The secretary of state for relations with the Cortes and constitutional affairs (SERCAC) is a senior minister of the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes responsible for the relations between the executive and the legislative branches. The SERC is a political appointment made by the Monarch on the advice of the minister in charge of the ministerial department.

This position is normally integrated in the Ministry of the Presidency, although in some periods it had its own department. The secretary of state represents the Government in all the bodies of the Cortes Generales—the Spanish Parliament—which the Government consider important to go; is in charge for all the relations between the executive branch and both Congress and Senate with the exception of draft bills, Royal decree-laws or Royal legislative decrees whose negotiation and follow-up directly falls to the minister responsible.

It is also in charge of following the activity of the Parliament, advising the government members how to act before Parliament and make legal reports about constitutional amendments or other issues of high relevance. The Secretary of State for Relations with the Cortes is assisted by two departments, the Directorate-General for Relations with the Cortes and the Directorate-General for Constitutional Affairs and Legal Coordination.

History The raison d'être of this position was establishing proper relations between the Government and the Cortes Generales. After the approval of the Political Reform Law, Spain re-established a parliamentary system in which the Government is accountable to Parliament, unlike the dictatorship period when the legislative power was a mere facade and was subordinated to the executive branch.

This office was established in 1977 as Secretary-General for Relations with the Cortes, under the authority of the Deputy Minister for Relations with the Cortes—Ignacio Camuñas (1977—1979) and Rafael Arias-Salgado (1979—1980). The Deputy Minister was also responsible for other officials such as the Parliamentary Secretary for Relations with Congress and Senate, which would eventually evolve into the current directorate-general of the Secretariat of State.

In January 1980, the Minister of the Presidency assumed all the responsibilities of the Deputy Minister for Relations with the Cortes, and the Secretary-General remained the second-in-command in this area. The position of Parliamentary Secretary for Relations with Congress and Senate was renamed as Secretary for Relations with Congress and a new Secretary for Relations with the Senate was created, both of them with the rank of director-general.

In March 1981, the position was promoted to the rank of secretary of state, and the two directorates-general were functionally reorganized, rather than each focusing on a specific legislative chamber. Thus, one of the secretariats became responsible for legislative activity, while the other handled parliamentary oversight to the government.

A new reform in December 1982 renamed the position as Secretary of State for Relations with the Cortes and Legislative Coordination and its directorates-general were renamed as Directorate-General for Relations with the Congress of Deputies and Directorate-General for Relations with the Senate, respectively.

From 1986 to 1993, the position was abolished and its powers were directly exercised by the Minister for Relations with the Cortes and the Government Secretariat—the new name for the Minister of the Presidency—. Also, during this period, the aforementioned directorates-general were merged into a single Directorate-General for Relations with the Cortes and a new Directorate-General for the Monitoring of Parliamentary Initiatives was established, responsible for the review and processing of interpellations, questions, non-legislative motions, and other parliamentary oversight actions.

In September 1993 the position of Secretary-General for Relations with the Cortes was re-established with the two original directorates for relations with both chambers. In May 1996, it was once more elevated to the rank of secretary of state and its two directorates merged into one.

From April 2008 to December 2011, it was renamed as Secretary of State for Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs and, in addition to the Directorate-General for Relations with the Cortes, it also included a Directorate-General for Legal Coordination. In late 2011, the 1996 name and organization was re-established.

Another relevant change happened in 2020 when it was renamed Secretary of State for Relations with the Cortes and Constitutional Affairs. This change of name did not mean an extension of powers, but only that its responsibilities were divided between the already existing Directorate-General for Relations with the Cortes and the re-established Directorate-General for Constitutional Affairs and Legal Coordination.

In 2024, it assumed responsibility for the promotion of human rights, a role previously held by the Secretary of State for Justice.

Organization The Secretariat of State, which the secretary of state leads, is structured as follows: The Directorate-General for Relations with the Cortes. The Deputy Directorate-General for Legislative Coordination. The Deputy Directorate-General for Parliamentary Initiatives. The Deputy Directorate-General for Written Control. The Deputy Directorate-General for Parliamentary Documentation. The Directorate-General for Constitutional Affairs and Legal Coordination. The Deputy Directorate-General for Constitutional Regime. The Cabinet. The Chief of Staff. Three Advisors.

List of secretaries of state For the purpose of this list, the date used is the date on which the decree of appointment or dismissal received royal assent, which may differ from the date of publication or of the effective taking of office. NameTerm Government Start End DurationPrime MinisterMonarchRafael Arias-Salgado11 July 19775 January 1979The Duke of SuárezJuan Carlos IJavier Moscoso21 April 197925 January 1980Gabriel Cisneros25 January 19803 September 1982The Marquess of Ría de RibadeoVirgilio Zapatero7 December 198225 July 1986Felipe GonzálezEnrique Guerrero Salom3 September 19937 May 1996José María Michavila7 May 19965 May 2000José María AznarJorge Fernández Díaz5 May 200019 April 2004Francisco Caamaño Domínguez19 April 200427 February 2009José Luis Rodríguez ZapateroJosé Luis de Francisco Herrero6 March 200923 December 2011José Luis Ayllón23 December 201126 January 2018Mariano RajoyFelipe VIRubén Moreno Palanques2 February 20188 June 2018José Antonio Montilla Martos8 June 201820 July 2021Pedro SánchezRafael Simancas20 July 2021Incumbent

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