The General State Administration () 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 A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

. It comprises a: * Central Organization (

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

, Government Delegated Committees,

Ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, General Commission of Secretaries of State and Undersecretaries and Interministerial Committees). * 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 A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes a ...

and

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

s) Its legal regime is set out in article 103 of the

Spanish Constitution of 1978 The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

and its specific organisation and powers by Law 40/2015. This establishes that it, under the direction of the

and with full submission to the law, objectively serves the general interest, developing executive functions of an administrative nature. On October 1, 2016, the forerunner Law 6/1997 was replaced by the 2015 law stated.

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

, 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

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

on the proposal of the President of the Government of Spain. In the event that the President himself ceases, his ministers will leave the post together with him, something completely logical given that the bond of trust between the

legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

and the executive branch occurs through the figure of the President of the Government, in this way, it is logical that if such a link is broken, all the components of the executive fall with him. Along the same lines, the President will be in charge of determining the number and competencies of the Ministries. Regarding the functions of the Minister, they can be divided between those that he serves as a member of the

, 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 Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

management, issues Economic and budgetary aspects of its Department, and to end representative functions, in a political (relations with the

Autonomous Communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...

, 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

is necessary, either because he is a figure of trust for the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, or because it is a government fruit of an alliance between different parties, and for that reason, has to go to this position as a way for the minority party to accede to 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 Anglo-Saxon world as

Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...

or Deputy Secretary (

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). 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

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

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 A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and administration. The structure of the Peripheral Administration varies according to the

, because in the majority of them there are Delegations and Sub-delegations with the exception of the single-

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Autonomous Communities, that do not have Sub-delegations, since the competences of these are taken by the Delegations itself (the

Autonomous Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

is a single-province autonomous community that due to its status of

Capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the Kingdom and his population size, has Delegations and Sub-delegations). In the islands, there exists the Island Director.

Delegations of the Government

The Delegations of the Government in the

Autonomous communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...

are administrative bodies whose head is a high position appointed in the discretion of the

, responding before the Ministry of Public Administration. Has Undersecretary rank. He is in charge of the management of the State Administration in the territory of a certain

Autonomous Community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

. In addition, it assumes the former sanctioning powers of the Civil Governor, directs integrated territorial services and appoints the Sub-delegate of the Government, which is the figure that properly replaces that of civilian governors.

Sub-delegations of the Government

The Sub-delegations of the Government in the

Provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

are bodies of the Delegations of the Government that carry out the functions that the Delegate assigned them and represents the

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

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

Formentera Formentera (, ) is a Spanish island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain) together with Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. Formentera is the smallest and most southerly island of the ...

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...

Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, geographically part of Macaronesia, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the coast of North Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO i ...

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...

, El Hierro and

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third-smallest of the archipelago's eight main islands. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. La Gomer ...

, 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,

or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent.

State Administration Abroad

It is integrated by:Ley 2/2014, de 25 de marzo, de la Acción y del Servicio Exterior del Estado.
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Delegations

The delegations represent the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in a body of an

international organization An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own le ...

, in a Conference of States convened by or under the auspices of an international organization, or in a concrete act organized by a third State for which a delegation is required to form a delegation official.

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

to one or more States, with their consent, for a specific purpose, or to one or more States where there is no permanent Diplomatic Mission or to all States for a special purpose .

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

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

abroad. The Consular Offices shall exercise the functions attributed to them by the current regulations,

International Law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and international treaties to which

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

is a party.

Representations or Permanent Missions

The Permanent Diplomatic Missions represent the

before one or more States with which it has established diplomatic relations. When a Mission represents Spain before several States it will do it in multiple accreditation system and with residence in one of them. The Permanent Representations represent the

before the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

or an

International Organization An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own le ...

. They shall be Observatory Representations when Spain is not part of the organization to which they are accredited.

References

{{Authority control Public Administration of Spain Public administration Public policy