The under-secretary of foreign affairs, called in the past under-secretary of state, is a government official within the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for assisting the minister in the daily management of the department. In this regard, the under-secretary supervises the department's policies concerning legal and consular assistance, human resources, protocol, budget and training of new diplomats. As responsible for human resources, the under-secretary is the head of the Diplomatic Service and has the rank and honors of ambassador. It is appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the foreign minister.

Until the establishment of the position of secretary of state for foreign affairs in 1979, the under-secretary was second-in-command to the minister, having political responsibilities. Nowadays, it is a technical position, held by a diplomat or a senior civil servant. This position is comparable to the permanent secretary in some countries or the Under Secretary of State for Management in the United States.

The under-secretary is the chancellor of the Ministry's orders: the Order of Isabella the Catholic and the Order of Civil Merit.

History The office of under-secretary was established by Royal Decree of Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, The Queen Regent, of 16 June 1834. This norm created the position for all government departments in order to assist and lighten the minister's workload. On June 26, Andrés Villalba, introducer of ambassadors, was appointed the first under-secretary of the Ministry of State.

For much of its history, the Undersecretariat has been structured around two sections: one for Policy and another for Trade and Consulates. Over time, these two sections were divided and specialized by subject. By the end of the 19th century, we can find up to eleven different sections, some dedicated to foreign policy (Europe; the Americas; Asia, Africa and Oceania; Trade; and Pious Work) and others to technical and administrative matters (Accounting, Chancellery, Consulates, Archives, etc.).

In the 1930s the sections were renamed as directorates-general and the political ones were directly attached to the minister, although, as the second highest ranking official, the under-secretary continued to act as coordinator of the rest of the department's senior officials. The creation of the secretariats of state —foreign affaris, European Union and international cooperation— between the 1970s and the 1980s relegated this officer to a mere internal affairs manager.

Organization The Undersecretariat is organized as follows: +Undersecretariat Organization (2026)Under-SecretaryTechnical CabinetInspectorate-General of ServicesBudget OfficeInternational Legal Advice OfficeDiplomatic SchoolPious Work of the Holy PlacesOffice for the Protection of Classified InformationIntroducer of AmbassadorsDeputy Directorate-General for Trips, Official Visits, Ceremonial and OrdersDeputy Directorate-General for ChancelleryTechnical Secretary-GeneralDeputy Technical Secretary-GeneralDeputy Directorate-General for Institutional Relations and Regional CollaborationDeputy Directorate-General for Treaties and Other International AgreementsDivision for Appeals and Relations with the CourtsLanguage Interpretation OfficeDirectorate-General for theForeign ServiceAdministrative OfficeDeputy Directorate-General for PersonnelDeputy Directorate-General for Financial AdministrationDeputy Directorate-General for PropertiesDeputy Directorate-General for IT, Communications and NetworksDivision for Control and Management ImprovementDirectorate-General for Spaniards Abroadand Consular AffairsDeputy Directorate-General for Consular Protection and AssistanceDeputy Directorate-General for Consular Legal AffairsDeputy Directorate-General for Visas and Travel DocumentsDivision for Consular Emergencies

