General State Administration
The General State Administration (Spanish: Administración General del Estado) is one of the Public Administrations of Spain. It is the only administration with powers throughout the national territory and it is controlled by the central government.
It comprises a:
- Central Organization ().
- Peripheral Organization (Delegations of the Government in the Autonomous Communities, the Sub-delegations of the Government in the Provinces and the Insular Directorates of the General State Administration).
- (The) State Administration Abroad (Embassies and consulates)
Its legal regime is set out in article 103 of the
On October 1, 2016, the forerunner Law 6/1997 was replaced by the 2015 law stated.[2]
Structure
Central Organization
Ministers
The Ministers are the holders of a Ministry, being the hierarchically superior head of the branch in question. They perform the function of axis between their respective ministerial department and the own organ of Government, of which they are part. In this way, they are the head of a certain sector of the administrative apparatus, and at the same time, they are the base element of an organ of political character, as it is the own Government.
They are named and separated by the
Regarding the functions of the Minister, they can be divided between those that he serves as a member of the Government, and those he performs as a Minister. Regarding this second aspect, there is an immense variety of functions that the Minister plays in his role of head and director of the corresponding Ministerial Department. The Law about Organization and Functioning of the General State Administration makes an exhaustive enumeration of functions, among which the ones related to the appointment and separation of the governing bodies of the Ministry, the determination of their internal organizational structure, human resources management, issues Economic and budgetary aspects of its Department, and to end representative functions, in a political (relations with the Autonomous Communities, etc.) and legal (acting on behalf of the legal entity of the State and imputation of its acts) sense.
Finally, it should be pointed out the office of non-suitcase minister, an infrequent position and intimately linked to the person appointed for it, who does not hold the title of any Ministry, but whose presence in the
Secretaries of State
The Secretariats of State are departmental superior bodies of management and sectorial management that occupy the superior level in the hierarchy of intermediate commands between the Minister and the official apparatus, above the General Director and of the General Secretary. When it is a position of strict political trust, his appointment is free, as is his removal. Contrary to what happens with the Ministers, the Secretaries of State do not fall with the President if he ceases. The Secretary of State is what is known in the
Law 6/1997, about Organization and Functioning of the General State Administration states in article 9.1 the eventual character of the body, calling it a "higher body", as it does with the Ministers. Such status implies a different treatment in terms of the personal requirements to be fulfilled by the holder, which in this case supposes a total absence of restrictions, giving total freedom to the Government and the Minister to choose the person they consider convenient.
They are in charge of appointing and separating the Directors-General, as well as directing and coordinating the Directorates-General under the Secretariat of State concerned. Likewise, the Secretary of State shall assume those functions that the Minister delegates thereto, as indicated in Article 7.2 of the Government Law.
Undersecretaries
Law 6/1997 qualifies it as a governing body, whose holder must be a career official of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local Entities, in addition to having the status of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent. This is a high position of political trust, appointed by the Government on the proposal of the Minister concerned, and whose dismissal is equally free.
Since the creation of the office in 1834, its functions have evolved from the original supervision of the instruction of the administrative records to the contemporary headquarters of the general and instrumental services of the Department. Their current functions are:
- Control of the effectiveness of the Ministry and its public bodies.
- Determination of the precise actions for the improvement of the systems of planning, direction and organization and for the rationalization and simplification of the procedures and working methods.
- Direction of operation of common services.
- Establishment of the corresponding inspection programs for the services of the Ministry.
- Planning the activity of your Ministry.
- Proposition of the organizational measures of the Ministry.
Directors-General
The Directorates-General are management departmental bodies and steering bodies, hierarchically inferior to Secretaries of State and Secretaries General. The holder must have a degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent. The Royal Decree on the structure of the Department may omit the first requirement because it is a Directorate-General whose exceptional characteristics require that the holder does not have the status of official of the State.
With respect to their functions, as indicated in Article 18 of Law 6/1997, the General Director will be in touch with the bureaucratic apparatus of the State, acting as a manager of a determined area. It will be the one who proposes the projects referred to its corresponding sector, and also, will be in charge of directing and supervising their execution, all with a view to achieving the objectives that have been established by the Minister. Likewise, it will exercise the specific powers delegated to it, or those that will be awarded to it under the pertinent rules.
On the other hand, the Director General, as a consequence of his position of supremacy within the Directorate-General, will be in charge of monitoring the proper functioning of the entire bureaucratic complex that depends on him. Likewise, it will be in charge of issuing the corresponding information to the General Direction, for its departmental superiors.
Technical General Secretaries
They are the technical bodies of the Ministry, with the rank of General Director. They are under the immediate dependence of the Undersecretary. Their functions are:
- They act as a communication bodies of the Ministry.
- They coordinate and organize the internal system of services.
- They work in the department's Head of Personnel.
- They elaborate the general plans of action and the programs of needs.
- Provide technical and administrative assistance to the Minister.
Cabinets
They are consultation bodies generally composed of a technical secretary and several technicians who support the president, vice president, ministers, Secretaries of State, etc. in their relations with institutions, in making decisions and performing special advisory tasks in a particular branch of knowledge.
Peripheral Organization
The Peripheral State Administration is an Administration dependent on the General State Administration that, through bodies dependent on it, assure the presence of the General State Administration throughout the national territory. It acts, therefore, as an extension of government and administration.
The structure of the Peripheral Administration varies according to the
Delegations of the Government
The Delegations of the Government in the
Sub-delegations of the Government
The Sub-delegations of the Government in the Provinces are bodies of the Delegations of the Government that carry out the functions that the Delegate assigned them and represents the Government in the Provinces. In the single-province Autonomous Communities, its powers are assumed by the Government Delegate.
The holder must have a degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent
Insular Directors
In the islands of
, there will be an Insular Director of the General State Administration. It will depend hierarchically on the Delegate of the Government or the Sub-delegate, when this position exists.The holder must have a degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent.[3]
State Administration Abroad
It is integrated by:[4]
Delegations
The delegations represent the
Institutions and public bodies
In this section, public bodies, state companies, public foundations and consortium entities and any other related entities or dependents of the Public Administrations that act abroad.
Special Diplomatic Missions
The Special Diplomatic Missions temporarily represent the
Consular Offices
The Consular Offices are the bodies of the General State Administration in charge of the exercise of consular functions and especially of providing assistance and protection to
Representations or Permanent Missions
The Permanent Diplomatic Missions represent the
The Permanent Representations represent the
See also
References
- ^ Ley 6/1997, de 14 de abril, de Organización y Funcionamiento de la Administración General del Estado.
- ^ Ley 40/2015, de 1 de octubre, de Régimen Jurídico del Sector Público.
- ^ Real Decreto 617/1997, de 25 de abril, de Subdelegados del Gobierno y Directores insulares de la Administración General del Estado.
- ^ Ley 2/2014, de 25 de marzo, de la Acción y del Servicio Exterior del Estado.