The first government of Mariano Rajoy was formed on 22 December 2011, following the latter's election as prime minister of Spain by the Congress of Deputies on 20 December and his swearing-in on 21 December, as a result of the People's Party (PP) emerging as the largest parliamentary force at the 2011 Spanish general election. It succeeded the second Zapatero government and was the government of Spain from 22 December 2011 to 4 November 2016, a total of days, or .
The cabinet comprised members of the PP and a number of independents. It was automatically dismissed on 21 December 2015 as a consequence of the 2015 general election, but remained in acting capacity until the next government was sworn in.
Investiture
InvestitureCongress of Deputies Ballot → 20 December 2011 Required majority → 176 out of 350 Absentees Sources
Cabinet changes Rajoy's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure: On 28 April 2014, Miguel Arias Cañete stepped down as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Affairs in order to run as the People's Party (PP)'s leading candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election. He was succeeded by Isabel García Tejerina. On 23 September 2014, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón resigned as Minister of Justice, after the government chose to withdraw his proposed abortion bill. The decision was said to come over the loss of personal prestige resulting from a staunch defense of the bill, with Rajoy's u-turn on the issue being seen as a personal disavowal of Gallardón. Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría was tasked with the ordinary discharge of duties of the Ministry for Justice until Gallardon's successor, Rafael Catalá, could take office on 29 September 2014. On 26 November 2014, Ana Mato resigned as Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality due to her involvement in the Gürtel affair, after she was summoned to court as a "participant on a lucrative basis" in the corruption crimes allegedly committed by former husband Jesús Sepúlveda. Her resignation came one day before a plenary in Congress on corruption in which Prime Minister Rajoy was scheduled to intervene, and after Mato herself had announced earlier that day that she had not considered her resignation. Sáenz de Santamaría took on the ordinary discharge of duties of the ministry until Mato's successor, Alfonso Alonso, could take office on 3 December 2014. On 26 June 2015, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo replaced José Ignacio Wert as Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, after the latter had expressed his wish to retire from politics.
From 21 December 2015, Rajoy's cabinet took on acting duties for the duration of the government formation process resulting from the 2015 general election. This lasted for days and saw a new general election being held in the meantime. A number of ministers renounced their posts throughout this period, with the ordinary discharge of duties of their ministries being transferred to other cabinet members as a result of Rajoy being unable to appoint replacements while in acting role.
On 15 April 2016, José Manuel Soria was forced to renounce his post as acting Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism over his involvement in the Panama Papers scandal, owing to the leaking of information revealing that he and his family had maintained several offshore societies on tax havens during the previous decades, as well as his confusing and changing explanations on the issue. Luis de Guindos, acting Minister of Economy and Competitiveness, took on the ordinary discharge of duties of Soria's vacant ministry. On 19 July 2016, Ana Pastor was elected President of the Congress of Deputies of the XII Legislature, a position incompatible with her post as acting Minister of Development. Rafael Catalá, acting Minister of Justice, took on the ordinary discharge of duties of Pastor's vacant ministry. On 16 August 2016, Alfonso Alonso renounced his position as acting Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality in order to run as the PP candidate for Lehendakari in the 2016 Basque regional election. Fátima Báñez, acting Minister of Employment and Social Security, took on the ordinary discharge of duties of Alonso's vacant ministry.
Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers was structured into the offices for the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, 13 ministries and the post of the spokesperson of the Government.
← Rajoy I Government →(21 December 2011 – 4 November 2016) Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy PP 21 December 2011 31 October 2016 Deputy Prime MinisterMinister of the PresidencySpokesperson of the Government Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría PP 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Manuel García-Margallo PP 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón PP 22 December 2011 23 September 2014 Minister of Defence Pedro Morenés Independent 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 Minister of Finance and Public Administrations Cristóbal Montoro PP 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 Minister of the Interior Jorge Fernández Díaz PP 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 Minister of Development Ana Pastor PP 22 December 2011 18 July 2016 Minister of Education, Culture and Sports José Ignacio Wert Independent 22 December 2011 26 June 2015 Minister of Employment and Social Security Fátima Báñez PP 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism José Manuel Soria PP 22 December 2011 15 April 2016 Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment Miguel Arias Cañete PP 22 December 2011 28 April 2014 Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos Independent 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality Ana Mato PP 22 December 2011 26 November 2014 Changes April 2014 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment Isabel García Tejerina PP 28 April 2014 4 November 2016 Changes September 2014 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of Justice Rafael Catalá PP 29 September 2014 4 November 2016 Changes November 2014 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality Alfonso Alonso PP 3 December 2014 10 August 2016 Changes June 2015 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Íñigo Méndez de Vigo PP 26 June 2015 4 November 2016 Changes 2016 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister of Development Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality
Departmental structure Mariano Rajoy's first government was organised into several superior and governing units, whose number, powers and hierarchical structure varied depending on the ministerial department.
Unit/body rank () Secretary of state () Undersecretary () Director-general () Autonomous agency () Military & intelligence agency
Office Portrait Name Took office Left office Alliance/party Prime Minister's Office Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy 21 December 2011 31 October 2016 PP Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP See Ministry of the PresidencyMinistry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Ministry of Foreign Affairsand Cooperation José Manuel García-Margallo 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Ministry of Justice Ministry of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón 22 December 2011 23 September 2014 PP Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 23 September 2014 29 September 2014 PP Rafael Catalá 29 September 2014 4 November 2016 PPMinistry of Defence Ministry of Defence Pedro Morenés 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations Ministry of Financeand Public Administrations Cristóbal Montoro 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Ministry of the Interior Ministry of the Interior Jorge Fernández Díaz 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Ministry of Development Ministry of Development Ana Pastor 22 December 2011 18 July 2016 PP Rafael Catalá 18 July 2016 4 November 2016 PPMinistry of Education, Culture and Sports Ministry of Education,Culture and Sports José Ignacio Wert 22 December 2011 26 June 2015 PP Íñigo Méndez de Vigo 26 June 2015 4 November 2016 PPMinistry of Employment and Social Security Ministry of Employmentand Social Security Fátima Báñez 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism Ministry of Industry,Energy and Tourism José Manuel Soria 22 December 2011 15 April 2016 PP Luis de Guindos 15 April 2016 4 November 2016 PPMinistry of Agriculture, Food and Environment Ministry of Agriculture,Food and Environment Miguel Arias Cañete 22 December 2011 28 April 2014 PP Isabel García Tejerina 28 April 2014 4 November 2016 PPMinistry of the Presidency Ministry of the Presidency Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Ministry of Economyand Competitiveness Luis de Guindos 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality Ministry of Health,Social Services and Equality Ana Mato 22 December 2011 26 November 2014 PP Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 26 November 2014 3 December 2014 PP Alfonso Alonso 3 December 2014 10 August 2016 PP Fátima Báñez 10 August 2016 4 November 2016 PPSpokesperson of the Government Spokesperson of the Government Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 22 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP
Notes
References
External links Governments of Spain 2011–present. Ministers of Mariano Rajoy and Pedro Sánchez. Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). The governments of the second period of the People's Party (since 2011) (under Juan Carlos I). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish). The governments of the second period of the People's Party (since 2011) (under Felipe VI). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).