Eduardo Martínez Somalo (Spanish pronunciation: [eˈðwaɾ.ðo maɾˈtineθ/maɾˈtines soˈmalo]; 31 March 1927 – 10 August 2021) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who spent most of his career in the Roman Curia, first in the Secretariat of State from 1956 to 1975 and from 1979 to 1988, and then leading two of its principal dicasteries: the Congregation for Divine Worship from 1988 to 1992 and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life from 1992 to 2004.

[2] He was ordained a priest on 19 March 1950 and worked for several years in the administration of the Diocese of Calahorra and teaching at the Instituto Marco Fabio Quintiliano.

[4] On 18 August 1956 he received a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University; his thesis topic was the Spanish concordat of 1953.

[14][15] While in that post, he collaborated with other senior prelates to obtain the release of former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet from house arrest in Great Britain in 2000.

[21][22] In April 2010, a journalistic investigation identified Martínez Somalo as one of several senior curial officials who had supported Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ who was expelled from the priesthood in 2006, despite numerous charges of serious misconduct against him.

Martínez Somalo accepted cash payments from Maciel while heading the dicastery responsible for "investigating any complaints about religious orders or their leaders".

[23][24] On 5 April 1993 Martínez was named Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church,[25] an office of special importance when the papacy is vacant.