President of Spain
Encyclopedia
Today, Spain is a constitutional monarchy
. King Juan Carlos I, the current monarch, is Head of State. The Head of Government (Prime Minister) has the official title of President of the Government.
During the First Spanish Republic
(1873–74), Spain had heads of state known as the President of the Executive Power and President of the Provisional Government.
It is only during the Second Spanish Republic
(1931–39), however, that the official title of President of Spain (or President of the Republic) existed.
On 11 December 1931, Alcalá-Zamora assumed the new role of 'President', the effective head of state. Azaña remained as Prime Minister, head of the government, until 12 September 1933.
With Franco's victory imminent, a National Council of Defense was established to negotiate a peace settlement with the Nationalists. By this point, Franco was effectively in charge of all Spain.
Constitutional 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...
. King Juan Carlos I, the current monarch, is Head of State. The Head of Government (Prime Minister) has the official title of President of the Government.
During the First Spanish Republic
First Spanish Republic
The First Spanish Republic was the political regime that existed in Spain between the parliamentary proclamation on 11 February 1873 and 29 December 1874 when General Arsenio Martínez-Campos's pronunciamento marked the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain...
(1873–74), Spain had heads of state known as the President of the Executive Power and President of the Provisional Government.
It is only during the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
(1931–39), however, that the official title of President of Spain (or President of the Republic) existed.
Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939)
After the abdication of Alfonso XIII on 14 April there was no official head of state, meaning that the Prime Minister, officially known as President of the Government, was in effect the highest office in the land.Presidents of the Government of the Republic (Prime Minister) (until 31 July 1931 Republic remained provisional)
| Name | Term start | Term end | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first premier minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then — from 1931 to 1936—as its president.... |
14 April 1931 | 14 October 1931 | Progressive Republican Right Progressive Republican Right The Progressive Republican Right was a Spanish political party led by Niceto Alcalá Zamora.... |
| Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz was a Spanish politician. He was the first Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic , and later served again as Prime Minister , and then as the second and last President of the Republic . The Spanish Civil War broke out while he was President... |
14 October 1931 | 12 September 1933 | Republican Action |
On 11 December 1931, Alcalá-Zamora assumed the new role of 'President', the effective head of state. Azaña remained as Prime Minister, head of the government, until 12 September 1933.
Presidents (from 23 July 1936 in Republican Zone only)
| Name | Term start | Term end | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first premier minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then — from 1931 to 1936—as its president.... |
11 December 1931 | 7 April 1936 | Progressive Republican Right Progressive Republican Right The Progressive Republican Right was a Spanish political party led by Niceto Alcalá Zamora.... |
| Diego Martínez Barrio Diego Martínez Barrio Diego Martínez y Barrio was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic, Prime Minister of Spain between 9 October 1933 and 26 December 1933 and was briefly appointed again by Manuel Azaña after the resignation of Santiago Casares Quiroga, on July 19, 1936 - three days after the... (interim) |
7 April 1936 | 11 May 1936 | Republican Union Party Republican Union Party The Republican Union was a Spanish republican party founded in 1934 by Diego Martinez Barrio.It was formed as a result of a merger of several small republican parties, including notably Diego Martinez Barrio's Radical Democratic Party founded in May 1934 by a split from Alejandro Lerroux's Radical... (Popular Front Popular Front (Spain) The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election.... ) |
| Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz was a Spanish politician. He was the first Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic , and later served again as Prime Minister , and then as the second and last President of the Republic . The Spanish Civil War broke out while he was President... |
11 May 1936 | 1 March 1939 | Republican Left Republican Left (Spain) The Republican Left was a Spanish left-wing republican party founded in 1934.The party was founded in 1934 following the left's defeat in the 1933 election, by the merger of Manuel Azaña's Republican Action, part of Marcelino Domingo's Radical Socialist Republican Party and Santiago Casares... (Popular Front Popular Front (Spain) The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election.... ) |
| Diego Martínez Barrio Diego Martínez Barrio Diego Martínez y Barrio was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic, Prime Minister of Spain between 9 October 1933 and 26 December 1933 and was briefly appointed again by Manuel Azaña after the resignation of Santiago Casares Quiroga, on July 19, 1936 - three days after the... (interim) |
1 March 1939 | 4 March 1939 | Republican Union Party Republican Union Party The Republican Union was a Spanish republican party founded in 1934 by Diego Martinez Barrio.It was formed as a result of a merger of several small republican parties, including notably Diego Martinez Barrio's Radical Democratic Party founded in May 1934 by a split from Alejandro Lerroux's Radical... (Popular Front Popular Front (Spain) The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election.... ) |
With Franco's victory imminent, a National Council of Defense was established to negotiate a peace settlement with the Nationalists. By this point, Franco was effectively in charge of all Spain.
Presidents of the National Council of Defense (Republican Zone)
| Name | Term start | Term end | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segismundo Casado López (interim) | 4 March 1939 | 13 March 1939 | Military |
| José Miaja Menant | 13 March 1939 | 27 March 1939 | Military |
See also
- List of Spanish monarchs
- Prime Minister of SpainPrime Minister of SpainThe 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...