First Vice President of the Government (Spain)
Encyclopedia
The First Vice President of the Government of Spain
, usually known in English as the First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, is the second in command to the Prime Minister of Spain
, filling in for him when he is absent or incapable of exercising his power. The person for the post is usually handpicked by the Prime Minister from the members of the Cabinet
. The title of "First" is used to distinguish them from the Second Vice President of the Government, as in the last legislatures there have been usually two. The Headquarters of the First Vice Presidency of the Government of Spain is the Edificio Semillas, in La Moncloa Complex.
Currently, Elena Salgado
is the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy and Finance.
, the government of Spain is headed by a Prime minister but the official title in Spanish is Presidente del Gobierno, literally President of the Government. This can be confusing to foreigners and indeed is to many Spaniards, who sometimes translate the title into English
as President. Therefore, the Spanish Vice President of the Government is actually the equivalent of a Deputy Prime Minister
, not a Vice President
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, usually known in English as the First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, is the second in command to the Prime Minister of Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
, filling in for him when he is absent or incapable of exercising his power. The person for the post is usually handpicked by the Prime Minister from the members of the Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
. The title of "First" is used to distinguish them from the Second Vice President of the Government, as in the last legislatures there have been usually two. The Headquarters of the First Vice Presidency of the Government of Spain is the Edificio Semillas, in La Moncloa Complex.
Currently, Elena Salgado
Elena Salgado
Elena Salgado Méndez is a Spanish politician currently serving as the First Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance of Spain, in the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero...
is the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy and Finance.
Official title
Being a constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, the government of Spain is headed by a Prime minister but the official title in Spanish is Presidente del Gobierno, literally President of the Government. This can be confusing to foreigners and indeed is to many Spaniards, who sometimes translate the title into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as President. Therefore, the Spanish Vice President of the Government is actually the equivalent of a Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
, not a Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
.
List of First Vice Presidents of the Government of Spain
- Franco'sFrancisco FrancoFrancisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
dictatorshipDictatorshipA dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
(1939 - 1975)- (1962 - 1967): Agustín Muñoz GrandesAgustín Muñoz GrandesAgustín Muñoz Grandes was a Spanish general, and politician, vice-president of the Spanish Government and minister with Francisco Franco several times; also known as the commander of the Blue Division between 1941 and 1943.-Biography:Born to a humble family in Madrid, Muñoz Grandes enrolled at the...
, military - (1967 - 1973): Luis Carrero BlancoLuis Carrero BlancoDon Luis Carrero Blanco, 1st Duke of Carrero Blanco, Grandee of Spain was a Spanish admiral and long-time confidant of dictator Francisco Franco.- Biography :...
, military - (1973 - 1974): Torcuato Fernández-MirandaTorcuato Fernández-MirandaDon Torcuato Fernández Miranda y Hevia, 1st Duke of Fernandez-Miranda, Grandee of Spain, KOGF was a Spanish lawyer and politician who played important roles in both the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and in the Spanish transition to democracy.Fernández Miranda was born in Gijón, Asturias, on...
- (1974 - 1975): José García Hernández
- (1962 - 1967): Agustín Muñoz Grandes
- Transitional Governments (1975 - 1977)
- (1975 - 1976): Fernando de Santiago, military
- (1975 - 1976): Manuel Fraga IribarneManuel Fraga IribarneManuel Fraga Iribarne is a Spanish People's Party politician. Fraga's career as one of the key political figures in Spain straddles both General Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime and the subsequent transition to democracy. He served as the President of the Xunta of Galicia from 1990 to 2005...
- (1975 - 1976): Juan Miguel Villar Mir
- Constituent Legislature (1977 - 1979)
- (1977 - 1979): Manuel Gutiérrez MelladoManuel Gutiérrez MelladoManuel Gutiérrez Mellado, 1st Marquis of Gutiérrez Mellado was a Spanish general and government minister. Appointed Chief of Staff of the Spanish Army in June 1976, Gutiérrez Mellado served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain from September 21, 1976 to February 26, 1981, holding the Defence...
, military
- (1977 - 1979): Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado
- 1st Legislature (1979 - 1982)
- (1979 - 1981): Manuel Gutiérrez MelladoManuel Gutiérrez MelladoManuel Gutiérrez Mellado, 1st Marquis of Gutiérrez Mellado was a Spanish general and government minister. Appointed Chief of Staff of the Spanish Army in June 1976, Gutiérrez Mellado served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain from September 21, 1976 to February 26, 1981, holding the Defence...
, military - (1981 - 1982): Rodolfo Martín Villa, UCDDemocratic Center Union (Spain)The Union of the Democratic Centre was an electoral coalition, and later political party, in Spain, existing from 1977 to 1983, and initially led by Adolfo Suárez.-History:...
