Ministry (Spain)

In Spain, the ministries, constitutionally called departments, are superior bodies of the central organization of the General State Administration. Each ministry comprises one or several functionally homogeneous sectors of administrative activity. It is the king, at the proposal of the President of the Government, who establishes by royal decree the number, name and scope of the ministries and secretariats of State.

Headlines

The heads of the ministries are the ministers or government ministers, who together with the president and vice-presidents (if any), make up the Government of Spain.

Appointments and terminations

The ministers are appointed and dismissed by the king at the proposal of the president of the Government.

There are some cases, prior to the entry into force of the Government Law in December 1997, of ministers whose dismissal does not appear in the Official State Gazette. Such are the cases of Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, minister without portfolio between 1976 and 1977, and Francisco Fernández Ordóñez, Minister of Justice between 1980 and 1981.

Unlike the titular ministers, the cessation of the ministers without portfolio has the extinction of said body.

FUNCTIONS

1. Develop government action within your department, in accordance with the agreements adopted in the Council of Ministers or with the directives of the President of the Government.
2. Exercis the regulatory authority in your department's own matters.
3. To exercise the powers assigned to them by the laws, rules of organization and functioning of the Government and any other provisions.
4. To reflect, in his case, the acts of the king concerning his competence.

The ministers, as members of the Government, meet in the following collegiate bodies:

• Council of Ministers.
• Delegations of the Government.

Substitutions

The substitution of the ministers, for the ordinary dispatch of matters within their competence, must be determined by a royal decree of the President of the Government, and it must always fall to another member of the Government. The royal decree must express the cause and nature of the substitution.

Since the Government Law came into force in December 1997, substitutions have occurred on many occasions, either to assume the portfolio temporarily or to replace a minister in a specific matter. It is worth noting the replacement of the Minister of Defense, in May 2008, for "alumbramiento". Carme Chacón took maternity leave and the matters within her competence were replaced by the Minister of the Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba.

Ministers without portfolio

In addition to the head ministers of a department, there may be ministers without a portfolio, who are given responsibility for certain government functions.

The following are the ministers without portfolio of democracy:

Internal organization

The central organization is regulated in Chapter II of Title I of Law 40/2015, under the heading «Ministries and their internal structure».

For the management of a sector of administrative activity, the ministries may have state secretariats and, exceptionally, general secretariats. The governing bodies assigned to them depend hierarchically on them.

The ministries have, in any case, an undersecretariat and, depending on it, a general technical secretariat for the management of common services.

On the other hand, there are the general directorates, which are the management bodies of one or several functionally homogeneous areas. The general directorates are organized into general subdirectorates for the distribution of the powers entrusted to them, the carrying out of the activities that are their own and the assignment of objectives and responsibilities. However, general subdirectorates can be assigned directly to other higher-level governing bodies or to higher-ranking bodies of the ministry.

Creation, modification and suppression of organs

The sub-secretariats, the general secretariats, the technical general secretariats, the general directorates, the general sub-directorates, and bodies similar to the above are created, modified and abolished by royal decree of the council of ministers, at the initiative of the interested minister and at the proposal of the competent minister in matters of Public Function.

Bodies at a lower level than the sub-directorate general are created, modified and abolished by order of the corresponding minister with the prior approval of the Minister of Public Administration.

Finally, the units that are not considered organs are created, modified and deleted through job post relationships.

Hierarchy

Within the ministries, the higher one-person bodies are the ministers and the secretaries of State. The ministers are the superior heads of the department and direct hierarchical superiors of the secretaries of State.

The governing bodies depend on any of the above and are ordered hierarchically among themselves as follows: undersecretary, general director and deputy general director. The general secretaries have the category of undersecretary and the technical general secretaries have the category of director general.

Hierarchy of governing bodies:

• Undersecretariats (and General Secretariats).
  • General Directorates (and Technical General Secretariats).
    • General Subdirectories.

Recent history

Schedule

The Spanish ministries with portfolio (and their different denominations) that have existed from the beginning of democracy in 1977 to the present:

Note: This schedule does not include ministers without wallet.

Abbreviations used: A./A./M.A. - Agriculture, food and environment; aa.ee./u.e./coop. - Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation; a.ec./t.d. - Economic matters and digital transformation; A.P./A./M.A. - Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment; agr./pesca - Agriculture and fishing; agr., Fisheries and alim. - Agriculture, fishing and food; science/innovation. - Science and innovation; C./i./u. - Science, innovation and universities; science/technol. - science and technology; com./tur. - Commerce and Tourism; cult./bien. - Culture and well -being; cult./dep. - Culture and sport; D.S./AG. 2030 - Social Rights and Agenda 2030; e. - Education, Social Policy and Sports; e./com. - Economy and Commerce; e./e. - Economy and Business; e./i./c. - Economy, industry and competitiveness; e./t./a. - Energy, tourism and digital agenda; e./uu./inv. - Education and universities and research; ec./comp. - Economy and competitiveness; ed./ciencia - Education and science; ed./cult./d. - Education, culture and sport; ed./f.p. - Education and professional training; Educ. - Education; edu./cultura - Education and culture; ha./aa.pp. - Finance and Public Administrations; H./f.p. - Finance and Public Function; I./c./t. - Industry, Commerce and Tourism; I./s.s./m. - Inclusion, Social Security and Migration; Ind./en./tur. - Industry, Energy and Tourism; J./int. - Justice and Interior; M.A./M.R.m. - Environment, and rural and marine environment; O./t. - Public Works and Transport; O./T./M.A. - Public Works, Transport and Environment; p./a. - Territorial policy and public administration; p./a.t. - Presidency and for territorial administrations; p/rc/i - Presidency, relations with the courts and equality; p./r.c./m.d. - Presidency, relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory; p.t. - Territorial policy; p.t./f.p. - Territorial policy and public function; REL. Cortes/Secret. Gob. - Relations with the Courts and the Government Secretariat; s. - Health, social policy and equality; s/c/bs - Health, consumption and social welfare; S./p. - Health and Social Policy; S./s.s./ig. - Health, Social Services and Equality; Health/S.S. - Health and Social Security; t/s/ss - Work, Health and Social Security; tr.ec. - Ecological transition; tr.ec./r.d. - Ecological transition and demographic challenge; work and social ec. - work and social economy; work/immigr. - work and immigration; transp./com. - Transport and communications; transp./mov./ag.urb. - Transport, mobility and urban agenda; uu./inv. - Universities and Research.

