Spanish government departments
The Spanish government departments, commonly known as Ministries, are the main bodies through which the Government of Spain exercise its executive authority. They are also the top level of the General State Administration. The ministerial departments and their organization are created by the Prime Minister and all of them are headed by a Cabinet member called Minister.
Although the main organization is established by the Premier, the Ministers have autonomy to organize its own department and to appoint the high-ranking officials of the ministries. It includes the possibility of ministers without portfolio, which are minister-level officials entrusted with an specific task and that do not head a department.
There are currently 22 ministerial departments.
Ministers
The Ministers or Government Ministers are, after the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers, the highest officials of the State Administration and together they form the Government of the Nation, which main decision-making-body is the Council of Ministers.Appointment and dismissal
The ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Monarch at the proposal of the President of the Government.Both appointment and dismissal, to be effective, must to be published at the Official State Gazette, although exists some specific cases, previous to the approval of the 1997 Government Act, which dismissal was not published. Those cases are Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, minister without portfolio between 1976 and 1977 and Francisco Fernández Ordóñez, Minister of Justice from 1980 to 1981.
Unlike the portfolio ministers, the dismissal of ministers without portfolio entails the extinction of all the ministerial structure that supports it.
Responsibilities
According to the Government Act, the ministers, as heads of their departments, have competence and responsibility in the specific sphere of their actions, and they are responsible for exercising the following functions:- To develop the action of the Government within the scope of its department, in accordance with the agreements adopted in the Council of Ministers or with the orders of the Prime Minister.
- To exercise the regulatory power in the matters specific to his department.
- To exercise the powers attributed to them by laws, the rules of organization and functioning of the Government and any other norm.
- To countersign, when necessary, the acts of the Sovereign in the sphere of its responsibilities.
- The Council of Ministers.
- The Government Delegated Committees.
Substitutions
The only substitution that has taken place since the entry into force of the 1997 Government Act has been that of the Minister of Defense in May 2008. Minister Carme Chacón used her right to maternity leave and her responsibilities were temporary assumed by the Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba.
Minister without portfolio
These have been the ministers without portfolio that have existed since the transition to democracy:| Portfolio | Name and term |
| Deputy Minister for the Regions | |
| Deputy Minister for Relations with the Cortes | |
| Minister for Relations with the European Communities | |
| Minister attached to the Prime Minister | |
| Deputy Minister for Public Administration | |
| Deputy Minister for Legislative Coordination | |
| Minister-Spokesperson of the Government |
Internal organization
Ministries may have Secretariats of State and, exceptionally, General Secretariats for the management of a sector of administrative activity. The executive bodies that are assigned to them are hierarchically dependent on them. The ministries have, in any case, an Undersecretariat and, depending on it, a General Technical Secretariat for the management of common services.On the other hand are the Directorates-General, which are the management bodies of one or several functionally homogeneous areas. The directorates-general are organized in deputy directorates-general for the management of the competences entrusted to it. However, deputy directorates-general may be directly attached to other higher level management bodies or to higher bodies of the ministry.
Creation, modification and suppression
Before of the approval of the 1997 Government Act, the Ministries and Secretariats of State had to be created by law, normally by a direct law passed by the Government in the form of Royal Decree-Law. After, the Government Act allowed the Prime Minister to approve a Royal Decree designing the government structure.Currently, the Prime Minister only creates the Ministries and some of the highest bodies while the principal internal organization is delegated into the ministers, which develop the structure of the bodies created by the Premier or create new ones. The order of the Minister is also a royal decree signed the Monarch and countersigned by the minister responsible for the public administration at the proposal of the competent minister.
The lowest bodies such as deputy directorates-general are created by a Ministerial Order of the competent minister.
Hierarchy
The ministers are the superior heads of the department and direct hierarchical superiors of the secretaries of State. The executive bodies depend on the previous ones and they are hierarchically ordered among themselves in the following way: undersecretary, director general and deputy director general. The general secretaries have the rank of undersecretary and the technical general secretaries have the rank of director general.Ministerial hierarchy:
- Minister.
- * Secretaries of State.
- ** Undersecretaries and General Secretaries.
- *** Directors general and technical general secretaries.
- **** Deputy directors general.
