The Government is a political body. They highlight: Its members, functions and relations with the other powers and institutions of the state.

Its members are the President of the Government and the Ministers. The President directs it. They meet in the Council of Ministers and Commissions. Everyone assumes the decisions taken in a collegiate manner.

What do you do?” : It directs international, national policy and administration; proposes draft laws and budgets to the Cortes Generales; approves regulations. In short, it develops, promotes public policies and implements the laws approved by the Cortes Generales.

The relations of the executive power and the other institutions are key to understanding its legitimacy, how it develops its functions and how it is supervised. This ensures balances and prevents abuses.

The Head of State, the King, appoints the President of the Government after speaking with the parties represented in Congress, considering the members of Congress elected in the elections. The candidate for president gives him the capacity to form a government, which will achieve with the support of the Congress of Deputies to it. The President of the Government proposes the appointment of the Ministers to the King, who appoints them.

The Cortes Generales as representatives of citizens have a particularly relevant role in their relationship with the Government:

• They give or withdraw their support to the government. In order to be able to carry out its functions properly, the Government needs the support of the General Courts, for example, to approve a law proposed by it. If this trust disappears, a new government is appointed with support in Congress or new elections are called. This relationship of trust is especially reflected in the investiture, the motion of censure and the question of trust.

• The General Courts approve the General Budget of the State, that is, the expenses of the Government and the laws proposed by the Government.

• The Courts supervise and control the actions of the Government, for example, through specific sessions devoted to the control of the Government, parliamentary questions and commissions of inquiry.

The Ombudsman and the Court of Auditors monitor the work of the Government and Administrations and report back to the General Courts.

The judiciary, the courts, control the legality of the government’s actions.

The Constitutional Court guarantees respect for the Constitution by the government.

The Public Administration objectively serves the general interests and acts in accordance with the principles of efficiency, hierarchy, decentralization, deconcentration and coordination, with full compliance with the law and the law.

They have the consideration of Public Administrations:

• the General State Administration,
• the Administrations of the Autonomous Communities,
• the Entities that make up the Local Administration,
• Public Bodies Governed by Public Law

General State Administration

The General State Administration is a public organization. It is the government’s instrument for developing and implementing its public policies and providing services. It is managed by the Government, acting in accordance with the principles of legality, neutrality, effectiveness and efficiency. It is at the service of the government on duty regardless of its political colour. It carries out its functions throughout the national territory and abroad.

The executive branch consists of the Government and the General Administration of the State.

The Government of Spain directs international, national and General State Administration policy.

This section presents the General Administration of the State, What is it? What do you do?” What media do you use? How is it organized?

What is it?

The General State Administration is a public organization. It is the government’s instrument to develop and implement its public policies or provide services.

The government heads the general administration of the state. It acts inspired by the following principles: legality, neutrality, effectiveness, efficiency, quality.

It is at the service of the elected government at all times, regardless of its political colour.

What do you do?”

This list of functions of the General State Administration follows the recommendations made by the Higher Qualifying Commission for Administrative Documents, which is the highest advisory body devoted to the study and opinion of the qualification and use of documents of the General State Administration (AGE) and its public bodies.

This committee draws up two function classification tables: one with common functions and the other with specific functions. [Classification table of common functions of the AGE and Classification table of specific functions of the AGE]

In this way the functions of the General Administration of the State of first level are:

• Common functions:
  • Government and direction
  • Administration and general services
• Specific functions:
  • Promotion and general coordination of scientific and technological research, and digital transformation (Science and technology).
  • Regulation and promotion of trade (Trade).
  • Protection and dissemination of cultural heritage and promotion of leisure activities (Culture and leisure).
  • Analysis and management of demographic planning (Demography).
  • Sports Ordination (Sport).
  • Promotion of the economy (Economy).
  • Education management (Education).
  • Labour Management and Promotion and Protection of Labour (Employment).
  • Establishment of the bases of the energy regime (Energy).
  • Industrial development (Industry).
  • Support for the Administration of Justice and Management of Public Faith ([Legislation and] Justice).
  • Protection and improvement of the environment (Environment).
  • Rural development and management of the agricultural and fisheries sectors (Rural environment and fisheries).
  • Health protection (Health).
  • Management of guarantees of fundamental rights and public freedoms and security. (Security).
  • Preservation of national territorial integrity and international peace and security. (Security).
  • Promotion of social welfare (Society and welfare).
  • Transportation management (Transportation).
  • Promotion of tourism (Tourism).
  • Urban action and land use planning (urban planning [and infrastructure]).
  • Housing Regulation (Housing)

