The minister of the presidency, previously the minister-under secretary of the presidency, is a member of the Spanish Council of Ministers and the head of the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes. As the closest minister to the prime minister, they are responsible for supporting the head of government, preparing the government's legislative programme and ensuring its implementation, authorizing the use of national symbols, and attending the government's collegial bodies. Furthermore, the minister also has assigned powers in matters of justice, as well as the exercise of the right to freedom of religion.
The presidency minister is appointed by the monarch, on the advice of the prime minister. Since July 2021, Félix Bolaños, from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, has served as minister of the presidency, justice and relations with the Cortes.
Secretary of the Council of Ministers Currently, in addition to the general functions of supporting and assisting the Government and its head, specifically, according to Article 18.1 of the 1997 Government Law, the Minister of the Presidency is responsible for serving as Secretary of the Council of Ministers. This function has been performed by the presidency minister since the approval of the Decree-Law of 19 July 1951, which reorganized the Central State Administration, until the present day, with the exception of the period between 1967 and 1973, when the Minister of Information and Tourism acted as Secretary of the Council, as it was considered at that time that the position of Deputy Prime Minister—which was then held by presidency minister Luis Carrero Blanco—was incompatible with that of Secretary of the Council.
As secretary of the Council of Ministers, the minister is responsible for taking minutes of the Council meetings and for keeping and safeguarding them. The Minister-Secretary si assisted by the Government Secretariat.
Likewise, Royal Decree 181/2008, of February 8, on the organization of the official journal "Boletín Oficial del Estado" establishes that the Secretary of the Council is the official authorized to order the publication in the gazette of the royal decree-laws, and only these, since the order of publication of laws corresponds to the Monarch and, the rest of the provisions and acts, to the senior officials or authorities who hold the representation of the body or department that issues them.
Finally, the Minister of the Presidency chairs the meetings of the General Commission of Secretaries of State and Undersecretaries, the body responsible for preparing for the Council of Ministers meetings, unless this responsibility is assigned to a Deputy Prime Minister. As of 2026, this responsibility belonges to the minister.
History The position was established on 19 July 1951 by Francisco Franco, who granted the then Under-Secretary of the Presidency, Luis Carrero Blanco, the rank of minister, making him Minister-Under Secretary of the Presidency. Carrero Blanco held the position until June 1973 when, after separating the positions of prime minister and head of state, the dictator appointed him prime minister.
During the premiership of The Marquess of Arias Navarro, the Law 1/1974, of January 2, came into force, which divided the position of Minister-Undersecretary into two: the Minister of the Presidency and the Under-Secretary of the Presidency, a subordinate.
Since then, the trend has continued for the Minister of the Presidency to be a close associate or confidant of the Prime Minister, as this person serves as the prime minister's principal assistant and the one through whom the prime minister coordinates the various ministerial departments. This is why, since Carrero Blanco held the position between 1967 and 1973, many other Ministers of the Presidency have also served as Deputy Prime Minister, such as Alfonso Osorio (1976–1977, Second Deputy Prime Minister), Francisco Álvarez-Cascos (1996–2000), Mariano Rajoy (2000–2001 and 2002–2003), Javier Arenas (2003–2004, as Second Deputy Prime Minister), María Teresa Fernández de la Vega (2004–2010), Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría (2011–2018), and Carmen Calvo (2018–2021). List of ministers Name Start End DurationPartyGovernmentLuis Carrero Blanco19 July 19518 June 1973National MovementFranco IV Francisco FrancoFranco VFranco VIFranco VIIFranco VIIIJosé María Gamazo11 June 19733 January 1974National MovementLuis Carrero Blanco†The Duke of Fernández-MirandaThe Marquess of Arias NavarroAntonio Carro Martínez3 January 197411 December 1975National MovementJuan Carlos IAlfonso Osorio11 December 19754 July 1977National MovementCentristThe Duke of SuárezJosé Manuel Otero4 July 19775 April 1979CentristJosé Pedro Pérez-Llorca5 April 19792 May 1980CentristRafael Arias-Salgado2 May 198026 February 1981CentristPío Cabanillas Gallas26 February 198131 August 1981CentristThe Marquess of Ría de RibadeoMatías Rodríguez Inciarte31 August 19812 December 1982Centrist Javier Moscoso 2 December 1982 25 July 1986 SocialistFelipe González Virgilio Zapatero 25 July 1986 13 July 1993 Socialist Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba 13 July 1993 5 May 1996 Socialist Francisco Álvarez-Cascos 5 May 1996 28 April 2000 PopularJosé María Aznar Mariano Rajoy 28 April 2000 28 February 2001 PopularJuan José Lucas28 February 200110 July 2002PopularMariano Rajoy10 July 20024 September 2003PopularJavier Arenas4 September 200318 April 2004PopularMaría Teresa Fernández de la Vega18 April 200421 October 2010Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Ramón Jáuregui 21 October 2010 22 December 2011 SocialistSoraya Sáenz de Santamaría22 December 20117 June 2018 PopularMariano RajoyFelipe VICarmen Calvo7 June 201812 July 2021 SocialistPedro SánchezFélix Bolaños12 July 2021IncumbentSocialist
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