Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros o Giménez o Ximénez de Cisneros, cuyo nombre de pila era Gonzalo, más conocido como el Cardenal Cisneros (Torrelaguna,1 1436 – Roa, 8 de noviembre de 1517) fue cardenal, arzobispo de Toledo y primado de España, perteneciente a la Orden Franciscana, tercer inquisidor general de Castilla y regente de la misma a la muerte de Fernando el Católico. A la muerte de Felipe el Hermoso presidió también el Consejo de Regencia que asumió el gobierno sin consentimiento de la reina Juana, hasta la llegada de Fernando el Católico.∼Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, O.F.M. known as Ximenes de Cisneros in his own lifetime, and commonly referred to today as simply Cisneros, was a Spanish cardinal, religious figure, and statesman. Starting from humble beginnings he rose to the heights of power becoming a religious reformer, twice regent of Spain, Cardinal, Grand Inquisitor, promoter of the Crusades in North Africa, and founder of the Complutense University, today the Complutense University of Madrid. Among his intellectual accomplishments, he is best known for funding the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first printed polyglot version of the entire Bible. He also edited and published the first printed editions of the missal (in 1500) and the breviary (in 1502) of the Mozarabic Rite, and established a chapel with a college of thirteen priests to celebrate the Mozarabic Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharist each day in the Toledo Cathedral.

Cardinal Cisneros' life coincided with, and greatly influenced, a dynamic period in the history of Spain during the reign of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. During this time Spain underwent many significant changes, leading it into its prominent role in the Spanish Golden Age (1500–1700). Modern historian John Elliott said as far as any particular policies that can be attributed to Spain's rise, they were those of King Ferdinand and Cardinal Cisneros.