- (1979 - 1981): Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado
- 2nd Legislature (1982 - 1986)
- (1982 - 1986): Alfonso Guerra GonzálezAlfonso GuerraAlfonso Guerra González is a Spanish politician. A leading member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party , he served as Vice President of the Government of Spain from 1982 to 1991, under the presidency of Felipe González...
, PSOESpanish Socialist Workers' PartyThe Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
- (1982 - 1986): Alfonso Guerra González
- 3rd Legislature (1986 - 1989)
- (1986 - 1989): Alfonso Guerra GonzálezAlfonso GuerraAlfonso Guerra González is a Spanish politician. A leading member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party , he served as Vice President of the Government of Spain from 1982 to 1991, under the presidency of Felipe González...
, PSOE
- (1986 - 1989): Alfonso Guerra González
- 4th Legislature (1989 - 1993)
- (1989 - 1991): Alfonso Guerra GonzálezAlfonso GuerraAlfonso Guerra González is a Spanish politician. A leading member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party , he served as Vice President of the Government of Spain from 1982 to 1991, under the presidency of Felipe González...
, PSOE - (1991 - 1993): Narcís Serra i SerraNarcís Serra i SerraNarcís Serra i Serra was Mayor of Barcelona from 1979 to 1982 and was Minister of Defense and successor to the vice presidency of Alfonso Guerra in 1991. He also sat in the Spanish Congress of Deputies representing Barcelona region from 1986 to 2004.-References:...
, PSOE
- (1989 - 1991): Alfonso Guerra González
- 5th Legislature (1993 - 1996)
- (1993 - 1995): Narcís Serra i SerraNarcís Serra i SerraNarcís Serra i Serra was Mayor of Barcelona from 1979 to 1982 and was Minister of Defense and successor to the vice presidency of Alfonso Guerra in 1991. He also sat in the Spanish Congress of Deputies representing Barcelona region from 1986 to 2004.-References:...
, PSOE
- (1993 - 1995): Narcís Serra i Serra
- 6th Legislature (1996 - 2000)
- (1996 - 2000): Francisco Álvarez CascosFrancisco Álvarez CascosFrancisco Álvarez Cascos is a Spanish civil engineer and politician. He is the current President of the Principality of AsturiasIn 1976, he joined Reforma Democrática and Alianza Popular, two right-wing parties...
, PPPeople's Party (Spain)The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
- (1996 - 2000): Francisco Álvarez Cascos
- 7th Legislature (2000 - 2004)
- (2000 - 2003): Mariano Rajoy Brey, PP
- (2003 - 2004): Rodrigo Rato FigaredoRodrigo RatoRodrigo de Rato y Figaredo is a Spanish political figure who served in the government of Spain as Minister of the Economy from 1996 to 2004; a member of the conservative People's Party , he was also First Deputy Prime Minister from 2003 to 2004...
, PP
- 8th Legislature (2004 - 2008)
- (2004 - 2008): María Teresa Fernández de la VegaMaría Teresa Fernández de la VegaMaría Teresa Fernández de la Vega Sanz, LLD is a Spanish Valencian Socialist politician. From 18 April 2004 to 20 October 2010, she was the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidency and Cabinet Spokesperson in the government of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero...
, PSOE
- (2004 - 2008): María Teresa Fernández de la Vega
- 9th Legislature (2008 - )
- (2008 - 2010): María Teresa Fernández de la VegaMaría Teresa Fernández de la VegaMaría Teresa Fernández de la Vega Sanz, LLD is a Spanish Valencian Socialist politician. From 18 April 2004 to 20 October 2010, she was the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidency and Cabinet Spokesperson in the government of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero...
, PSOE - (2010 - 2011): Alfredo Pérez RubalcabaAlfredo Pérez RubalcabaAlfredo Pérez Rubalcaba is a Spanish politician and a leading figure in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He served in the government of Spain as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993 and as Minister of the Interior from 2006 to 2011; in addition, he was First Deputy Prime Minister from...
, PSOE - (2011 - incumbent): Elena SalgadoElena SalgadoElena Salgado Méndez is a Spanish politician currently serving as the First Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance of Spain, in the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero...
, PSOE
- (2008 - 2010): María Teresa Fernández de la Vega
See also
- Council of Ministers of SpainCouncil of Ministers of SpainThe Cabinet of Spain is a collegiate body composed of the President of the Government , Vice Presidents when existing and the Ministers, and any other member required by law, and in some cases Secretaries of State...
- List of cabinets
- Politics of SpainPolitics of SpainThe politics of Spain take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the Head of State and the President of the Government is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is vested in the government...
- Political minister
- SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...