First Vice President of the Government of Spain Vicepresidente primero del Gobierno de España |
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Flag of Government Officials
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Style |
Excelentísima Señora Madam Vice President |
Member of | Cabinet |
Residence | Edificio Semillas, Palacio de la Moncloa |
Seat | Madrid, Spain |
Nominator | The Monarch Countersigned by the Prime Minister of Spain |
Appointer | The Monarch |
Term length | No fixed term No term limits are imposed on the office. |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of 1978 |
Formation | 1962 |
First holder | Agustín Muñoz Grandes |
Unofficial names | Deputy Prime Minister of Spain |
Salary | €75,744 p.a. |
The Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, officially First Vice President of the Government, (Spanish: Vicepresidente primero del Gobierno de España) is the second in command to the Prime Minister of Spain, filling in for when the Prime Minister is absent or incapable of exercising power. The person for the post is usually handpicked by the Prime Minister from the members of the Cabinet. The title of "First" is used to distinguish them from the Second Vice President of the Government, as in the last legislatures there have been usually two. The Headquarters of the First Vice Presidency of the Government of Spain is the Edificio Semillas, in La Moncloa Complex.
Currently Mrs. Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría is the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Spain. She assumed the post on the swearing-in of the Rajoy Government in December 2011.
Being a constitutional monarchy, the government of Spain is headed by a prime minister but the official title in Spanish is Presidente del Gobierno, literally President of the Government. This can be confusing to foreigners and indeed is to many Spaniards, who sometimes translate the title into English as President. Therefore, the Spanish Vice President of the Government is actually the equivalent of a Deputy Prime Minister, not a Vice President.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Spain is responsible for:
Falange
Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)
Socialist (PSOE)
People's Party (PP)
Military