Restructuring

<p Ministerial restructuring should not be confused with government crises, in which the holders of the departments change but not their organic structures. In a restructuring, the organic structures of the ministries are usually adapted (adding, modifying or suppressing administrative units) to accommodate the needs of the government; However, this does not necessarily imply a change in the denomination of ministries.

Current Ministries

See also: Headquarters of the Spanish ministries

On January 13, 2020, the BOE published the appointment of the 22 ministers of Pedro Sánchez for the Government of the XIV legislature.

Logo	Ministry	Owner	Created	Current name from	Direction	Budget (2023) (in euros (€))	Website
	Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation	José Manuel Albares	1714	2018	Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca, 8 28006 Madrid Plaza de la Provincia, 1 28012 Madrid (Palacio de Santa Cruz)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number2 193 million	www.exteriores.gob.es
	Justice	Pilar Llop	1714	1936	St. Bernard Street, 45 28015 Madrid (Palacio de la Marquesa de la Sonora)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number2 454 million	www.mjusticia.gob.es
	Defence	Margarita Robles	1714	1977	Paseo de la Castellana, 109 28046 Madrid	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number14 058 million	www.defensa.gob.es
	Finance and Public Service	Mary Jesus Montero	1714	2021	Alcalá Street, 5 28014 Madrid (Real Casa de la Aduana)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number21 657 million	www.hacienda.gob.es
	Interior	Fernando Grande-Marlaska	1812	1977	Calle Amador de los Ríos, 7 28010 Madrid (Palacio de los Condes de Casa Valencia)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number11 358 million	www.interior.gob.es
	Transportation, Mobility and Urban Agenda	Raquel Sánchez	1847	2020	Paseo de la Castellana, 67 28046 Madrid (New Ministries)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number14 952 million	www.mitma.gob.es
	Education and Vocational Training	Pilar Alegría	1900	2018	Calle de Alcalá, 34 28014 Madrid (Ministry of Education)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number6 386 million	www.educacionyfp.gob.es
	Labour and Social Economy	Yolanda Díaz	1920	2020	Paseo de la Castellana, 63 28046 Madrid (New Ministries)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number29 473 million	www.mites.gob.es
	Industry, Trade and Tourism	Héctor Gómez	1928	2018	Paseo de la Castellana, 160 28046 Madrid (Complege Cuzco)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number10 115 million	www.mincotur.gob.es
	Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	Luis Planas	1933	2018	Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, 1 28014 Madrid (Promotion Palace)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number8 970 million	www.mapa.gob.es
	Health	José Manuel Miñones	1936	2020	Paseo del Prado, 18 28014 Madrid (Written House)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number2 746 million	www.sanidad.gob.es
	Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory	Felix Bolaños	1974	2020	Iron Door Avenue 28040 Madrid (Palacio de la Moncloa)	' s fake fake fake fake fake fake fake brainchild fake castor.482 million	www.mpr.gob.es
	Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation	Nadia Calviño	1977	2020	Paseo de la Castellana, 162 28046 Madrid (Complege Cuzco)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number9 758 million	www.mineco.gob.es
	Culture and Sport	Miquel Iceta	1977	2018	King's Square, 1 28004 Madrid (House of the Seven Chimeneas)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number1 703 million	www.culturaydeporte.gob.es
	Territorial Policy	Isabel Rodríguez	1979	2021	Paseo de la Castellana, 3 28071 Madrid (Palacio de Villamejor)	& fake fake fake fake fake fake fake fake fake brainchild.590 million	www.mptfp.gob.es
	Science and Innovation	Diana Morant	1979	2020	Paseo de la Castellana, 162 28046 Madrid (Complege Cuzco)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number736 million	www.ciencia.gob.es
	Social Rights and Agenda 2030	Ione Belarra	1988	2020	Paseo del Prado, 18 28014 Madrid (Written House)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number1 760 million	www.mdsocialesa2030.gob.es
	Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge	Teresa Ribera	1996	2020	Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz 28003 Madrid (New Ministries)	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number877 million	www.miteco.gob.es
	Equality	Irene Montero	2008	2008	Alcalá Street, 37 28014 Madrid	' s fake fake fake fake fake fake fake brainchild.573 million	www.igualdad.gob.es
	Consumption	Alberto Garzón	2020	2020	Paseo del Prado, 18 28014 Madrid (Written House)	& fake fake fake fake fake fake fake brainchild fake anal sex1. fake fake fake fake fake brainstorm71 million	www.consumo.gob.es
	Inclusion, Social Security and Migration	José Luis Escrivá	2020	2020	José Abascal, 39 28003 Madrid	0Wrong expression: unexpected number.Wrong expression: unexpected number204 813 million	www.inclusion.gob.es
	Universities	Joan Subirats	2020	2020	Paseo de la Castellana, 162 28046 Madrid (Complege Cuzco)	& fake fake fake fake fake fake fake brainchild. fake fake fake brainchild.475 million	www.universidades.gob.es