Spokesperson of the Government of Spain

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Spokesperson of the
Government of Spain
Secretary of State of Press
Moncloa Palace's Press Room

The Spokesperson of the Government of Spain is a high ranking of the

Complex of La Moncloa. Currently the holder of the position enjoys the rank of Minister
.

History

The need to inform public opinion about government actions began in 1918 with the creation of the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts which had an Information Office. With the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera two successive organisms are created; First, the Bureau of Information and Press Censorship, during the Military Directory (1923), and the next in the Civil Directory (1925) with the Office of Information and Press Censorship.

During the

Largo Caballero
, the prime minister, created the Ministry of Propaganda that had an ephemeral life.

In Francoist Spain the Ministry of Information and Tourism (1951) was created, a ministerial department that was in charge of controlling information, press and radio. To this, was added the administration of Tourism, an industry that had a significant flourishing during those years.

The return to democracy demanded the communication to the citizens about the government's actions, reason why it became necessary the appearance of the figure of the spokesperson. Following the Ministry of Information and Tourism, the next link in the chain of the Spanish Communicative Administration, is the Office of Information Services, created in October 1977 within the Presidency of the Government.[1]

In 1982, with the arrival of

PSOE to the power, the Office of the Spokesperson of the Government directed by Eduardo Sotillos is created. In 1985, he is replaced by Javier Solana, Minister of Culture, who will alternate both responsibilities. Nevertheless, in 1988, the prime minister, Felipe González, decides to elevate the Office to rank of Ministry. Rosa Conde was appointed Minister-Spokesperson.[2]

With her resignation in 1993, the position was assumed by the

, the position returns to have the same category that in 1985, assuming the position other Cabinet members, with the exception of the period from 2000 to 2003 in which it was again and independent position. It was later linked to the Ministry of the Presidency.

Since 2004, the Government Spokesperson has been assumed by the

Minister of Public Works
.

In 2016, this position was conferred on the

.

In 2018, after the Motion of no confidence, Isabel Celaá became the new Spokesperson of the Government of Spain. She was also named Minister of Education and Vocational Training.[3]

List of Spokesperson of the Government of Spain

Second Spanish Republic

Political Party
  
PSOE
  
IR
Name Picture Term Political Party Government
Carlos Esplá Rizo (1) 4 November 1936 17 May 1937
IR
Francisco Largo Caballero

Francoist Spain

Political Party
Name Picture Term Political Party Government
Gabriel Arias-Salgado 18 July 1951 10 July 1962 Falange Francoist Government
Manuel Fraga Iribarne
10 July 1962 29 October 1969 Falange Francoist Government
Alfredo Sánchez Bella 29 October 1969 11 June 1973 Falange Francoist Government
Fernando de Liñán y Zofio 11 June 1973 3 January 1974 Falange Francoist Government
Pío Cabanillas Gallas 3 January 1974 11 March 1975 Falange Francoist Government
León Herrera Esteban 11 March 1975 12 December 1975 Falange Francoist Government

Juan Carlos I

Political party
  
UCD
  
PSOE
  PP
Name Picture Term Political Party Prime Minister
Adolfo Martín-Gamero 12 December 1975 5 July 1976 Falange
Third Arias Navarro Cabinet
Andrés Reguera 5 July 1976 4 July 1977
UCD
Adolfo Suárez
Manuel Ortíz Sánchez (2) 4 July 1977 1979
UCD
Josep Meliá Pencas (2) 1979 October 1980
UCD
Rosa Posada (2) October 1980 26 February 1981
UCD
Ignacio Aguirre Borrell (2) 26 February 1981 2 December 1981
UCD
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo
Eduardo Sotillos (2) 7 December 1982 5 July 1985
PSOE
Felipe González
Javier Solana (3) 5 July 1985 7 July 1988
PSOE
Rosa Conde (4) 7 July 1988 13 July 1993
PSOE
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (5) 13 July 1993 5 May 1996
PSOE
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Bajón (6) 5 May 1996 16 July 1998 PP José María Aznar
Josep Piqué (7) 16 July 1998 27 April 2000 PP
Pío Cabanillas Alonso (4) 27 April 2000 9 July 2002 PP
Mariano Rajoy (5) 9 July 2002 3 September 2003 PP
Eduardo Zaplana (8) 3 September 2003 17 April 2004 PP
María Teresa Fernández de la Vega (9) 17 April 2004 21 October 2010
PSOE
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (10) 21 October 2010 12 July 2011
PSOE
José Blanco López (11) 12 July 2011 21 December 2011
PSOE
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría (9) 21 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Mariano Rajoy

Felipe VI

Name Picture Term Political Party Prime Minister
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría (9) 21 December 2011 4 November 2016 PP Mariano Rajoy
Íñigo Méndez de Vigo (12) 4 November 2016 1 June 2018 PP
Isabel Celaá (13) 7 June 2018 13 January 2020
PSOE
Pedro Sánchez
María Jesús Montero (14) 13 January 2020 12 July 2021
PSOE
Isabel Rodríguez García (15) 12 July 2021 21 November 2023
PSOE
Pilar Alegría (16) 21 November 2023 Incumbent
PSOE
  • (1) Minister of Propaganda
  • (2) Secretary of State for Information (1977-1981), Secretary of State of Communication (1981-1982).
  • (3) He combined it with the position of Minister of Culture (December 3, 1982 - 7 de July 7, 1988).
  • (4) Spokesperson Minister of the Government
  • (5) Minister of the Presidency.
  • (6) Secretary of State of Communication, acted as Spokesperson de facto of the Government.
  • (7) He combined it with the position of Minister of Industry and Energy (May 6, 1996 - April 27, 2000).
  • (8) He combined it with the position of Employment and Social Affairs (July 10, 2002 - April 17, 2004).
  • (9) She combined it with the position of Vicepresident, Minister of the Presidency and Spokesperson of the Government.
  • (10) She combined it with the position of Vicepresident and Spokesperson of the Government.
  • (11) He combined it with the position of Minister of Public Works (April 7, 2009 - December 21, 2011).
  • (12) He combined it with the position of Minister of Education, Culture and Sport.
  • (13) She combined it with the position of Minister of Education and Vocational training.
  • (14) She combined it with the position of Minister of Finance.
  • (15) She combined it with the position of Minister of Territorial Policy.
  • (16) She combined it with the position of Minister of Education, Vocational training and Sports.


References