The son of a metalworker Socialist, grew up in a Socialist environment, and at age twenty was Chairman of youth Socialists from Bilbao. As early as 1917 went to jail for his support for the movement from Bilbao striker. In 1921 he assumed the direction of the weekly the struggle of classes, from which attacked the communist tenets. In 1924, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera sentenced him to five years of exile in Santona, where he began his literary career. He was elected Alderman of the city of Bilbao in historic elections of April 12, 1931. In the elections in June of that year to cuts constituents of the second Spanish Republic is elected by the province of Badajoz.

From 1932 to 1937 he was director of the Socialist. In recent elections of the second Republic he was elected Deputy for the province of Biscay. In the first Government of Juan Negrin, was Minister of the Interior from May 1937 to April 1938. In 1937, he participated in the II International Congress of writers for the defense of culture organised by the Alliance of anti-fascist intellectuals. After cesar Minister he served as Secretary general of the Ministry of defence until the end of the war provoked by the military rebellion of general Franco.

During the war he contributed to the humane treatment of prisoners of war and helped save the lives of writers Wenceslao Fernandez Florez and Rafael Sanchez Mazas and Raimundo Fernandez Cuesta Falangist. Finished the war embarked on the path of exile and settled in Paris, until his arrest by the Gestapo. Zugazagoitia published articles in major publications of the era. In addition to exercising the leadership of the Socialist, organ of expression of the PSOE, he was editor of El Liberal in Bilbao, owned by Indalecio Prieto, and collaborator of La Vanguardia, the deluge and the Socialist of Barcelona, Estampa Madrid, advance of Oviedo and La Vanguardia de Buenos Aires, among others. In 1927 he founded the magazine Cuadernos Socialists working in Bilbao. Among the works of Zugazagoitia highlight: A heroic life. Pablo Iglesias (1925), the first biography of the founder of the PSOE and the UGT, subsequently published in the same year of his death, He wrote a second essay Pablo Iglesias: of his life and his work (1931), and later, a third Pablo Iglesias: life and work of a Socialist Worker (1935), a humble life: Tomas Meabe (1927), an anonymous life (1927), his first social novel, Pedernales: sentimental itinerary of a colony school (1929), loot (1929), assault (1930), Russia a day (1932), Madrid. Carranza 22 (1940) and history of the war in Spain (1940), his best work. He has recently published his novel the clandestine work (2005). And as the unmistakable voice of this Socialist writer said: I’m not anything other than a Socialist writer. And I don’t want another title. Francisco Arias Solis Socialists do not die: the Socialists are sown. For peace and freedom and Forum free Internet portal.