Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework.
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic, to fully autocratic, and can span across executive, legislative, and judicial domains.
The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consist of a hereditary monarch that reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The current monarch is Felipe VI since 19 June 2014, after the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos I.
The abolition of monarchy is a legislative or revolutionary movement to abolish monarchical elements in government, usually hereditary.
A constituent assembly is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected by popular vote, drawn by sortition, appointed, or some combination of these methods. Assemblies are typically considered distinct from a regular legislature, although members of the legislature may compose a significant number or all of its members. As the fundamental document constituting a state, a constitution cannot normally be modified or amended by the state's normal legislative procedures in some jurisdictions; instead a constitutional convention or a constituent assembly, the rules for which are normally laid down in the constitution, must be set up. A constituent assembly is usually set up for its specific purpose, which it carries out in a relatively short time, after which the assembly is dissolved. A constituent assembly is a form of representative democracy.
The Spanish Constitution is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. It is a written constitution.
The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, also known as the Constitution of Cádiz and as La Pepa, was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution was ratified on 19 March 1812 by the Cortes of Cádiz, the first Spanish legislature that included delegates from the entire nation and its possessions, including Spanish America and the Philippines. "It defined Spanish and Spanish American liberalism for the early 19th century."
The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as la Transición or la Transición española, is a period of modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system, in the form of constitutional monarchy under Juan Carlos I.
Spain in the 19th century was a country in turmoil. Occupied by Napoleon from 1808 to 1814, a massively destructive "liberation war" ensued. Following the Spanish Constitution of 1812, Spain was divided between the 1812 constitution's liberal principles and the absolutism personified by the rule of Ferdinand VII, who repealed the 1812 Constitution for the first time in 1814, only to be forced to swear over the constitution again in 1820 after a liberal pronunciamiento, giving way to the brief Trienio Liberal (1820–1823).
The 1977 Spanish general election was held on Wednesday, 15 June 1977, to elect the Spanish Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 207 seats in the Senate.
By the Grace of God is a formulaic phrase used especially in Christian monarchies as an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch. For example in England and later the United Kingdom, the phrase was formally added to the royal style in 1521 and continues to be used. For example, on UK coinage, the abbreviation DG appears today.
The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional cortes, which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous ones.
Don Miguel Ramos Arizpe was a Mexican priest and politician, and known as "the father of Mexican federalism."
A constitutional referendum was held in Spain on Wednesday, 6 December 1978, to gauge support for either the ratification or repealing of the Spanish Constitution which had been approved by the Cortes Generales on 31 October 1978. The question asked was "Do you approve of the Constitution Bill?". The referendum resulted in 91.8% of valid votes in support of the bill on a turnout of 67.1%.
The Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom were a set of de facto constitutional laws organizing the powers of the Francoist regime in Spain, the dictatorship of Generalissimo Francisco Franco. In 1977, during the transition, an eighth law with the same status as the others was brought into effect, altering the legislative framework in order to bring to a head the process of political reform. Rather than a typical constitution, the laws were fueros, a distinctly Spanish legal concept dating to medieval times with a wide range of meanings, as they had not been developed or approved by elected representatives.
The Democratic Party, more formally known as the Democratic Progressive Party, was a Spanish political party in the reign of Isabella II. It was a clandestine organisation except during the Progressive Biennium (1854–1856).
Republicanism in Spain is a political position and movement that holds that Spain should be a republic.
The Political Reform Act was the Spanish law that re-established democracy and allowed the elimination of the governmental structures of the Franco dictatorship through a legal process. It is one of the key events in the Spanish Transition.
The Law of Succession to the Headship of the State was the fifth of the eight Fundamental Laws of the Realm organizing the powers of the Francoist regime in Spain. It established provisions for the restoration of the Spanish monarchy, appointed Francisco Franco as the Head of State of Spain for life. It provided that his successor would be proposed by Franco himself with the title of King or Regent of the Kingdom, but that would have to be approved by the Cortes Españolas.
