President of the Government of Spain
The President of the Government is the head of the Spanish executive, who is responsible for directing the action of the Government and coordinating the functions of the other members of the same, as established in the Constitution. in the Congress of Deputies, the Lower Chamber of the Cortes Generales, and is appointed by the king, before whom he solemnly takes an oath or promise.
Since June 2, 2018, the Prime Minister is Pedro Sánchez, of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE).
Choice
Eligibility
Article 11 of Law 50/1997, of November 27, of the Government establishes that to be president of the Government one must be Spanish, of legal age, enjoy the rights of active and passive suffrage, as well as not be disqualified from exercising employment or public office by final court ruling. There is no limitation of mandates in the presidency of the Government of Spain.
General Election
The election of the President of the Government is carried out indirectly through the elections to the Congress of Deputies, Lower Chamber of the Cortes Generales, which are held ordinarily every four years. The outgoing government ceases on election day, but remains in office until the next one is sworn in. The elected Congress of Deputies meets in a constitutive session within twenty-five days following the elections. Subsequently, through the investiture process, the king proposes a candidate, who must receive the confidence of the Congress of Deputies to be able to be elected. appointed President of the Government by the King, as established in the Spanish Constitution.
Investment
The investiture process of the President of the Government is carried out after the general elections and in other cases of cessation of the Government: loss of parliamentary confidence, resignation or death of the President of the Government. Article 99 of the Spanish Constitution establishes the operation of the investiture process.
Article 991. After each renewal of the Congress of Deputies, and in the other constitutional assumptions where appropriate, the King, after consultation with the representatives appointed by the political groups with parliamentary representation, and through the President of Congress, will propose a candidate to the Presidency of the Government.
2. The candidate proposed in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall present to the Congress of Deputies the political programme of the Government which intends to form and request the confidence of the House.
3. If the Congress of Deputies, by the vote of the absolute majority of its members, will grant its confidence to that candidate, the King shall appoint him as President. If such a majority is not reached, the same proposal shall be put to a new vote forty-eight hours after the previous one, and the confidence shall be conferred if it obtains the simple majority.
4. If the above-mentioned ballots are not granted confidence for the investiture, subsequent proposals will be processed in the manner provided for in the preceding paragraphs.
5. If the two-month period has elapsed, from the first ballot, no candidate has obtained the confidence of the Congress, the King will dissolve both Houses and convene new elections with the endorsement of the President of Congress.Spanish Constitution
To begin the investiture process, the king meets with the representatives designated by the political groups of the Lower House. At the end of this round of contacts, the king proposes a candidate for the presidency of the Government through the president of the Congress of Deputies. The candidate proposed by the king does not necessarily have to be a deputy: it can be any Spanish citizen of legal age. However, in practice this has always been the case.
Once the king has proposed a candidate, the investiture session is held in the Congress of Deputies. There is no specific period of time between the actual proposal of a candidate and the investiture session. The candidate proposed by the king exposes before the Congress of Deputies the political program of the Government that he intends to form and requests the confidence of the Congress.
The Constitution does not provide for an investiture debate after such a presentation, although the Regulations of Congress allow a representative of each parliamentary group to speak for a maximum of thirty minutes. Likewise, it allows unlimited turns of reply by the candidate, and subsequent counter-reply turns to the representatives, who have a maximum of ten minutes.
If the Congress of Deputies, by an absolute majority of affirmative votes, gives its confidence to the candidate, the King appoints him President of the Government. Otherwise, the same proposal is submitted to a new vote 48 hours after the previous one. In this second vote, confidence is granted if the candidate obtains a simple majority of affirmative votes.
If the proposed candidate does not obtain the confidence of the Lower House in the two aforementioned votes, said candidacy is rejected. The king, after a new round of consultation with the political groups, can make successive proposals for candidates for the presidency of the Government or even re-propose one that has already been rejected if he understands that he already has sufficient support. In any case, if after two months from the first investiture vote no candidate has obtained the support of the chamber, the Cortes are automatically dissolved and new general elections are called to be held 47 days later.
On only two occasions, both in 2016, did the candidate proposed by the king not obtain the confidence of the Congress of Deputies in either of the two votes. On the first occasion, in March, Congress rejected the investiture of Pedro Sánchez. The blockade in the investiture was solved by repeating the elections, in accordance with point 5 of article 99 of the Spanish Constitution, in the 11th legislature. On the second occasion, in September, Congress also rejected the investiture of Mariano Rajoy. On this occasion the blockade was resolved with an "in extremis" of the PSOE (which in turn underwent a change of internal executive) with Mariano Rajoy, which allowed him to be proposed and invested again at the end of October.
Takeover
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After receiving the confidence of the Congress of Deputies, the candidate is appointed by the king as president of the Government through a royal decree. A ceremony is then held in which he swears or promises his position. This ceremony is held in the Audience Hall of the Palacio de la Zarzuela in the presence of the King, the Minister of Justice acting as Notary of the Kingdom, the President of the Congress of Deputies, the President of the Senate, the President of the Constitutional Court, the president of the General Council of the Judiciary and the Supreme Court and the president of the Government who will leave office, in the event that there is going to be a change in office.
