The Council of the Realm ( es, Consejo del Reino) was a corporate organ of

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, created by the

Law of Succession to the Headship of the State The Law of Succession to the Headship of the State ( es, Ley de Sucesión en la Jefatura del Estado) was the fifth of the eight Fundamental Laws of the Realm organizing the powers of the Francoist regime in Spain. It established provisions for th ...

of 1947. Within the institutional complex created to hierarchize the regime of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

(the so-called "

organic democracy Totalitarian democracy or anarcho-monarchism is a term popularized by Israeli historian Jacob Leib Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, wh ...

"), was the high council that advised the

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

in the decision making of its exclusive competence. An antecedent of the Council of the Realm is the institution of the same name that appears in the Draft Constitution of 1929 of the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...

Composition

Permanent councilors: * the active officers of greater seniority from the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, by the same order. * the Chief of the

Defence High Command The Defence High Command ( es, link=no, Alto Estado Mayor, AEM) was the principal staff body of the Spanish Armed Forces during the Francoist regime and the Spanish transition to democracy. It operated between 1939 and 1980, and was in charge of ...

(the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

). * the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of greater

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

and seniority among those who were procurators in the

Cortes Españolas The Cortes Españolas ( en, Spanish Courts), known informally as the Cortes franquistas ( en, Francoist Courts), was the name of the legislative institution promulgated by the ''Caudillo'' of Spain Francisco Franco which was established on 17 J ...

. * the President of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. * the President of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

). * the President of the . Elective councilors, elected by vote by groups of procurators in the Cortes Españolas: * two councilors for the Local Administration Group. * two councilors for the National Councilors Group. * two councilors for the Family Representation Group. * two councilors for the Trade Union Organization Group. * one councilor for the University Rectors Group. * one councilor for the Professional Association Group. The President of the Council of the Realm was the President of the Cortes Españolas, and was appointed by the Head of State from a list of three names presented by the Council of the Realm.

Functions

The function of the Council of the Realm was to provide the Head of State with a list of three names to elect a President of the Government from among them. Likewise, the Head of State needed the Council of the Realm to dissolve or extend the legislatures of the Cortes Españolas, dismiss the President of the Government, as well as many other functions.

Presidents

* 1947–1965:

Esteban de Bilbao Eguía Esteban de Bilbao Eguía (11 January 1879 – 23 September 1970) was a Spanish politician during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Family and youth Esteban Martín Higinio de Bilbao Eguía was born to a Basque mid-range bourgeoisie fam ...

* 1965–1969:

Antonio Iturmendi Bañales Antonio Iturmendi Bañales (1903–1976) was a Spanish people, Spanish Carlist and Francoist politician. He is best known as the Ministry of Justice (Spain), Minister of Justice, serving in 1951–1965, as the Cortes Generales, Cortes speaker, se ...

* 1969–1975:

Alejandro Rodríguez de Valcárcel Alejandro Rodríguez de Valcárcel y Nebreda (25 December 1917 – 22 October 1976) was a Spanish falangist politician and State lawyer, who served in important positions during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Biography Born in Decemb ...

** ''Vice President'': Joaquín Bau Nolla. As President of the Council of State (since 1965Monserrat Cavaller 2001, p. 283, ''BOE'' 30.10.65, availabl
here
) Bau was ''councilor of the Realm''. * 1975–1977:

Torcuato Fernández-Miranda Torcuato Fernández-Miranda y Hevia, 1st Duke of Fernández-Miranda (10 November 1915 – 19 June 1980) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who played important roles in both the Spanish State of Francisco Franco and in the Spanish transition ...

* 1977–1978: (president of the democratic Cortes).

Trajectory

During the life of Francisco Franco, the Council of the Realm was a pure formalism, because the only will was that of the Head of State. With the accession of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

to the throne, the Council of the Realm facilitated the appointment of

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister since the Second Spanish Republic and a key figure in th ...

as President of the Government, although also some councilors showed very reactionary positions to the

Political Reform Act The Political Reform Act (Act 1/1977, of 4 January, for the Political Reform)Spanish Constitution of 1978 The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the democratic law that is supreme in the Kingdom of Spain. It was e ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Council Of The Realm 1947 establishments in Spain 1978 disestablishments in Spain Francoist Spain