Spanish government departments

Main bodies of executive authority of the government of Spain

Politics of Spain

Constitution

* Constitution
* Constitutional Court
* President
* Cándido Conde-Pumpido
* Vice President
* Inmaculada Montalbán Huertas
* Constitutional history
* Spanish transition to democracy
* Human rights
* Taxation
* Law

Abortion
Nationality
Capital punishment
Life imprisonment

The Crown

Royal Household

* * *

* The Monarch (list)

Felipe VI
* Heir presumptive (list)

Leonor, Princess of Asturias
* Royal family
* Succession to the Spanish throne

Executive

Government of the Nation

* * *

* Prime Minister (list)
* Pedro Sánchez
* Deputy Prime Minister (list)
* María Jesús Montero (first)
* Yolanda Díaz (second)
* Teresa Ribera (third)
* Council of Ministers
* Sánchez III Government
* Ministries
* Government Delegations
* Government Delegated Committees
* Interministerial Committees
* Spanish prime-ministerial transition
* List of agencies in Spain
* Council of State
* Economic and Social Council

Legislature

Cortes Generales
(15th Cortes Generales)

* * *

* Senate (15th Senate)
* Speaker (list)
* Pedro Rollán
* Congress of Deputies (15th Congress)
* Speaker (list)
* Francina Armengol
* Parliamentary groups
* Permanent Deputation
* Bureaus of the Cortes Generales
* Board of Spokespersons
* People's Defender (ombudsman)
* Solemn Opening of the Parliament of Spain

Judiciary

General Council of the Judiciary

* * *

* Supreme Court
* President (list)
* Isabel Perelló
* Vice President
* Francisco Marín Castán (acting)
* Audiencia Nacional
* High courts of justice
* Court of Auditors
* Prosecution Ministry

Euro

European Central Bank
Bank of Spain

* * *

* Governor of the Bank of Spain
* Pablo Hernández de Cos
* Deputy Governor of the Bank of Spain
* Margarita Delgado Tejero
* Royal Mint of Spain

Administrative subdivisions

* Autonomous communities
* Legislatures
* Governments
* Presidents
* Autonomous cities
* Provinces
* Comarcas
* Municipalities
* Plazas de soberanía

Elections

* Political parties
* Recent elections

* General: 2019 (Apr)
* 2019 (Nov)
* 2023

* Regional: 2015
* 2019
* 2023

* European: 2014
* 2019
* 2024

*     * Referendums: 1978
* 1986
* 2005

Foreign relations

* Foreign relations
* Diplomatic missions

of Spain
in Spain
* Politics of the European Union

Related topics

*     * Political parties: PP
* PSOE
* Podemos
* C's

* Spanish transition to democracy
* Dictatorship of Francisco Franco
* Anarchism in Spain
* Liberalism and radicalism in Spain
* Spanish Civil War
*     * Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain: Basque
* Catalan
* Galician

* Catalan independence movement (Spanish constitutional crisis of 2017–18)
* Disputed status of Gibraltar
* Republicanism in Spain (Second Spanish Republic)

* Spain portal

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

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 Royal Decree signed by the Monarch and 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 exists the possibility of ministers without portfolio, which are minister-level officials entrusted with a specific task and that do not head a department.

As of 2025, there are currently 22 ministerial departments.

## Ministers

[edit]

The Ministers or Government Ministers (historically Ministers of the Crown) 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

[edit]

The ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Monarch at the proposal of the Prime Minister.[1]

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.[2]

Unlike the portfolio ministers, the dismissal of ministers without portfolio entails the extinction of all the ministerial structure that supports them.

### Responsibilities

[edit]

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:[1]

* To develop the action of the Government within the scope of their departments, 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 specific matters of their departments.
* 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 ministers, as members of the Government, meet in the following collective bodies:

* The Council of Ministers.
* The Government Delegated Committees.