The inauguration is carried out by the president at a desk located next to the king, on which is placed a paper with the inauguration formula, an open copy of the Spanish Constitution and a copy of the Bible and a crucifix in the event that the president wishes to swear in on them (only Sánchez in 2018 dispensed with them). Placing his hand on the Constitution, the president pronounces the inauguration formula. This formula is regulated in Royal Decree 707/1979 and reads as follows:
I swear [Sighs]or I promise] for my conscience and honour to faithfully fulfill the duties of the office of President of the Government with allegiance to the King, to keep and keep the Constitution as a fundamental rule of the State, as well as to keep the secret of the deliberations of the Council of Ministers.
Termination
The dismissal of the Government of Spain occurs after the holding of the general elections, due to loss of parliamentary confidence through the rejection of a question of confidence or the approval of a motion of censure by the Congress of Deputies, or due to the resignation or death of the President of the Government.
Article 113 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 establishes the mode of operation of the motion of censure. It must be proposed by at least one tenth of the deputies, and must include an alternative candidate for the presidency of the Government. In the case of approval of the motion of censure by an absolute majority, the Government submits its resignation to the King of Spain, who appoints the candidate included in the motion as president. Due to this process, Mariano Rajoy was dismissed in 2018, taking office as President of the Government the candidate proposed in the motion by the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez.
In the event of the resignation or death of the President of the Government, the entire Government ceases, but remains in office until a new Government takes office, as established in article 101 of the Spanish Constitution. According to the provisions of the Government Law, the functions of the president are assumed by the vice presidents or, failing that, by the ministers. In this case, the procedure for the investiture of a new president of the Government begins. Only on one occasion has the president of the Government resigned in current democratic Spain: in 1981 Adolfo Suárez, the first president of democracy, he resigned and Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo was sworn in.
Functions
The functions of the President of the Government are established in articles 97 to 116 of the Constitution. He cannot carry out any professional or commercial activity while he is in the exercise of his position.
Political responsibility
The political responsibility of the president and his cabinet is specified in two institutions: the question of confidence and the motion of censure.
The President of the Government, after deliberation by the Council of Ministers, may raise before the Congress of Deputies the question of confidence regarding his program or regarding a declaration of general policy. The Congress of Deputies grants it confidence when a simple majority of Deputies vote in favor of it. If the Lower House denies confidence to the Government, it will submit its resignation to the king and a new investiture process will begin.
A tenth of the Congress of Deputies can propose a motion of censure, proposing a presidential candidate. The motion is adopted by the absolute majority of the chamber. In that case, the Government will submit its resignation to the monarch and the presidential candidate will be understood to be invested. If the motion is unsuccessful, its signatories will not be able to propose another one in the same period of sessions.
Criminal responsibility
The criminal responsibility of the president is enforceable only before the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, as established in article 102 of the Constitution. If the accusation were for treason or for any crime against the security of the State in the exercise of its functions, it can only be raised by a quarter of the members of the Congress of Deputies and with the approval of the absolute majority of the same.
In any case, you will not be able to receive the right of grace from the king in these cases.
Presidency of the Government
To carry out his constitutional functions, the President of the Government has a support structure called the Presidency of the Government.
Official residence
The Palacio de la Moncloa is a historic palatial home located in the northwest of Madrid, in the Moncloa-Aravaca district. It was built in the 17th century century, but has undergone numerous renovations. Since 1977 it has housed the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government of Spain and is the official residence of the President of the Spanish Government and his family. The palace is within a complex of buildings for administrative and government work.
List of presidents
Since the promulgation of the Spanish Constitution in 1978 there have been seven different Prime Ministers: two centrists, three socialists and two popular. The president who has been in office the longest has been Felipe González (13 years and 5 months) and the least, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo (1 year and 9 months), who took office after the resignation of his predecessor.
Timeline since 1976
Post-Presidency
The statute of former presidents of the Government of Spain is regulated by Royal Decree 405/1992, last modified by Royal Decree 1306/2008. Former presidents are entitled to a lifetime pension of 80,000 euros and enjoy "the consideration, care and support due to those who have held this position." The law does not establish a minimum permanence in the presidency to be able to enjoy this pension. In addition, they can be ex officio directors of the Council of State, for life, with a salary of 100,000 euros per year. It is a position incompatible with working in private companies and with the former president's pension.
Former presidents maintain the title of "president" and have the support of the services of the Spanish diplomatic representation when they leave Spain. They can designate two workers as temporary cabinet personnel and have an endowment for office expenses, social services and rents, which are determined by the General State Budget. They have an official car, an escort and travel for free in the regular land, sea and air transport companies of the State.
- Former Living Presidents
Felipe González
(1982-1996)
5 March 1942 (81 years)
José María Aznar
(1996-2004)
25 February 1953 (70 years)
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
(2004-2011)
4 August 1960 (62 years)
Mariano Rajoy
(2011-2018)
27 March 1955 (68 years)
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