List of heads of state of Spain
This is a list of Spanish heads of state, that is, kings and presidents that governed the country of Spain in the modern sense of the word. The forerunners of the Spanish throne were the following:
- Kings of Asturias
- Kings of Navarre
- Kings of León
- Kings of Galicia
- Kings of Aragon
- Kings of Castile
These lineages were eventually united by the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon (king of the Crown of Aragon) and Isabella I of Castile (queen of the Crown of Castile). Although their kingdoms continued to be separate, with their personal union they ruled them together as one dominion. Spain was thereafter governed as a dynastic union by the House of Trastámara, the House of Habsburg, and the House of Bourbon until the Nueva Planta decrees merged Castile and Aragon into one kingdom.
During the First Spanish Republic (1873–1874), Spain had heads of state known as the President of the Executive Power. However, it is only during the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939) that the official title of President of Spain (or President of the Republic) existed. Today, Spain is a constitutional monarchy, and there is thus no person holding the title of President of Spain. However, the prime minister holds the official title of President of the Government.
Kingdom of Spain (1479–1873)
House of Trastámara (1479–1555)
Under Isabella and Ferdinand, the royal dynasties of Castile and Aragon, their respective kingdoms, were united into a single line. Historiography of Spain generally treats this as the formation of the kingdom of Spain, but in actuality, the two kingdoms continued for many centuries with their own separate institutions. It was not until the Nueva Planta decrees of the early 18th century that the two lands were formally merged into a single state.
Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Isabella I
| 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504 (aged 53) | 11 December 1474 Castile | 26 November 1504 Castile | Daughter of John II of Castile and Isabella of Portugal | Trastámara | |
Ferdinand V & II
| 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516 (aged 63) | 15 January 1475 Castile 20 January 1479 Aragon | 26 November 1504 Castile 23 January 1516 Aragon | Son of John II of Aragon and Juana Enríquez | Trastámara | |
Joanna
| 6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555 (aged 75) | 26 November 1504 Castile 23 January 1516 Aragon | 12 April 1555 | Daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon | Trastámara | |
Philip I
| 22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506 (aged 28) | 27 June 1506 Castile | 25 September 1506 Castile | Husband of Joanna of Castile | Habsburg |
House of Habsburg (1516–1700)
Following the deaths of Isabella (1504) and Ferdinand (1516), their daughter Joanna inherited the Spanish kingdoms. However, she was kept prisoner at Tordesillas due to her mental disorder. As Joanna's son,
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charles I (Emperor Charles V) Carlos I, el César Carlos |
February 24, 1500 – September 21, 1558 (aged 58) | March 14, 1516 – January 16, 1556 | son of Joanna of Castile, grandson of Isabella I and Ferdinand II | |||
Philip II, the Prudent Felipe II, el Prudente |
May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598 (aged 71) | January 16, 1556 – September 13, 1598 |
|
son of Charles I | ||
Philip III, the Pious Felipe III, el Piadoso |
April 14, 1578 – March 31, 1621 (aged 42) | September 13, 1598 – March 31, 1621 |
|
son of Philip II | ||
Philip IV, the Great, the Planet King Felipe IV, el Grande, el Rey Planeta |
April 8, 1605 – September 17, 1665 (aged 60) | March 31, 1621 – September 17, 1665 |
|
son of Philip III | ||
Charles II, the Bewitched Carlos II, el Hechizado |
November 6, 1661 – November 1, 1700 (aged 38) | September 17, 1665 – November 1, 1700 |
|
son of Philip IV |
Disputed claimant
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Archduke Charles of Austria, as Charles III Archiduque Carlos, (Carlos III) |
October 1, 1685 – October 20, 1740 (aged 55) | September 12, 1703 – July 2, 1715 |
|
great-grandson of Philip III |
In 1700 Charles II died. Charles' will named the 16-year-old
Archduke Charles of Austria had a legal right to the Spanish throne due to the fact that Charles's father,
Thus, the war broke out and Archduke Charles was proclaimed king of Spain, as Charles III, opposite to Philip V.[3] Charles renounced his claims to the Spanish throne in the Treaty of Rastatt of 1714, but was allowed the continued use of the styles of a Spanish monarch for his lifetime. Philip ascended the Spanish throne but forever renounced his claim to the throne of France for himself and his descendants.[4]
