The Most Excellent is an honorific

Honorific

An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...

  prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in Spain

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...

 and certain Spanish-speaking countries. The honorific is mainly used in written documents and its retention after the holder leaves office, is left for the most important positions of the state.

The prefix is similar in meaning to that of His/Her Excellency

Excellency

Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...

, but in the 19th century it began to replace it. The use of the prefix Excellency was re-introduced in Spain during the Franco-regime by General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco

Francisco 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...

 himself, who was formally styled as Su Excelencia el Jefe del Estado (His Excellency The Head of State), although his ministers and senior government officials continued using the prefix The Most Excellent. After the Spanish Constitution of 1978

Spanish Constitution of 1978

-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...

, the legal style is The Most Excellent, and Excellency is no longer used due to its Francoist connotations.

Household of His Majesty the King

• The Head of the Household
  Royal Household of Spain
  The Royal Household of Spain, officially the La Casa de Su Majestad el Rey , is the constitutional organization which supports the monarch in the exercise of his royal duties and prerogatives. The Royal Household does not form part of the Spanish Government, and remains exclusively under the...
  
  
• The Secretary General
• The Head of the Military Chamber

Executive Power

Central Government

• The Prime Minister
  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...
  
   and former Prime Ministers
• Vice Presidents of the Government and former vice presidents
• Government Ministers and former ministers
• Secretaries of State
• The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Government's Delegates to the Autonomous Communities

Autonomous communities

• The Presidents of the Autonomous communities of Spain
  Autonomous communities of Spain
  An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
  
  
• Councellors (ministers) of the Autonomous Communities

Legislative Power

• The President of the Congress of Deputies
• The President of the Senate
  Spanish Senate
  The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election...
  
  
• Members of the Bureau of the Congress of deputies
• Members of the Bureau of the Senate
• Members of the Bureaus of the Autonomic Legislatures

Constitutional Court and Judiciary

• Justices of the Constitutional Court
• Members of the General Council of the Judicial Power
• Justices of the Supreme Court
• The Attorney General of the State
• The Head prosecutor of the Supreme Court
• The Chief justice and the Head prosecutor of the Audiencia Nacional
• Chief justices and Head prosecutors of the High Courts of Justice of the Autonomous Communities

Local Authorities

• The Mayors of Madrid and Barcelona
• Mayors of cities considered big cities according to the law

Other Institutions

• Members of the Council of State
• Members of the Court of Audit
• Rectors of Universities (it is followed by the title Magnifico)
• Vicerrectors of Universities
• Members of the Insituto de España
• Academics of the eight Royal Academies
• Members of the Nuclear Security Council
• Deans of the College of Lawyers of the provinces where a High Court of Justice is Seated
• The Governor of the Bank of Spain

Recipients of civilian decorations, awards and orders

• Knights and Dames of the Collar and holder of a Great Cross or Collar of any of the Military and Civilian Orders
• Holders of the Gold Medal of Merit in Labour

Royalty & nobility

• Consorts and issue of the Infantes of Spain
• Grandees of Spain
• Heirs of Grandees of Spain