List of under-secretaries Since 1834, these has been the people who served as under-secretaries: +Under-SecretaryTermUnder-SecretaryTerm1Andrés Villalba1834 – 183553Eugenio Ferraz y Alcalá Galiano1913 – 19182Julián Villalba1835 – 1836 -Juan Pérez-Caballero y Ferrer1918 – 1919 -Gabriel José García, a.i.1836 – 183854Emilio de Palacios y Fau1919 – 1923 -Julián Villalba, a.i.1838 – 183955Fernando Espinosa de los Monteros1923 – 1927 -José García Pérez de Castro, a.i.1839 – 184056Bernardo Almeida y Herreros1927 – 19293Hipólito de los Hoyos1840 – 184357Emilio de Palacios y Fau1929 – 19304Francisco María Martín1843 – 184658Domingo de las Bárcenas1930 – 19315The Count of San Luis184659Francisco Agramonte Cortijo1931 – 19326Antonio Caballero1846 – 185160Justo Gómez Ocerín1932 – 19337Luis López de la Torre Ayllón y Kirsmacker185161Antonio de la Cruz Marín19338Antonio Riquelme1851 – 185362Manuel Aguirre de Cárcer9Antonio Caballero1853 – 185463José María Doussinague1933 – 193410Juan Antoine y Zayas1854 – 185564José María Aguinaga y Barona1934 – 1936 -Jacinto Albístur, a.i.185565Rafael de Ureña y Sanz1936 -Miguel de los Santos Álvarez, a.i.1855 – 1856 -Valeriano Casanueva Picazo1936 – 193711Augusto Ulloa y Castañón1856 -Alfredo Nistal Martínez1937 -Tomás Ligués, a.i. -Carlos Esplá1937 – 193812The Marquess of Valmar1856 – 1857 -José Quero Morales193813Juan Tomás Comyn1857 – 1862 -Pablo de Tremoya y Alzaga14Tomás Ligués1863 – 1864 -Eugenio Espinosa de los Monteros1938 – 193915Miguel de los Santos Bañuelos1864 – 1865 -José Quero Morales16The Count of Casa Valencia1865 – 1866 -Domingo de las Bárcenas193917Facundo Goñi1866 – 186766Juan Peche y Cabeza de Vaca1939 – 194118Rafael Jabat Hernández de Alba1867 – 186867José Pan de Soraluce y Español1941 – 194419The Count of Xiquena186868Cristóbal del Castillo y Campos1944 – 194520Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano1868 – 186969Tomás Suñer Ferrer1945 – 194721Eduardo Gasset y Artime1869 – 187070The Count of Casa Miranda1947 – 195122Bonifacio de Blas y Muñoz1870 – 187171The Count of Navasqüés1951 – 195523Pío Gullón1871 – 187272The Marquess consort of Santa Cruz1955 –195824Manuel Merelo y Calvo1872 – 187373Pedro Cortina Mauri1958 – 196625Miguel Morayta y Sagrario187374Germán Burriel Rodríguez1966 – 19682675Gonzalo Fernández de la Mora197027Melchor Almagro Díaz1873 – 187476Gabriel Fernández Valderrama1970 – 197428Pío Gullón1874 – 187577Juan José Rovira 1974 – 197529Cayo Quiñones de León187578The Marquess of Oreja1975 – 197630Rafael Ferraz1875 – 188179Miguel Solano Aza1976 – 1978 -Jacobo Prendergast y Gorgón, a.i.188180José Joaquín Puig de la Bellacasa1978 – 198031Felipe Méndez de Vigo1881 – 188381Joaquín Ortega Salinas1980 – 198232José Gutiérrez de Agüera1883 – 188482Leoncio Gonzalo Puente Ojea1982 – 198533Rafael Ferraz1884 – 188583Fernando Perpiñá-Robert Peyra1985 – 198834José Gutiérrez de Agüera1885 – 188884Inocencio Arias1988 – 199135Francisco Rafael Figuera1888 – 188985Máximo Cajal López1991 – 199436José Fernández Jiménez1889 – 189086Jesús Ezquerra Calvo1994 – 199637Rafael Ferraz1890 – 189287José de Carvajal Salido1996 – 200038José Fernández Jiménez1892 – 189388Carlos Carderera Soler2000 – 2002 -José Gutiérrez de Agüera, a.i.189389José Pedro Sebastián de Erice2002 – 200339Joaquín Valera y Aceituno1893 – 189490María Victoria Morera2003 – 200440The Marquess of Villa-Urrutia1894 – 189591Luis Calvo Merino2004 – 200741Rafael Ferraz1895 – 189792María Jesús Figa2007 – 201042José Gutiérrez de Agüera1897 – 189893Antonio López Martínez2010 – 201243Luis Polo de Bernabé1898 – 189994Rafael Mendívil Peydro2012 – 201444The Duke of Arcos189995Cristóbal González-Aller Jurado2014 – 201745Enrique Dupuy de Lóme y Paulín1899 – 190096Beatriz Larrotcha Palma2017 – 201846Juan Pérez-Caballero y Ferrer1900 – 190397Ángeles Moreno Bau2018 – 202047Antonio de Castro y Casaléiz1903 – 190598María Celsa Nuño García2020 – 202148Emilio de Ojeda y Perpiñán1905 – 190699Luis Manuel Cuesta Civís2021 – 202449Julio de Arellano y Arróspide1906 – 1907100Xavier Martí Martí2024– 202650The Marquess of Herrera1907 – 1909101Sergio Cuesta FranciscoSince 202651Ramón Piña y Millet1909 – 191152Manuel González-Hontoria1911 – 1913

See also Ambassadors of Spain List of diplomatic missions of Spain List of diplomatic missions in Spain

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