The minister is, after the Monarch and the Prime Minister, Spain's highest international representative, possessing full powers to represent the country, negotiate, adopt, and authenticate treaties, as well as to express Spain's consent to be bound by them. In this regard, he is responsible for appointing Spain's representatives for the execution of any international act relating to an international treaty.[2]
The minister of foreign affairs is appointed by the monarch, on the advice of the prime minister, and is one of the most relevant ministerial offices of Spain, ranking in protocol ahead of the other ministers and just behind the prime minister (or the deputy prime ministers if there were any).[3]
History
The position was established in 1705, when the office of Secretary of the Universal Dispatch was divided in two: one for War and Finance and other for everthing else, known as Secretary of State (focused on foreign affairs and internal government).[4] Later, in 1714, it was again divided to established an independent department for justice and religious affairs.[5]
In practice, this official acted as a prime minister and was therefore also known as the "First Secretary of State". As an example, new Crown ministers were sworn in before this prime minister.[6]
This position was appointed at the king's discretion, and such was its influence over the monarch and the administration that, by the beginning of the 19th century, its department not only covered international relations, but also all kinds of internal government matters, both related to the royal family and to the post office, roads and trails, charity, health care, education, arts and sciences, among others.[7]
At the beginning of the 19th century, it gradually lost responsibilities to other ministerial portfolios, such as the Ministry of the Interior, although it retained its prominence during the first half of that period thanks to the fact that the Presidency of the Council of Ministers was linked to the Ministry of State.
Although in later years we can still find ministers of state who, at the same time, were prime ministers, this practice was abandoned starting in the second half of the 19th century. As an example of the exceptionality that this currently represents, the last four prime ministers who were secretaries of state were: The Count of Romanones (December 1938-April 1919), the Marquess of Estella (February 1927-January 1930), the Count of Xauen (January-February 1930) and Augusto Barcia Trelles (for 3 days in 1936). The last person to be prime minister after serving as minister of foreign affairs was Alejandro Lerroux, who served as minister of state from April to December 1931 and was appointed prime minister in September 1933.
Residence
One of the rooms of the palace
The official residence of the foreign minister is the Palace of Viana, located at the no. 1 Duke of Rivas street, in Madrid. The palace was commissioned by Beatriz Galindo, lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabella the Catholic. After passing through several owners over the following centuries, it eventually came into the possession of Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, who significantly renovated it in the 1840s. It underwent further renovations in 1920 and, in 1939, the Spanish government leased the palace to Fausto de Saavedra y Collado, 3rd Marquess of Viana, to use it as the residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Finally, in 1955 the palace was acquired by the government.[8]
Foreign Policy Council
The Foreign Policy Council (Spanish: Consejo de Política Exterior, CPE) is an advisory body of the Spanish government created by José María Aznar in 2000 to support the prime minister in making foreign policy decisions.[9] This body consolidates the primacy of the prime minister over the foreign minister in foreign policy issues, a situation that began during the premiership of Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, who personally oversaw Spain's entry into NATO, and which intensified under Felipe González, who created an International Department within the Prime Minister's Office that still exists today.[10]
Prime minister Mariano Rajoy chairing a CPE meeting in 2018
The CPE is integrated by the prime minister, who chairs it, the deputy prime ministers (if any) and the Government ministers, as well as the Moncloa Chief of Staff. The secretary of the CPE is the Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs of the Office of the Prime Minister.[11]
According to the Constitution, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as a member of the Government, is subject to parliamentary oversight and must attend parliamentary questioning sessions and committees where his or her presence is required. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 35(5) of Law 2/2014, of March 25, on the State's Foreign Action and Service (LASEE), the minister is required to appear annually before the Cortes Generales to assess the implementation of the Foreign Action Strategy. Likewise, Article 44(4) of said law obliges the minister to notify the Congress of Deputies Foreign Affairs Committee of any ambassadorial appointment.[12]
The following timeline depicts the progression of foreign ministers and their political affiliation at the time of assuming office since the reign of Juan Carlos I.
↑ Philip V (July 14, 1705). "Royal order appointing the Marquess of Canales as Director-General of War and dividing the Secretariat of the Universal Office into two"(PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish). Retrieved October 17, 2025. Madrid, 14 July 1705 - The King has resolved to appoint the Marquess of Canales, of the Council of State, as Director-General of the War, with access into the Cabinet on the days assigned to him to deal with the business pertaining to it [the War of the Spanish Succession]. He has also divided the Secretariat of the Universal Bureau into two, ordering that everything regarding to War and Finance be handled by one, which he has entrusted to the care of Don José de Grimaldo, Knight of the Order of Santiago and third-class Officer of the Secretariat of State for the North and, by the other, everything else related to the Monarchy.
↑ Gaceta de Madrid (December 4, 1714). "Gaceta de Madrid - Thursday, 4 December 1714"(PDF). Gaceta de Madrid. p.196. Retrieved October 17, 2025. His Majesty, desiring the shortest possible expedition and the current care of the affairs of the Monarchy, for the relief of his vassals, has been pleased to establish five Offices, in which, divided into matters, each one will separately manage the dependencies corresponding to each department. He has resolved to appoint the Marquess of Grimaldo as First Secretary of State, with the task of manage the State affairs and correspondence with ministers of other Crowns and foreign papers. Don Manuel de Vadillo, also Secretary of State, with the task of manage the matters relating to the ecclesiastical and judicial spheres, and the jurisdiction of the Councils and Courts. He has also appointed Don Miguel Fernández Durán and Don Bernardo Tinajero de la Escalera as Secretaries of State; the former in charge of war affairs, and the latter in charge of the affairs of the Indies and the Navy. He has also placed those of the Royal Treasury in the care of the Bishop of Girona, with the title of Universal Intendant of the Veeduría General, held by Mr. Jean Orry. [...]
Badorrey Martín, Beatriz (1999). Los orígenes del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, 1714-1808[The origins of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1714–1808] (in Spanish). Madrid: Technical General Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ISBN978-84-95265-01-2.
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