Gabinete de la Presidencia del Gobierno | |
![]() | |
![]() Seeds Building, Moncloa, Madrid | |
Department overview | |
---|---|
Formed | July 19, 1976 |
Preceding Department | |
Jurisdiction | Spain |
Headquarters | Palace of Moncloa, Madrid |
Ministers responsible | |
Department executives |
|
![]() |
---|
The Cabinet of the Prime Minister's Office, officially Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government, is a political and technical assistance body at the service of the Prime Minister of Spain. The Cabinet of the Prime Minister is composed of multiple departments directly responsible to the Premier and coordinated by the Chief of Staff. The Cabinet Office, the officials that work on it, their offices and the departments make up the Office of the Prime Minister.
The functions of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister's Office are freely established by the Prime Minister through a Royal Decree signed by the Monarch. The duties of the Cabinet Office are focused on assisting the chief executive while most responsibilities over Government coordination and Council of Ministers assistance are assumed by the Ministry of the Presidency.
The current duties are: [1]
It is also responsible for the security of the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Presidency and their families, protocol, human resources and Government healthcare, although this duties are carried out by the Secretary-General of the Prime Minister's Office. [1]
The Cabinet was created for the first time in 1976, with the arrival of Adolfo Suárez to the premiership. Despite having been created in 1976, the Cabinet Office wasn't officially regulated until September 1978. The Royal Decree was very short and it only said that the Cabinet was and advisory body to the Prime Minister with the functions that the Primer would like to grant to it. [2]
With prime minister Felipe González [3] the Cabinet Office grow up establishing new departments and functions like knowing the ministerial departments plans. Moreover, at this time the Secretary of State for Relations with the Cortes and the Office of the Spokesperson of the Government depended it from the Cabinet Office. [4]
Prime minister José María Aznar elevated the rank of the Cabinet Office from Undersecretariat to Secretariat of State and continued boosting the Cabinet. Prime minister José Luis Rodrígez Zapatero didn't made many changes, with the exception of the creation of the Economic Office.
It was during the premiership of Mariano Rajoy when the Cabinet Office was granted with the powers that it has today. Most of the current departments were created at that time and in 2012 it granted the Cabinet responsibilities over national security by creating the Department of Homeland Security and granting the Deputy Chief of Staff the direction of the department. With Rajoy the Cabinet Office also received responsibilities over the Government communication policy by assuming the Secretariat of State for Press.
Prime minister Pedro Sánchez suppressed the Economic Office in 2018 and created in its place the Department for Economic Affairs. He also boosted the international matters by creating the General Secretariat for International Affairs, European Union, G20 and Global Security with rank of Undersecretariat in replace of the Department for International Affairs, that had rank of Directorate-General. Finally, he gave more autonomy to the Department of National Security by separating the offices of Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of the Homeland Security Department in two different officials. [5]
The high-officials of the Cabinet are directly nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Monarch.
