The first government of Segismundo Moret was formed on 1 December 1905, following the latter's appointment as prime minister of Spain by King Alfonso XIII and his swearing-in that same day, as a result of Eugenio Montero Ríos's resignation from the post on 30 November in the wake of the ¡Cu-Cut! incident. It succeeded the first Montero government and was the government of Spain from 1 December 1905 to 6 July 1906, a total of days, or .
The cabinet comprised members of the Liberal–Democratic alliance, one independent—most notably, Rafael Gasset, a former Villaverdist—and two military officers. The government was disestablished and replaced by a new cabinet under José López Domínguez following the King's rejection to issue a dissolution decree for Moret who, aiming to provide himself with a renewed parliamentary majority in the wake of an internal party crisis over the Law of Jurisdictions, intended to call a snap election.
Moret's intent to trigger such a parliamentary dissolution, which lingered for several months from March to July 1906 and which had the opposition of Conservative leader Antonio Maura, was dubbed as the "dissolution crisis" ().
Formation Overview The Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a semi-constitutional monarchy during the Restoration period, awarding the monarch—under the royal prerogative—the power to appoint government members (including the prime minister); the ability to grant or deny the decree of dissolution of the , or the adjournment of legislative sessions, to the incumbent or aspiring government that requested it; and the capacity to inform, inspect and ultimately control executive acts by granting or denying the signature of royal decrees; among others..
The monarch would play a key role in the system by appointing and dismissing governments, which would then organize elections to provide themselves with a parliamentary majority. As a result, governments during this period were dependent on royal confidence, which was frequently secured or lost based on the leaders' ability to guarantee the internal unity and parliamentary cohesion of their parties.: "... according to the political practice of the Restoration, since voters did not determine majorities due to electoral manipulation, the requirement demanded of any leader to retain power was to guarantee the unity of the Party. []" In practice, the royal prerogative was not exercised freely by the monarch, but was carried out through the opening of a round of consultations—with the presidents of the chambers, the leaders of the main parties, the potential candidates and other notable figures—prior to government formation, or when prime ministers raised a matter of confidence to the monarch.
Cabinet crisis King Alfonso XIII held a round of consultations on 1 December 1905 to determine a solution to the political crisis arising from Montero Ríos's resignation.
ConsultationsKing of Spain Date Consultee Office/position Party 1 December 1905 Marquis of Vega de Armijo President of the Congress of Deputies Lib–Dem/Dem José López Domínguez President of the Senate Military Segismundo Moret Leader of the Liberal Party (former) Lib–Dem/Lib Nominations Outcome → Sources
The outcome of the consultations led Alfonso XIII to entrust the formation of a new government to Segismundo Moret, who accepted the nomination.
Cabinet changes Moret's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure: As a result of Minister of the Navy-designate, Víctor María Concas, being absent from Madrid upon the cabinet's formation, Segismundo Moret personally took over the discharge of duties of the ministry until Concas could be sworn in on 4 December 1905. Amid growing divisions within the Liberal Party over the approval of the Law of Jurisdictions, and with Segismundo Moret's plan to trigger a parliamentary dissolution—in order to secure a more favourable Liberal majority in a snap election—not finding unanimous support among his cabinet's ministers, a government crisis was announced on 7 June 1906, with a cabinet reshuffle seeing the entry of ministers more loyal to Moret. The new cabinet on 10 June saw Manuel García Prieto being replaced as Grace and Justice minister by José María Celleruelo; the Count of Romanones by Benigno Quiroga at the helm of the Governance ministry; and Alejandro San Martín replacing Vicente Santamaría de Paredes as new minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. Both Celleruelo and San Martín had been members of Canalejas' democratic faction. The death on 23 June 1906 of Minister of State Duke of Almodóvar del Río, saw the appointment of Juan Pérez-Caballero y Ferrer as new officeholder one week later. In the interim, Undersecretary of State Emilio de Ojeda took on the ministry's ordinary discharge of duties.
Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers was structured into the office for the prime minister and eight ministries.
← Moret I Government →(1 December 1905 – 6 July 1906) Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Prime Minister Segismundo Moret Lib–Dem/Lib 1 December 1905 6 July 1906 Minister of State Duke of Almodóvar del Río Lib–Dem/Lib 1 December 1905 23 June 1906† Minister of Grace and Justice Manuel García Prieto Lib–Dem/Dem 1 December 1905 10 June 1906 Minister of War Agustín de Luque Military 1 December 1905 6 July 1906 Minister of the Navy Minister of Finance Amós Salvador y Rodrigáñez Lib–Dem/Dem 1 December 1905 6 July 1906 Minister of Governance Count of Romanones Lib–Dem/Lib 1 December 1905 10 June 1906 Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Vicente Santamaría de Paredes Lib–Dem/Lib 1 December 1905 10 June 1906 Minister of Development Rafael Gasset Independent 1 December 1905 6 July 1906 Changes December 1905 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of the Navy Víctor María Concas Military 4 December 1905 6 July 1906 Changes 10 June 1906 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of Grace and Justice José María Celleruelo Lib–Dem/Dem 10 June 1906 6 July 1906 Minister of Governance Benigno Quiroga Lib–Dem/Lib 10 June 1906 6 July 1906 Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Alejandro San Martín Lib–Dem/Dem 10 June 1906 6 July 1906 Changes 23 June 1906 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of State Changes 30 June 1906 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of State Juan Pérez-Caballero Lib–Dem/Lib 30 June 1906 6 July 1906
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Bibliography
External links The governments of the second period of the Liberal Party (1905–1907) (under Alfonso XIII). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).