Provincial deputation (Spain)

A provincial deputation (Spanish: diputación provincial) is the governing body of a province of Spain.

There are provincial deputations in the provinces of the autonomous communities of Galicia, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Castile and León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, and Andalusia. Basque Country have what are known as diputaciones forales (chartered deputations), while in the Canary and Balearic Islands there are cabildos (councils) and consejos insulares (island councils) which perform functions similar to those of provincial deputations. Autonomous communities with only one province (Asturias, Cantabria, Community of Madrid, Murcia and La Rioja) and the Foral Community of Navarre, do not have deputations as the government of the region handles all such functions.

One of the most fundamental roles of the provincial deputations is the administration of municipal activities. They integrate the provincial government with the provincial president, one or several vice presidents, the administrative body, and the plenary.

Territorial in nature, the provincial deputations serve to promote the economic-administrative interests of the provinces. Similar functions are exercised by the respective bodies in the Canary and Balearic Islands. Certain municipal governments, as that of Cartagena, are also known by this name.

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