Official | Office | Portfolio |
---|---|---|
Óscar López Águeda | Chief of Staff | With rank of Secretary of State, the Chief of Staff is responsible for supervising and coordinating all the departments of the Cabinet Office and it is the main adviser to the Prime Minister over political matters. In general, it is in charge of exercising the functions entrusted to the Cabinet Office. |
Judit Alexandra González Pedraz | Secretary-General | Prime Minister agenda; security; protocol; Cabinet Office domestic tasks such as HR, media, finance, health, etc. It has rank of Under-Secretary. |
Antonio Hernando | Deputy Chief of Staff | Exercising the functions that the Chief of Staff entrust to; helping with the coordination of the Cabinet Office. It has rank of Under-Secretary. |
Francisco José Salazar Rodríguez | Secretary-General for Political Planning | Assisting the Prime Minister on political planning. It has rank of Under-Secretary. |
Diego Rubio Rodríguez | Secretary-General of Public Policies, European Affairs and Strategic Foresight | Assisting the Prime Minister on the design and implementation of national and European public policies, to promote coordination between ministries to guarantee the comprehensive coherence of government action, to advise the Prime Minister on matters related to the European Union and bilateral relations with European countries, to provide the Prime Minister with the necessary information to exercise his participation in the European Council, carrying out the analysis and monitoring of the programs and actions of the European Union and to analyze the challenges and opportunities of Spain in the coming years and help the country prepare for them. It has rank of Under-Secretary. |
Emma Aparici Vázquez de Parga | Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs | Responsible for advicing and assisting the Prime Minister in matters related to his international activity, foreign relations, multilateral and global affairs. Likewise, it is in charge of the preparation and monitoring of international summits and meetings in which the Prime Minister participates. It has rank of Under-Secretary. |
Loreto Gutiérrez Hurtado (BG) | Director of the National Security Department | Advising the Prime Minister on National Security matters; Assisting the National Security Council; Government communications; Keeping the bunker of the Palace running and in good condition. It has rank of Director-General. |
Director of the Cultural Affairs Department | It assists the director of the Cabinet in his advisory duties to the Prime Minister regarding cultural affairs. |
The current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez structured its personal Cabinet in the following way: [1]
The Office of the Chief of Staff is composed by the Moncloa Chief of Staff and its advisers.
The Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff is composed by the Deputy Chief of Staff and four departments:
Led by the Secretary-General of the Prime Minister's Office, the General Secretariat duties are:
The General Secretariat is composed by three departments:
Because they share assistance duties to the Prime Minister, both Secretary-General and Undersecretary of the Presidency coordinate together their work.
The General Secretariat for Political Planning carries out advisory, support and reinforcement functions in the development of the Government's political program.
The General Secretariat is composed by one department:
The General Secretariat for Public Policies, European Affairs and Strategic Foresight assists the Prime Minister on the design and implementation of national and European public policies, it promotes coordination between ministries to guarantee the comprehensive coherence of government action, it advises the Prime Minister on matters related to the European Union and bilateral relations with European countries, it provides the Prime Minister with the necessary information to exercise his participation in the European Council, it carries out the analysis and monitoring of the programs and actions of the European Union and it is entrusted with the analysis of the challenges and opportunities of Spain in the coming years and help the country prepare for them. It has rank of Under-Secretary.
It is composed of three departments:
It is the responsibility of the General Secretariat for Foreign Affairs, within the scope of the functions assigned to the Prime Minister's Cabinet, to provide advice, support and assistance to the Prime Minister in matters related to its international activity, foreign relations and multilateral and global affairs.
It is composed by a single department:
The Department of Homeland Security or Department of National Security, created in 2012 and regulated by the National Security Act of 2015, [6] is the department of the Cabinet Office responsible for collecting and analysing information of interest for national security and advising the Prime Minister on such matters.
The Director of the Department was, until 2018, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Cabinet. The director is a member of the National Security Council along with the Chief of Staff.
The headquarters of the department are located in the bunker of the Palace of Moncloa.
The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government, is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister chairs the Council of Ministers and nominates its ministers; in these sense, the prime minister establishes the Government policies and coordinates the actions of the Cabinet members. As chief executive, the prime minister also advises the monarch on the exercise of their royal prerogatives.
The government of Spain is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain.
The Palace of Moncloa or Moncloa Palace is the official residence and workplace of the President of the Government, a position usually known in the English language as the Prime Minister of Spain. It is located in Puerta de Hierro Avenue, in the Moncloa-Aravaca district in Madrid. It has been the official residence of the Prime Minister since 1977, when Adolfo Suárez moved the residence from the Palace of Villamejor.
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MITMA), traditionally known as the Ministry of Development (MIFOM), is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for preparing and implementing the government policy on land, air and maritime transport infrastructure and the control, planning and regulation of the transport services on this areas. It is also responsible for guaranteeing access to housing; urban, soil and architecture policies; planning and controlling the postal and telegraph services, directing the services related to astronomy, geodesy, geophysics and mapping, and planning and programing the government investments on infrastructure and services related to this scope. The Ministry's headquarters are in the New Ministries government complex.