The specific functions appear (in parentheses) with the subject RISP (Reuse of Public Sector Information) [see more information on RISP subjects]

How is it organized?

The General Administration of the State comprises:

• La Central Organization, which integrates ministries and common services.
• La Territorial Organization.
• The General State Administration in the exterior.

Central Organization of the General State Administration

Ministries

The General Administration of the State is organized in Presidency of the Government on Ministries, to which one or more functionally homogeneous sectors of administrative activity correspond.

There may also be higher or executive bodies or public bodies that are not integrated or dependent, respectively, in the general structure of the Ministry, which, on an exceptional basis, are directly ascribe to the head of the ministry.

The determination of the number, denomination and respective scope of competence of the Ministries and the Secretariats of State are established by Royal Decree of the President of the Government, which is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

At present there are 22 ministries: you can access your Structures and Organigrams.

Secretariats of State and General Secretariats

In the Ministries there may be Secretariats of State and General Secretariats for the management of a sector of administrative activity. The governing bodies assigned to them will depend hierarchically on them.

Technical Undersecretariats and General Secretariats

The Ministries will, in any case, have a Sub-Secretariat and, depending on it, a General Technical Secretariat for the management of common services.

Directorates-General and Deputy Directorates-General

The Directorates-General are the management bodies of one or more functionally homogeneous areas.

The Directorates-General are organised into Sub-Directorates-General for the distribution of the competences entrusted to them, the implementation of their own activities and the allocation of objectives and responsibilities. In addition, Assistant Directorates-General may be directly attached to other higher level management bodies or to higher bodies of the Ministry.

Territorial Organization of the AGE

In the territorial organization of the General Administration of the State, the governing bodies are both the Delegates or Delegates of the Government in the Autonomous Communities, who will have the rank of Undersecretary or Undersecretary, and the Subdelegates or Subdelegates of the Government in the provinces, who will have the level of Deputy Director or Assistant Director General.

Government delegations

There is a Government Delegation in each of the Autonomous Communities.

They exercise the direction and supervision of all the services of the General Administration of the State and its public agencies located in its territory (integrated and non-integrated services).

They represent the Government in the territory of the Autonomous Community.

The Government Delegations will have their headquarters in the locality where the Governing Council of the Autonomous Community is located, unless the Council of Ministers agrees to locate it in a different one and without prejudice to the express provisions of the Statute of Autonomy.

• Organigram (Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory)
• Map (Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory)

Government Subdelegations and Island Directorates

There is a Subdelegate or Subdelegate of the Government in Each of the Provinces of the multi-provincial Autonomous Communities.

In the Autonomous Communities uniprovincialGovernment sub-delegations may be created when circumstances such as the population of the territory, the volume of management or its geographical, social or economic peculiarities so warrant.

In the islands of Menorca, Ibiza-Formentera, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera, there is Island Director or Director of the General State Administration.

The Directors or the Island Directors will depend hierarchically on the Delegate or Delegate of the Government in the Autonomous Community or the Subdelegate or Subdelegate of the Government in the province when this position exists.

Map (Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory)

General Administration of the State abroad

In the General Administration of the State abroad, ambassadors and permanent representatives to international organizations are the governing bodies.

The State Foreign Service is governed in all matters relating to its composition, organization, functions, integration and personnel by the provisions of the Constitution. Law 2/2014, of March 25, of the Action and the Foreign Service of the State and in its development regulations and, alternately, by the provisions of Law 40/2015 of 1 October, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector.

Embassies and Consulates (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation)

More information about the State Foreign Service.