In 1955 Oriol was nominated to the FET Consejo Nacional, which ensured his place in the Francoist quasi-parliament, Cortes Españolas.
Exact mechanism of his elevation is not clear, though it was part of a wider political change; it came simultaneously with rise of his two brothers, since Lucas took his Cortes ticket as representative of syndicates and José María as personal Franco's appointee.
At unspecified time in the mid-1950s Oriol was appointed also FET's Delegado Nacional de Auxilio Social and became president of Cruz Roja Española.
In early 1957 he was nominated Director General of Beneficiancia y Obras Sociales, the department of welfare located within the Ministry of Interior structures.
None of the sources consulted clarifies Oriol's rapid ascent, though there is little doubt that he owed his position in the ministry to acquaintance with Camilo Alonso Vega, who himself had assumed the Interior just one month earlier; during the war years Alonso was Oriol's direct military superior.

Following minor administrative re-adjustments the focus of the department was on re-shaping the social security framework.
Until the late 1950s it operated in residual mode, related to various administrative bodies; the system was non-coordinated and calibrated to meet basic requirements.
Since 1959 it got formatted as modern state welfare system.
In 1960 it was based on newly created Fondo Nacional de Asistencia Social and few other funds; they were included in standard budgetary provisions, while freshly set up Juntas Provinciales de Beneficiencia reported to civil governors.
The system was enhanced with further regulations, issued either as ministerial decrees or as official legislation.
The regular social security scheme was complete with Ley de Bases de la Seguridad Social, adopted in 1963.
It introduced two modes of social security, “protección básica” and “protección complementaria”.
As a consequence, the Francoist social security scheme started to resemble these of most Western European countries.
A present-day historiographer summarizes the evolution as migration from “Beneficiencia del Estado” to the “Asistencia Social” pattern; another one claims that it moved from a heterogeneous “sistema de Seguros Sociales” to an integrated “sistema de Seguridad Social”.
It is not clear how much credit for modernization of the system should be given to Oriol personally.

In the press of the era Oriol was noted during typical official ceremonies, e.g. opening of hospitals or child care centers, inspecting local welfare administration or commencing various specific campaigns – e.g. the 1963 one against illiteracy – of the Spanish Red Cross.
Though he did not take part in big politics, in 1957 together with numerous offshoot Carlists he visited the Alfonsist claimant in his Estoril residence and declared him the legitimate Traditionalist heir; since then he cautiously promoted the Juanista case.
He also tried to counter advances of the Javierista Carlists, even though he openly admitted own Carlist credentials.
Because of this at times he could have run into problems with more zealous Falangists like Fernando Herrero Tejedor; however, he was careful that ultimately, the Traditionalist identity did not stand in the way of his career.
In 1955 Oriol was nominated to the FET Consejo Nacional, which ensured his place in the Francoist quasi-parliament, Cortes Españolas. Exact mechanism of his elevation is not clear, though it was part of a wider political change; it came simultaneously with rise of his two brothers, since Lucas took his Cortes ticket as representative of syndicates and José María as personal Franco's appointee. At unspecified time in the mid-1950s Oriol was appointed also FET's Delegado Nacional de Auxilio Social and became president of Cruz Roja Española. In early 1957 he was nominated Director General of Beneficiancia y Obras Sociales, the department of welfare located within the Ministry of Interior structures. None of the sources consulted clarifies Oriol's rapid ascent, though there is little doubt that he owed his position in the ministry to acquaintance with Camilo Alonso Vega, who himself had assumed the Interior just one month earlier; during the war years Alonso was Oriol's direct military superior.
Following minor administrative re-adjustments the focus of the department was on re-shaping the social security framework. Until the late 1950s it operated in residual mode, related to various administrative bodies; the system was non-coordinated and calibrated to meet basic requirements. Since 1959 it got formatted as modern state welfare system. In 1960 it was based on newly created Fondo Nacional de Asistencia Social and few other funds; they were included in standard budgetary provisions, while freshly set up Juntas Provinciales de Beneficiencia reported to civil governors. The system was enhanced with further regulations, issued either as ministerial decrees or as official legislation. The regular social security scheme was complete with Ley de Bases de la Seguridad Social, adopted in 1963. It introduced two modes of social security, “protección básica” and “protección complementaria”. As a consequence, the Francoist social security scheme started to resemble these of most Western European countries. A present-day historiographer summarizes the evolution as migration from “Beneficiencia del Estado” to the “Asistencia Social” pattern; another one claims that it moved from a heterogeneous “sistema de Seguros Sociales” to an integrated “sistema de Seguridad Social”. It is not clear how much credit for modernization of the system should be given to Oriol personally.
In the press of the era Oriol was noted during typical official ceremonies, e.g. opening of hospitals or child care centers, inspecting local welfare administration or commencing various specific campaigns – e.g. the 1963 one against illiteracy – of the Spanish Red Cross. Though he did not take part in big politics, in 1957 together with numerous offshoot Carlists he visited the Alfonsist claimant in his Estoril residence and declared him the legitimate Traditionalist heir; since then he cautiously promoted the Juanista case. He also tried to counter advances of the Javierista Carlists, even though he openly admitted own Carlist credentials. Because of this at times he could have run into problems with more zealous Falangists like Fernando Herrero Tejedor; however, he was careful that ultimately, the Traditionalist identity did not stand in the way of his career.
Antonio María Oriol Urquijo