Current ministries
| Logo | Portfolio | Minister | First creation | Current name | Address | Budget | Website |
| Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation | 1714 | 2018 | 1 Province Square, Madrid | €1,846 million | |||
| Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation | María Aránzazu González Laya | 1714 | 2018 | 1 Province Square, Madrid | €1,846 million | ||
| Justice | 1714 | 1931 | 45 San Bernardo Street, Madrid | €1,882 million | |||
| Justice | Juan Carlos Campo Moreno | 1714 | 1931 | 45 San Bernardo Street, Madrid | €1,882 million | ||
| Defence | 1705 | 1977 | 109 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €10,200 million | |||
| Defence | Margarita Robles Fernández | 1705 | 1977 | 109 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €10,200 million | ||
| Finance | 1705 | 1851 | 5 Alcalá Street, Madrid | €21,358 million | |||
| Finance | María Jesús Montero | 1705 | 1851 | 5 Alcalá Street, Madrid | €21,358 million | ||
| Interior | 1812 | 1977 | 7 Amador de los Ríos Street, Madrid | €8,636 million | |||
| Interior | Fernando Grande-Marlaska | 1812 | 1977 | 7 Amador de los Ríos Street, Madrid | €8,636 million | ||
| Transports, Mobility and Urban Agenda | 1832 | 2020 | 67 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €6,447 million | |||
| Transports, Mobility and Urban Agenda | José Luis Ábalos Meco | 1832 | 2020 | 67 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €6,447 million | ||
| Education and Vocational Training | 1900 | 2018 | 34 Alcalá Street, Madrid | €2,380 million | |||
| Education and Vocational Training | María Isabel Celaá Diéguez | 1900 | 2018 | 34 Alcalá Street, Madrid | €2,380 million | ||
| Labour and Social Economy | 1920 | 2020 | 63 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | Approx. €25,000 million | |||
| Labour and Social Economy | Yolanda Díaz | 1920 | 2020 | 63 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | Approx. €25,000 million | ||
| Industry, Trade and Tourism | 1933 | 1991 | 160 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €2,893 million | |||
| Industry, Trade and Tourism | María Reyes Maroto Illera | 1933 | 1991 | 160 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €2,893 million | ||
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | 1900 | 1981 | 1 Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, Madrid | €8,115 million | |||
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | Luis Planas | 1900 | 1981 | 1 Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, Madrid | €8,115 million | ||
| Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory | 1951 | 2020 | Puerta de Hierro Avenue, Madrid | € 614 million | |||
| Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory | María del Carmen Calvo Poyato | 1951 | 2020 | Puerta de Hierro Avenue, Madrid | € 614 million | ||
| Territorial Policy and Civil Service | 1979 | 2018 | 3 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €2,221 million | |||
| Territorial Policy and Civil Service | Carolina Darias | 1979 | 2018 | 3 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €2,221 million | ||
| Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge | 1996 | 2020 | San Juan de la Cruz Square, Madrid | €7,026 million | |||
| Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge | Teresa Ribera | 1996 | 2020 | San Juan de la Cruz Square, Madrid | €7,026 million | ||
| Culture and Sport | 1977 | 2018 | 1 King's Square, Madrid | €1,270 million | |||
| Culture and Sport | José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes | 1977 | 2018 | 1 King's Square, Madrid | €1,270 million | ||
| Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation | 1928 | 2020 | 162 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €5,406 million | |||
| Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation | Nadia María Calviño Santamaria | 1928 | 2020 | 162 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €5,406 million | ||
| Health | 1936 | 1936 | 18 Paseo del Prado, Madrid | €2,392 million | |||
| Health | Salvador Illa | 1936 | 1936 | 18 Paseo del Prado, Madrid | €2,392 million | ||
| Social Rights and 2030 Agenda | 1988 | 2020 | 18 Paseo del Prado, Madrid | Approx. €2,000 million | |||
| Social Rights and 2030 Agenda | Pablo Iglesias Turrión | 1988 | 2020 | 18 Paseo del Prado, Madrid | Approx. €2,000 million | ||
| Science and Innovation | 1979 | 2008 | 162 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €6,912 million | |||
| Science and Innovation | Pedro Francisco Duque | 1979 | 2008 | 162 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | €6,912 million | ||
| Equality | 2020 | 2020 | 37 Alcalá Street, Madrid | Approx. €200 million | |||
| Equality | Irene Montero | 2020 | 2020 | 37 Alcalá Street, Madrid | Approx. €200 million | ||
| Consumer Affairs | 2020 | 2020 | Madrid | ||||
| Consumer Affairs | Alberto Garzón | 2020 | 2020 | Madrid | |||
| Inclusion, Social Security and Migration | 2020 | 2020 | 63 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | Approx. €178,000 million | |||
| Inclusion, Social Security and Migration | José Luis Escrivá Belmonte | 2020 | 2020 | 63 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid | Approx. €178,000 million | ||
| Universities | 1979 | 2020 | Madrid | Approx. €300 million | |||
| Universities | Manuel Castells Oliván | 1979 | 2020 | Madrid | Approx. €300 million |