### Substitutions

[edit]

The substitution of the ministers must be determined by a Royal Decree of the Prime Minister, and always has to fall on another member of the Government. The Royal Decree must express the cause and character of the substitution.[1]

Since the entry into force of the Government Act in December 1997, substitutions have taken place on many occasions, either to assume the portfolio temporarily or to replace a minister in a specific matter. The substitution for "delivery" of the minister of Defense Carme Chacón in May 2008. She used her right to maternity leave and her responsibilities were temporary assumed by the Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba.[3]

### Minister without portfolio

[edit]

These have been the ministers without portfolio that have existed since the transition to democracy:[2]

Portfolio | Name and term

|

Assistant Minister of the Regions |

* Manuel Clavero Arévalo (4 July 1977 – 5 April 1979)

Deputy Minister for Relations with the Cortes |

* Ignacio Camuñas Solís (4 July 1977 – 29 September 1977)
* Rafael Arias-Salgado y Montalvo (5 April 1979 – 17 January 1980)

Minister for Relations with the European Communities |

* Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo (10 February 1978 – 8 September 1980)
* Eduardo Punset (8 September 1980 – 26 February 1981)

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister |

* Joaquín Garrigues Walker (5 April 1979 – 2 May 1980)
* Rafael Arias-Salgado y Montalvo (17 January 1980 – 2 May 1980)
* Pío Cabanillas Gallas (8 September 1980– 26 February 1981)
* Jaime Lamo de Espinosa (1 December 1981 – 29 July 1982)
* Alberto Estella Goytre (15 January 1982 – 12 August 1982)

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Public Administration |

* Sebastián Martín-Retortillo (2 May 1980 – 26 February 1981)

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Legislative Coordination |

* Juan Antonio Ortega y Díaz-Ambrona (2 May 1980 – 8 September 1980)

Minister-Spokesperson of the Government |

* Pío Cabanillas Alonso (27 April 2000[4] – 10 July 2002[5])

## Internal organization

[edit]

Main article: General State Administration § Central Organization

Ministries may have Secretariats of State and, exceptionally, General Secretariats (with rank of undersecretariat) 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 (HR, budget, assets, websites, security...).

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.[6]

### Creation, modification and suppression

[edit]

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 (secondary legislation) designing the government structure.

Currently, the Prime Minister only creates the Ministries and some of the highest bodies (like secretariats of State and Undersecretariats) 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 (ranked below the royal decree) of the competent minister.[6]

### Hierarchy

[edit]

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:[6]

* Minister.
* Secretaries of State.
* Undersecretaries and General Secretaries.
* Directors general and technical general secretaries.
* Deputy directors general.

## Current ministries

[edit]

The current Cabinet —the third government of Pedro Sánchez— was sworn in by King Felipe VI on 21 November 2023.[7]

Logo  | Portfolio  | Minister  | First creation  | Address  | Budget (2025)[8] | Website

