Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma

Alexander Farnese (Italian: Alessandro Farnese, Spanish: Alejandro Farnesio; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and military leader, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592, as well as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. Nephew to King Philip II of Spain, he served in the Battle of Lepanto and the subsequent campaigns of the Holy League against the Ottoman Empire, being latter appointed general of the Spanish army during the Dutch revolt until his death in 1592. During the French Wars of Religion, he decisively relieved Paris for the Catholic League.

His talents as a commander, strategist and organiser earned him the regard of contemporaries and historians as the greatest general of his age, as well as one of the best in history. He stood out for his equal proficiency at war and diplomacy. Under his leadership, Philip II's army achieved the most comprehensive successes in the history of the Eighty Years' War, capturing more than thirty towns between 1581 and 1587 before being diverted from the Netherlands to the French theater. His campaigns gave Spain back permanent control of the southern provinces, establishing the cultural and religious separation which would eventually become the nation of Belgium.