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]  
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