House of Bourbon (1700–1808)
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philip V, the Spirited Felipe V, el Animoso |
December 19, 1683 – July 9, 1746 (aged 62) | November 16, 1700 – January 14, 1724 (abdicated in favor of his son) |
King of Spain | great-grandson of Philip IV | ||
Louis I, the Beloved, the Liberal Luis I, el Bien Amado, el Liberal |
August 25, 1707 – August 31, 1724 (aged 17) | January 14, 1724 – August 31, 1724 (ruled only 7 months before his death) |
son of Philip V | |||
Philip V, the Spirited Felipe V, el Animoso |
December 19, 1683 – July 9, 1746 (aged 62) | September 6, 1724 – July 9, 1746 (reinstated on death of his son) |
father of Louis I | |||
Ferdinand VI, the Learned, the Just Fernando VI, el Prudente, el Justo |
September 23, 1713 – August 10, 1759 (aged 45) | July 9, 1746 – August 10, 1759 | son of Philip V | |||
Charles III, the Enlightened, the King-Mayor Carlos III, el Político |
January 20, 1716 – December 14, 1788 (aged 72) | August 10, 1759 – December 14, 1788 | ||||
Charles IV, the Hunter Carlos IV, el Cazador |
November 11, 1748 – January 20, 1819 (aged 70) | December 14, 1788 – March 19, 1808 | son of Charles III | |||
Ferdinand VII , the Desired, the Felon KingFernando VII, el Deseado, el Rey Felón |
October 14, 1784 – September 29, 1833 (aged 48) | March 19, 1808 – May 6, 1808 | son of Charles IV |
House of Bonaparte (1808–1813)
The only monarch from this dynasty was
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joseph I, the Intruder, Bottle Joe José I, Pepe Botella |
January 7, 1768 – July 28, 1844 (aged 76) | June 6, 1808 – December 11, 1813 |
|
no relationship, appointee and elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte
|
House of Bourbon (1813–1868; first restoration)
Charles IV's eldest son was restored to the throne. Again the title used was king of Castile, Leon, Aragon,… by divine grace.
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ferdinand VII , the Desired, the Felon KingFernando VII, el Deseado, el Rey Felón |
October 14, 1784 – September 29, 1833 (aged 48) | December 11, 1813 – September 29, 1833 (restored to power by Napoleon) | King of Spain | son of Charles IV | ||
Isabella II , the One with the Sad DestiniesIsabel II, la de los Tristes Destinos |
October 10, 1830 – April 10, 1904 (aged 73) | September 29, 1833 – September 30, 1868 | daughter of Ferdinand VII
|
House of Savoy (1870–1873)
After the
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amadeo I, the Gentleman King, Amadeo I, el Rey Caballero |
May 30, 1845 – January 18, 1890 (aged 44) | December 4, 1870 – February 11, 1873 | King of Spain | descendant of Philip II (through his grandson Thomas Francis) and of Charles III (through his son Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his daughter Maria Luisa) |
First Spanish Republic (1873–1874)
The
Presidents of the Republic
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Estanislao Figueras (1819–1882) |
February 12, 1873 | June 11, 1873 | Federal Democratic Republican Party | ||
Francesc Pi i Margall (1824–1901) |
June 11, 1873 | July 18, 1873 | |||
Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso (1838–1908) |
July 18, 1873 | September 7, 1873 | |||
Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (1832–1899) |
September 7, 1873 | January 3, 1874 | |||
Francisco Serrano 1st Duke of la Torre (1810–1885) |
January 3, 1874 | December 30, 1874 | Conservative faction |
Kingdom of Spain (1874–1931)
House of Bourbon (1874–1931; second restoration)
Isabella II's eldest son was restored to the throne. Constitutional king of Spain. Between the death of Alfonso XII and the birth of Alfonso XIII, there was a period of seven months where the pregnant
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfonso XII , the PeacemakerAlfonso XII, el Pacificador |
November 28, 1857 – November 25, 1885 (aged 27) | December 30, 1874 – November 25, 1885 | Constitutional King of Spain | son of Isabella II
| ||
Alfonso XIII , the AfricanAlfonso XIII, el Africano |
May 17, 1886 – February 28, 1941 (aged 54) | May 17, 1886 – April 14, 1931 | son of Alfonso XII
|
Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939)
The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14, 1931 when Alfonso XIII left the country following a period of social unrest after the collapse of General Primo de Rivera's dictatorship a year earlier, and April 1, 1939 when the last of the Republican (republicanos) forces surrendered to the Nationalist (nacionales) forces led by Francisco Franco, at the end of the Spanish Civil War.