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Office of the Prime Minister |  | 1834 | Puerta de Hierro Avenue, Madrid  | €134 million  | www.lamoncloa.gob.es
Pedro Sánchez
| Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation
(MAUEC) |  | 1714 | 1 Province Square, Madrid  | €2,124 million  | www.exteriores.gob.es
José Manuel Albares
| Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes
(MPJRC) |  | 1714 (Justice)
1974 (Presidency)  | Justice: 45 San Bernardo Street, Madrid
Presidency: Puerta de Hierro Avenue, Madrid  | €2,734 million  | www.mjusticia.gob.es
www.mpr.gob.es
Félix Bolaños
| Defence
(MINISDEF) |  | 1714 | 109 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €14,058 million  | www.defensa.gob.es
Margarita Robles
| Finance
(MH) |  | 1714 | 5 Alcalá Street, Madrid  | €19,336 million  | www.hacienda.gob.es
María Jesús Montero
| Interior
(MIR) |  | 1812 | 7 Amador de los Ríos Street, Madrid  | €11,116 million  | www.interior.gob.es
Fernando Grande-Marlaska
| Transport and Sustainable Mobility
(MITMS) |  | 1847 | 67 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €11,458 million  | www.transportes.gob.es
Óscar Puente
| Education, Vocational Training and Sports
(MEFPD) |  | 1900 | 34 Alcalá Street, Madrid  | €6,775 million  | www.educacionfpydeportes.gob.es
Pilar Alegría
| Labour and Social Economy
(MITES) |  | 1920 | 63 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €28,791 million  | www.mitramiss.gob.es
Yolanda Díaz
| Industry and Tourism
(MINTUR) |  | 1928 | 160 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €8,506 million  | www.mintur.gob.es
Jordi Hereu
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
(MAPA) |  | 1933 | 1 Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, Madrid | €8,412 million  | www.mapa.gob.es
Luis Planas
| Health
(MISAN) |  | 1936 | 18 Paseo del Prado, Madrid  | €1,022 million  | www.sanidad.gob.es
Mónica García
| Housing and Urban Agenda
(MIVAU) |  | 1957  | 67 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €3,484 million  | www.mivau.gob.es
Isabel Rodríguez
| Economy, Trade and Business
(MINECO) |  | 1977 | 162 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €6,180 million  | www.mineco.gob.es
Carlos Cuerpo
| Culture
(MC) |  | 1977 | 1 King's Square, Madrid  | €1,155 million  | www.culturaydeporte.gob.es
Ernest Urtasun
| Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory
(MPTMD) |  | 1979 | 3 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €411 million  | www.seat.mpr.gob.es
Ángel Víctor Torres
| Science, Universities and Innovation
(MICIU) |  | 1979 | 162 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €8,197 million  | www.ciencia.gob.es
Diana Morant
| Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda
(MDSCA) |  | 1988 | 18 Paseo del Prado, Madrid  | €579 million  | www.mdsocialesa2030.gob.es
Pablo Bustinduy
| Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge
(MITECO) |  | 1996 | San Juan de la Cruz Square, Madrid  | €8,862 million  | www.miteco.gob.es
Sara Aagesen
| Equality
(MI) |  | 2008 | 37 Alcalá Street, Madrid  | €512 million  | www.igualdad.gob.es
Ana Redondo García
| Inclusion, Social Security and Migration
(MISSM) |  | 2020 | 39 José Abascal Street, Madrid  | €204,813 million  | www.inclusion.gob.es
Elma Saiz
| Digital Transformation and Civil Service
(MTDFP) |  | 2023  | 162 Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid  | €7,503 million  | www.digital.gob.es
Óscar López
| Youth and Children
(MIJUI) |  | 2023  | 18 Paseo del Prado, Madrid  | €203 million  | www.juventudeinfancia.gob.es
Sira Rego

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Gobierno [Government] (Ley 50/1997) (in Spanish). Vol. 285\. 27 November 1997. pp. 35082–35088 – via BOE.
2. ^ a b Urquijo Goitia, José Ramón. "Juan Carlos I". Relación cronológica de gabinetes. Diccionario Biográfico de Ministros (in Spanish). Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
3. ^ Burnett, Victoria (20 May 2008). "Spanish defense minister begins maternity leave". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
4. ^ Por el que se nombran Ministros del Gobierno [By which Government Ministers are appointed] (Real Decreto 561/2000) (in Spanish). Vol. 102\. 27 April 2000. p. 16448 – via BOE.
5. ^ Por el que se modifica la estructura orgánica del Ministerio de la Presidencia [By which the organic structure of the Ministry of the Presidency is modified] (Real Decreto 776/2002) (in Spanish). Vol. 179\. 26 July 2002. pp. 27814–27816 – via BOE.
6. ^ a b c Régimen Jurídico del Sector Público [Legal Regime of the Public Sector Act] (Ley 40/2015) (in Spanish). Vol. 236\. 1 October 2015. pp. 89411–89530 – via BOE.
7. ^ "España | Sánchez se rodea de su núcleo duro para la nueva legislatura". euronews (in Spanish). 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
8. ^ Jefatura del Estado (2022-12-24), Ley 31/2022, de 23 de diciembre, de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para el año 2023 (in Spanish), pp. 180551–181414, retrieved 2023-01-06

* v
* t
* e

Departments and agencies of the Government of Spain

Cabinet|

* President of the Government of Spain
* First Vice President of the Government of Spain
* Second Vice President of the Government of Spain
* Third Vice President of the Government of Spain
* Office of the Prime Minister
* Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation
* Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes
* Ministry of Defence
* Minister of Finance
* Ministry of the Interior
* Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility
* Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports
* Minister of Labour and Social Economy
* Minister of Industry and Tourism
* Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
* Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory
* Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge
* Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda
* Ministry of Culture
* Minister of Economy, Trade and Business
* Ministry of Health
* Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda
* Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities
* Ministry of Equality
* Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration
* Ministry for the Digital Transformation and of the Civil Service
* Ministry of Youth and Children
* Spokesperson of the Government