The Ministry of the Interior (MIR) is a department of the Government of Spain responsible for public security, the protection of the constitutional rights, the command of the law enforcement agencies, national security, immigration affairs, prisons, civil defense and road traffic safety. Through the Undersecretariat of the Interior and its superior body, the Directorate-General for Internal Policy, the Ministry is responsible for all actions related to ensuring political pluralism and the proper functioning of electoral processes.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise (MINECO) is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for the proposing and carrying out the government policy on economic affairs, business support and reforms to improve economic potential growth as well as acting as the communication channel with the European Union and other economic and financial international organizations in this matters. Likewise, this department is responsible for the telecommunications policy and the digital transformation.
The Royal Household of Spain, officially the Household of His Majesty the King, is the constitutional body whose primary function is to provide aid and support to the King of Spain in the exercise of his royal duties and prerogatives. These include his role as head of state and as commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces. It functions as the king's executive office.
The Ministry of Justice (MJUS) was the department of the Government of Spain responsible for preparing and carrying out the government policy in order to bring the legal system off, specially in criminal, civil, commercial and procedural law affairs, supporting the Administration of Justice and the legal and international cooperation.
The Ministry of Defence (MINISDEF) is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for planning, developing and carrying out the general guidelines of the Government about the defence policy and the managing of the military administration. It is the administrative and executive body of the Spanish Armed Forces.
The Ministry of the Presidency (MPR) was the department of the Government of Spain that, from 1974 to 2023, assured the link between the different Ministries and the Prime Minister and it was responsible for the relations between the Government and the Parliament. This department also supported The Crown in the exercise of its functions.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Economy (MITES) is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for planning and carrying out the government policy on labour relations and social economy.
The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFPD) is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for proposing and carrying out the government policy on education and vocational training, including all the teachings of the education system except university education, without prejudice to the competences of the National Sports Council in matters of sports education. Likewise, it is also the responsibility of this Department the promotion of cooperation actions and, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the promotion of international relations in the field of non-university education.
The Moncloa Chief of Staff, officially called Director of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, is the most senior political appointee in the Office of the Prime Minister of Spain. The Chief of Staff is appointed by the Prime Minister as its senior aid. This position has no executive authority although it is the principal advisor to the Prime Minister and it coordinates the work action of the different departments of the Government as well as lead the Cabinet Office.
The Under-Secretary of the Presidency, officially Under-Secretary of the Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Equality is the most senior civil servant of the Ministry of the Presidency of Spain.
The Directorate-General of the Police (DGP) is a component of the Spanish Department of the Interior responsible for exercising the direct command of the National Police Corps, the main civil law enforcement agency of Spain. The DGP, integrated in the Secretariat of State for Security, is in charge of organize, direct, coordinate and execute the missions entrusted to the National Police by the provisions in force, in accordance with the guidelines and orders issued by the Minister of the Interior.
The Secretary of State for the European Union (SEUE) is a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Government of Spain. The SEUE is appointed by the Monarch with the advice of the Foreign Minister.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs (SEAEX) is a senior minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Government of Spain. Although he or she has the same rank as the other Secretaries of State of the Department, the SEAEX is considered the second-in-command to the Minister.
The secretary of state for justice (SEJUS) is the second-in-command to the Spanish minister of justice. The secretary of state is appointed by the monarch at the request of the justice minister and after hearing from the Council of Ministers.
The Government Delegated Committees, in Spain, are a collective decision-making-body of the Spanish government consisting on Cabinet ministers and non-Cabinet ministers. This Committees are secondary work bodies of the Council of Ministers responsible for the discussion or resolution the topics that do not require to be discussed in the Cabinet itself.
The Office of the Prime Minister, officially Presidency of the Government is the Spanish government structure that groups all the departments and officials that are at the service of the prime minister to fulfil its constitutional duties. It is staffed by a mix of career civil servants and advisers. The highest-ranking official within the Office is the Chief of Staff, which is a political appointment on which the rest of the Office officials depend.