Jesús María de Leizaola Sánchez (7 September 1896 – 16 March 1989) was a Spanish politician and was named President of the Basque Government in exile after José Antonio Aguirre's death in 1960.

Jesús María de Leizaola Sánchez was born to a wealthy family on Calle Getaria in San Sebastián on 7 September 1896.

He rose up the ranks of Bilbao's city government before leaving in 1925 to take on the administration of the bankrupt Crédito de la Unión Minera and becoming more involved politically.

[citation needed] Leizaola assisted in the creation of the government of Aguirre in October 1936 and was named as regional minister for Justice and Culture.

The next day in a formal ceremony he symbolically transferred the role of Lehendakari to Carlos Garaikoetxea, democratically elected president of the Basque council.