President of the Congress of Deputies

Last updated
President of the
Congress of Deputies
Coat of Arms of the Congress of Spain.svg
Coat of Arms of the Congress of Deputies
Francina Armengol 2021.jpg
Incumbent
Francina Armengol
since 17 August 2023
Congress of Deputies
Style The Most Excellent
Seat Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid
Appointer Congress of Deputies
Term length Four years, renewable
Constituting instrument Spanish Constitution
Formation24 September 1810;212 years ago (1810-09-24)
First holder Ramón Lázaro de Dou y de Bassols
Deputy Vice Presidents
Salary€230,926.48 annually [1]
Website www.congreso.es

The president of the Congress of Deputies (Spanish : Presidente del Congreso de los Diputados) is the speaker of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament). The president is elected among the members of the Congress and is, after the king and the prime minister, the highest authority in the Kingdom of Spain.

Contents

Although the president shares the representation of the Cortes Generales with the president of the Senate, the constitutional functions that are granted to the office in terms of royal countersigning and the election process of the Prime Minister (head of government), makes the president of the Congress the de facto leader of the legislative branch. This position is also reinforced by the asymmetric bicameralism that gives greater prominence to the lower house.

The current office was established by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, however, the position has a tradition of more than 200 years, since its creation in 1810 as President of the Cortes of Cádiz.

The current president, of the 15th Cortes Generales (102nd since the Cortes of Cádiz), is Francina Armengol, a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party who represents the electoral district of the Balearic Islands. [2]

Functions

Election

The speaker or president of the Congress of Deputies is elected during the constitutive session which follows the General Elections of the Kingdom or during the next session following the resignation of the president.

The election of the president needs an absolute majority in the Chamber. If an absolute majority is not reached in the first vote, a second vote is held immediately after the announcement of the results by the temporal president of the Chamber (the elder deputy). [4] The second vote needs only a simple majority (i.e., more «yes» than «no» votes). Each deputy is free to write the name he wants on his ballot, even if those deputies of the majority group vote for a candidate predefined by their party.

The president's term ends in case of death, resignation, loss of the status of deputy or after the dissolution of the Congress of Deputies, prior to the holding of general elections. [5]

Vice presidents

The Congress' Standing Rules establishes that there are four vice presidents of the Congress (Part III § 30). All the vice presidents are elected in a unique voting and the four most voted candidates are elected (Part III § 37).

The main task that the standing orders entrust to the vice presidents is that to replace the president in cases of vacancy, absence or impossibility to exercise. However, the standing orders also give the power to the president to delegated on them other responsibilities (Part III § 33).

When the Board of Spokespersons meet, it is needed that at least one of the four vice presidents are present (Part III § 39).

OrderNameTerm startParty
1st Alfonso Rodriguez Gomez de Celis (cropped).jpg Alfonso Rodríguez 3 December 2019 Logotipo del PSOE.svg PSOE
2nd Jose Antonio Bermudez de Castro.jpg José Antonio Bermúdez de Castro 17 August 2023 Logo del PP (2022).svg PP
3rd Portrait placeholder.svg Esther Gil de Reboleno Lastortres  [ es ]17 August 2023 Sumar icon.svg Sumar
4th (Marta Gonzalez Vazquez) Reunion Foro Social Partido Popular en sede distrito Salamanca contra la violencia de genero. (44167499810) (cropped).jpg Marta González Vázquez 17 August 2023 Logo del PP (2022).svg PP

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References

  1. "Las presidentas del Congreso y del Senado cobran más del doble que el presidente del Gobierno". larazon.es. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  2. Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel (2023-08-17). "Francina Armengol, elegida nueva presidenta del Congreso con los votos de ERC y Junts". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  3. Title 3. Section 1. Of the functions of the Table and its members. Standing Orders of the Congress.
  4. Preliminary title. Article 2. Standing Orders of the Congress.
  5. Title 3. Section 2º. Of the election of the Congress ruling table members. Standing Orders of the Congress.