Presidents of the Republic
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora (1877–1949) |
December 10, 1931 | April 7, 1936 | Liberal Republican Right | ||
Diego Martínez Barrio (1883–1962) Interim |
April 7, 1936 | May 10, 1936 | Republican Union Popular Front coalition | ||
Manuel Azaña (1880–1940) |
May 10, 1936 | March 3, 1939 | Republican Left Popular Front coalition | ||
Segismundo Casado (1893–1968) Interim |
March 4, 1939 | March 13, 1939 | Republican Army National Defence Council | ||
José Miaja (1878–1958) Interim |
March 13, 1939 | March 27, 1939 |
Spanish Republican government in exile (1939–1977)
Presidents in exile
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diego Martínez Barrio (1883–1962) (Official interim successor of Azaña for being president of the Congress and an important figure for most of the non-communist anti-Franco forces but for his enmity with Juan Negrín he did not take office until 1945). |
March 4, 1939 | August 17, 1945 | Republican Union | ||
Juan Negrín (1892–1956) (Prime Minister in the exile until the proclamation as president of Diego Martínez Barrio, who dismissed him). |
31 March 1939[5][6] | August 17, 1945 | Republican Union (Popular Front) | ||
Diego Martínez Barrio (1883–1962) |
August 17, 1945 | January 1, 1962 | Republican Union | ||
Luis Jiménez de Asúa (1889–1970) |
January 1, 1962 | November 16, 1970 | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party | ||
José Maldonado González (1900–1985) |
November 16, 1970 | July 1, 1977 | Republican Left |
Francoist Spain (1936–1975)
On October 1, 1936 General
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head of State (Caudillo) | ||||||
Francisco Franco (1892–1975) |
October 1, 1936 | November 20, 1975 | No party (Links to military and National Movement) | |||
President of the Regency | ||||||
Alejandro Rodríguez de Valcárcel (1917–1976) |
November 20, 1975 | November 22, 1975 | National Movement |
Kingdom of Spain (1975–present)
House of Bourbon (1975–present; third restoration)
Alfonso XIII's claim descended (due to his two eldest sons' renunciations) to his third son, Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, who was passed over in favour of his eldest son, whose title became King of Spain. The Count of Barcelona renounced his claims in favour of his son in 1977, two years after Franco's death and Juan Carlos's accession.
Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of his son
Portrait | Coat of arms | Name | Life | Reign | Titles | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Juan Carlos I
|
January 5, 1938 | November 22, 1975 – June 18, 2014 | King of Spain | Grandson of Alfonso XIII, through his third son, Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona | ||
Felipe VI
|
January 30, 1968 | June 19, 2014 – present | Son of Juan Carlos I |
See also
- Monarchy of Spain
- List of Spanish monarchs
- List of Spanish regents
- Monarchs of Spain family tree
- Succession to the Spanish throne
- List of Spanish consorts
- War of the Spanish Succession
- President of the Republic (Spain)
- Prime Minister of Spain
- Carlism – about pretenders who have tried to substitute the Isabelline monarchs.
References
- ^ ISBN 0-300-08718-7
- ^ Durant, Will. "The Age of Louis XIV", p.699. Simon and Schuster, New York 1963.
- ^ He was proclaimed in Vienna ("Charles VI.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 905.), and also in Madrid in the years 1706 and 1710.
- ISBN 0-300-08718-7
- ^ Herrerín López, Ángel (2007), El dinero del exilio: Indalecio Prieto y las pugnas de posguerra (1939-1947), Siglo XXI de España Editores, pág.3
- ^ Romero Samper, Milagrosa (2005), La oposición durante el franquismo, Encuentro, pág.91
- ^ "Leonor becomes a crown princess". El Pais. June 4, 2014.