Inactive|

* Fourth Vice President of the Government of Spain
* Ministry of Supply
* Ministry of Communications
* Ministry of Overseas
* Ministry of Information and Tourism
* Ministry of Consumer Affairs
* Ministry of Economy and Finance
* Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda
* Ministry of Justice
* Ministry of the Presidency
* Ministry of Trade
* Ministry of Transport
* Ministry of Universities

Agencies|

* Bank of Spain
* National Intelligence Centre
* National Cryptologic Center
* Spanish National Research Council
* National Statistics Institute
* National Securities Market Commission
* National Transplant Organization
* State Meteorological Agency
* State Vehicle Fleet
* Spanish Data Protection Agency
* Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation
* Spanish Tax Agency
* National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation
* Boletín Oficial del Estado
* Railway Safety Agency
* Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency
* Evaluation and Quality Agency
* State Research Agency
* Spanish Anti-Doping Agency
* Department of Homeland Security
* Intelligence Center for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime
* Maritime Safety and Rescue Society
* National Sports Council
* Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices
* Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition
* Food Information and Control Agency
* Tourism Institute of Spain
* National Institute for Aerospace Technology
* Directorate-General for Traffic
* Labour and Social Security Inspectorate
* National Institute for Safety and Health at Work
* Spanish Patent and Trademark Office
* Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund
* Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies
* Centre for Sociological Research
* Patrimonio Nacional
* Instituto Cervantes
* National Parks Autonomous Agency
* Institute for the Elderly and Social Services
* Institute of Youth
* Carlos III Health Institute
* Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research
* Institute of Women
* Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility
* Nuclear Safety Council
* Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts
* Spanish Space Agency
* National Commission on Markets and Competition
* Spanish Executive Resolution Authority
* Council for Transparency and Good Governance
* Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence
* National Institute of Public Administration
* Commission for the Tobacco Market

* v
* t
* e

Spain articles

History|

| Timeline|

* Prehistoric Iberia
* Ancient History Timeline
* Roman Hispania
* Medieval Spain
* Al-Andalus
* Reconquista
* Union
* Expansion
* globalization
* Enlightenment
* Reaction and revolution
* First Republic
* Restoration
* Second Republic
* Spain under Franco
* Transition to democracy
* Contemporary Spain
* 1975–present

|

By topic|

* General overview
* Pre-Roman Iberia
* Spanish Empire
* Golden Age
* Economic
* Military
* Civil War
* Spanish miracle

Geography|

* Autonomous cities
* Autonomous communities (ranked lists)
* Biosphere Reserves
* Borders
* Climate
* Comarcas
* Earthquakes
* Extreme points
* Forests
* Iberian Peninsula
* Peninsular Spain
* Islands
* Municipalities
* National parks
* Natural Sites of Community Importance
* Plazas de soberanía
* Provinces
* Wildlife

Politics|

* Autonomous communities of Spain
* Constitution
* Corruption
* Head of State
* Constitutional Court
* Cortes Generales
* Judiciary
* Government
* Prime Minister
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Human rights
* LGBT
* Intersex
* Military
* Monarchy
* Political parties
* Wars and armed conflicts
* Law
* Law enforcement

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Banks
* Car industry
* Communities
* GDP
* unemployment
* median income
* Economic history
* Energy
* Financial crisis
* Forestry
* Largest companies
* Taxation
* Property bubble
* Science and technology
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Trade unions
* Transport
* Rail
* Wine

Society|

* Abortion
* Crime
* Demographics
* Disability
* Education
* Euthanasia
* Health care
* Homelessness
* Immigration
* Irreligion
* Languages
* Life expectancy
* Naturism
* Pensions
* People
* Prostitution
* Religion
* Time
* Women

Culture|

* Architecture
* Art
* Bullfighting
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Fiestas
* National Interest
* International Interest
* Languages
* Literature
* Mass media
* Music
* National and regional identity
* National Day of Spain
* Public holidays
* Sport
* UNESCO World Heritage Sites
* UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Symbols|

* Anthem
* Coat of arms
* Cultural icons
* Flag
* Toro de Osborne

* Outline
* Index

* Category
* Portal

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template