President of the Government of Spain

Sajun.org

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="float:right; font-size:12px; margin:5px; border:3px solid;" |style="border-bottom:3px solid; background:#ffffff;"| |- |style="border-top:3px solid;"| The Crown - Head of State
|- |style="border-top:3px solid;"| Cortes Generales - Legislative branch
   Congress of Deputies
   Senate
   Regional legislatures |- |style="border-top:3px solid;"| Government - Executive branch
   President of the Government
   Council of Ministers
   Regional governments |- |style="border-top:3px solid;"| Judicial system - Judicial branch
   General Council of the Judicial Power
   Constitutional Court
   Supreme Court
   Regional high courts |- |style="border-top:3px solid;"| Constitution
   1977 Political Reform Act
   1978 Constitution
   Amendments
Autonomous communities
Madrid (capital city) |- |} The '''President of the Government''' (Spanish: ''Presidente del Gobierno''), or '''Prime Minister''', of Spain is the Spanish head of government. The President of the Government is elected by the Congress of Deputies (the lower house of parliament) on being proposed by the King. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978. It is presently occupied by Jos� Luis Rodr�guez Zapatero. ==Official title== The Spanish head of government is known, in Spanish, as the ''Presidente del Gobierno''. Literally translated, this title is "President of the Government", but nevertheless the office-holder is commonly referred to in English as the "Prime Minister": the usual term for the head of government in a constitutional monarchy. In Spain, he or she is often called simply ''Presidente'' and Spaniards will often translate his or her title in English to ''President''. More than once, the Spanish term has caused embarrassing errors among foreign authorities, for example when Jeb Bush (Governor of Florida and brother of George W. Bush, the President of the United States) referred to the head of government as the "President of the Spanish Republic". ==Election== The President of the Government is not directy elected by the people but indirectly elected by the legislature. Following legislative elections, which take place every four years, the leader of the majority party, or the leader of the majority coalition, is usually proposed as President of the Government by the King and elected by the Congress of Deputies. The Vice President of the Government (or Deputy Prime Minister) is appointed by the King on the proposal of the President. ==List of Presidents of the Government== This list only comprises the current period of Spanish democracy. To see the full list, refer to List of Presidents of the Government of Spain. {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" ! Name !! Took Office !! Party |- bgcolor="#F6C8EB" | Adolfo Su�rez Gonz�lez || July 3 1976 || UCD (2 terms) |- bgcolor="#F6C8EB" | Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Bustelo || February 25 1981 || UCD (1 term) |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | Felipe Gonz�lez M�rquez || December 1 1982 || PSOE (4 terms) |- bgcolor="#BBBBFF" | Jos� Mar�a Aznar L�pez || May 4 1996 || PP (2 terms) |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | Jos� Luis Rodr�guez Zapatero || April 17, 2004 || PSOE (1 term) |} == See also == * History of Spain * Politics of Spain * List of Spanish monarchs * List of Presidents of the Government of Spaines:Presidente del Gobierno de Espa�a