The first government 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 ...

was formed on 8 July 1976, following the latter's appointment as

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of Spain, Constitution of 1978 a ...

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 on 3 July and his swearing-in on 5 July, as a result of

Carlos Arias Navarro Carlos Arias Navarro, 1st Marquis of Arias-Navarro (11 December 1908 – 27 November 1989) was one of the best-known Spanish politicians during the Francoist regime. Arias Navarro was a moderate leader in the last phase of Francoism and the be ...

's resignation from the post on 1 July 1976. It succeeded the second Arias Navarro government and was the

Government of Spain gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , d ...

from 8 July 1976 to 5 July 1977, a total of days, or . Suárez's first cabinet comprised members from the

National Movement Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

(with the notable absences of

FET y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

and the Opus Dei), but also by members of the reformist 'Tácito' group, a number of political associations that could not yet be legalized as parties—such as the

Spanish People's Union {{Infobox political party , name = Spanish People's Union , native_name = Unión del Pueblo Español , logo = Unión del Pueblo Español.png , logo_size = 190px , colorcode = {{party color, Spanis ...

(UDPE) and the Spanish Democratic Union (UDE)—and the Federation of Independent Studies (FEDISA) political society. Following the death of

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

Francisco Franco, the regulations of 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 ...

had been amended to allow legislators to group into

parliamentary faction A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...

s, one of whom—the Independent Parliamentary Group (GPI), which would later become the Independent Social Federation (FSI) party—being represented in the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

through

Rodolfo Martín Villa Rodolfo Martín Villa (born 3 October 1934) is a Spanish engineer and politician, who served in various capacities in the cabinets of the Spanish transition to democracy, including interior minister and first deputy prime minister. He is being i ...

. On 7 April 1977, the National Movement and the FET y de las JONS party were officially disbanded, and many cabinet members—who had gone their own separate ways to a number of political parties ahead of the 1977 general election—joined into the nascent Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

under Suárez's leadership upon its formation in May 1977.

Cabinet changes

Suárez's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure: *On 23 September 1976, Fernando de Santiago was replaced as First Deputy Prime Minister by

Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, 1st Marquess of Gutiérrez Mellado (30 April 1912 – 15 December 1995) was a Spanish Army officer and politician who played a relevant role during the Spanish transition to democracy especially with regard to de ...

. * Minister of the Navy Gabriel Pita da Veiga announced his resignation on 12 April 1977 over personal disagreements with the government's decision to legalize the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...

(PCE) on 9 April; he was replaced by Admiral Pascual Pery on 15 April. *On 23 April 1977, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo resigned as

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

in order to organize the newly-formed Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) ahead of the

1977 Spanish general election The 1977 Spanish general election was held on Wednesday, 15 June 1977, to elect the Spanish Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 207 seats in the Senate. It was the first ...

. Carlos Pérez de Bricio took on the ordinary duties of the affairs of the ministry until Calvo-Sotelo's successor, Luis Ortiz González, could take office on 11 May 1977.

Council of Ministers

The

was structured into the offices for the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, the two

deputy prime ministers A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

and 19 ministries, including one minister without portfolio.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Governments. Juan Carlos I (20.11.1975 ...)
CCHS-CSIC (in Spanish).
Governments of Spain 1975–1977. Ministers of Carlos Arias Navarro and Adolfo Suárez
Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish).

Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).
Biographies

Royal Academy of History The Real Academia de la Historia (RAH, 'Royal Academy of History') is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the diff ...

(in Spanish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Suárez government 1 1976 establishments in Spain 1977 disestablishments in Spain Cabinets established in 1976 Cabinets disestablished in 1977 Council of Ministers (Spain)