarve  and Bishop of Faro . 
D. Francisco de Castro, (1630–1653), Bishop of Guarda . 
D. Sebastião César de Meneses (1663–1668). Appointed by King Afonso VI of Portugal , but not confirmed by Pope Alexander VII  due to the lack of recognition of the new Portuguese State by the Holy See . 
D. Pedro de Lencastre  (1671–1673), Archbishop of Braga  and Duke of Aveiro . 
D. Veríssimo de Lencastre  (1676–1692), Archbishop of Braga . 
D. Frei José de Lencastre (1693–1705), Bishop of Bragança-Miranda  and Bishop of Leiria . 
D. Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde  (1707–1750), Grand Chaplain of King Pedro II of Portugal  and John V of Portugal . 
D. José de Bragança  (1758–1760), bastard son of John V of Portugal . 
D. João Cosme da Cunha (1770–1783), Archbishop of Evora  and minister of Justice. 
Frei Inácio de São Caetano  (1787–1788), confessor of Queen Maria I of Portugal . 
D. José Maria de Melo (1790–1818), Bishop of Algarve , Bishop of Faro  and confessor of Queen Maria I of Portugal . 
D. José Joaquim da Cunha Azeredo Coutinho  (1818–1821), Bishop of Elvas .[ 3]  
External links 
References