Deputy Prime Minister of Spain

The First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, officially First Vice President of the Government of Spain, (Spanish: Vicepresidente Primero del Gobierno de España) is the second in command to the Prime Minister of Spain, assuming its duties when the Prime Minister is absent or incapable of exercising power.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
Vicepresidente Primero del Gobierno de España
Incumbent
Carmen Calvo
since 7 June 2018
Government of Spain
Council of Ministers
StyleExcelentísimo/a Señor/a
Member ofCabinet
ResidenceSemillas Building, Palacio de la Moncloa
SeatMadrid, Spain
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
Countersigned by the Prime Minister of Spain
Term lengthNo fixed term
No term limits are imposed on the office.
Constituting instrumentConstitution of 1978
Formation3 October 1840 (1840-10-03)
First holderJoaquín María Ferrer
Unofficial namesDeputy Prime Minister of Spain
Salary€77,992 p.a.[1]

The person for the post is usually handpicked by the Prime Minister from the members of the Cabinet and appointed by the Monarch before whom it takes oath. When there are more than one Deputy Prime Minister, they are typically called First Deputy Prime Minister, Second Deputy Prime Minister, etc, though alternative names have also been used (i.e. Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister for Territorial Policy, etc.). The Headquarters of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office is the Semillas Building, in La Moncloa Complex.

History

The office of Deputy Prime Minister, like the premiership, dates back to the 19th century. A part of the doctrine considers that the creation of the office was in 1925, after the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera ended with the military government and establish a civil government. However, the historical evidences[2][3] prove that between 1840 and 1841 the office already existed under the name of Vice President of the Council of Ministers, holding this position the future prime minister Joaquín María Ferrer. After Deputy Prime Minister Ferrer, the office was not used again or was collected by any Constitution or subsequent law until the 20th century.

Assuming the objectives for which the Military Directorate was created were completed, Primo de Rivera transformed the Government of Spain into a civil government in 1925, reestablishing the Council of Ministers, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and re-creating the Vice Presidency, whose objective was to replace to the president in cases of absence or illness. This vice-president, said article 3 of the Royal Decree, was appointed by the president from among the members of the Council of Ministers.[4] The Vice Presidency was vested in the Under Secretary of the Interior, Severiano Martínez Anido, who combined the position with that of Interior Minister.[5]

With the resignation of Primo de Rivera and the fall of the monarchy, the Second Republic was established in Spain, which did not foresee at any time the existence of this position, however, in December 1933,[6] Prime Minister Lerroux appointed Diego Martínez Barrio Vice President of the Council of Ministers, a position to which he resigned only three months later.[7]

At the same time as the Presidency, the Vice Presidency changed its name with the Law of January 30, 1938 to Vice Presidency of the Government and, with the formation of the first Franco government, this position was granted to general Francisco Gómez-Jordana Sousa. From 1938 to 1981 the position was occupied by military officials, with the exception of the vice presidents Torcuato Fernández Miranda (1973-1973) and José García Hernández (1974-1975). Since 1981, with a democracy markedly established in society, Prime Minister Calvo-Sotelo appointed a civilian as Deputy, definitively separating the military power from the executive power, a situation that remains today.

Responsibilities

The Deputy Prime Minister of Spain is responsible for:[8]

  • Advising the President of the Government (Prime Minister).
  • Attending the Cabinet, the Delegated Commissions of the Government and the General Commission of Secretaries of State and Undersecretaries.
  • Supporting the President of the Government, specially exercising the responsibilities in relation to preparing and tracking the Government Programme.
  • Interministerial Coordinating given by current laws, the Government or the President.
  • Attending the Government with its relationships with the General Courts.
  • Preparing, carrying out and tracking the legislative programme of the Government and specially its parliamentary processing.
  • Material supporting, economic, financial, personal and budgetary management and in general whatever responsibilities needed by the President and the Presidency of the Government's dependent bodies.
  • Being the Secretary at the Council of Ministers.

Recent Deputy Prime Ministers
See also: List of Deputy Prime Ministers of Spain

Living Deputy Prime Ministers

As of June 2020, there are ten living former Spanish Deputy Prime Ministers:

The most recent Deputy Prime Minister to die was Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (served 2010–2011) on 10 May 2019, aged 67.

See also

References
  1. EFE (14 January 2019). "Pedro Sánchez percibirá un salario de 82.978 euros". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. "Royal Decree, by which the Queen Regent provides that Joaquin Maria Ferrer Vice President of the Council of Ministers, is in charge of the Ministry of Finance until it is responsible for it in the holder D. Agustin Fernandez Gambio, Consul of Spain in Bayonne" (PDF). 13 October 1840.
  3. "Minutes of the Cortes - March 1841". 19 March 1841.
  4. "Royal decree suppressing the positions of President, Members and Secretary of the Military Directorate; restore the positions of President of the Council of Ministers and of the Ministers of the Crown" (PDF). 4 December 1925.
  5. "Royal decree appointing Mr. Severiano Martínez Anido, Minister of the Interior, as Vice President of the Council of Ministers" (PDF). 4 December 1925.
  6. "Decree appointing Vice President of the Council of Ministers to Mr. Diego Martínez Barrio" (PDF).
  7. "Decree admitting the resignation of Diego Martínez Barrio to the position of Vice President of the Council of Ministers" (PDF).
  8. Royal Decree 199/2012, 23 January, for explaining the structure of the Ministry of the Presidency and changing the Royal Decree 1887/2011, 30 December, for establishing the structure of the ministerial departments (in Spanish)
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