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The Palace of Moncloa or Moncloa Palace ( es, Palacio de la Moncloa) is the
official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...
and workplace of the
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 1978 and it was first regula ...
. It is located in Puerta de Hierro Avenue, in the
Moncloa-Aravaca Moncloa-Aravaca is a district of the municipality of Madrid, Spain. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, spanning across both banks of the Manzanares. It is made up of the neighborhoods of Aravaca, Argüelles, Casa de Campo, Ciuda ...
district in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. It has been the official residence of the Prime Minister since 1977, when
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 ...
moved the residence from the
Palace of Villamejor The Palace of Villamejor ( es, Palacio de Villamejor) is a palace located on the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, Spain. The state purchased it in 1914 from the Marquesses of Villamejor to serve as the residence of the Prime Minister, a role tha ...
. The Moncloa Complex includes 16 buildings, a
bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...
and a hospital. The
Ministry of the Presidency The Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory (MPR) is the department of the Government of Spain which assures the link between the different Ministries and the Prime Minister and is responsible for the relations ...
, the Deputy Prime Minister's Office, the
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
, the Chief of Staff's Office and the
Press Office Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
are located in this complex. The weekly meetings of 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 ...
are also held at La Moncloa. In Spain 'Moncloa' is sometimes used as a metonym for the central government, especially when contrasting with the governments of the
Autonomous Communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...
.


History

The Moncloa Palace was originally a farm for agricultural use, which, due to its good situation, later became a palace-house. In 1660 it was bought by Gaspar de Haro y Guzmán, Marquis of Carpio and Eliche, owner of the neighboring orchard of La Moncloa, a name that came from its former owners, the Counts of Monclova, which later gave rise to Moncloa, as know today. When the two gardens were joined, Gaspar de Haro had a palace built on the highest part of the land, known first as Eliche's Palace and also as Painted House, in reference to the frescoes that adorned the exterior walls, and later as Palace of La Moncloa. The Palace passed through different owners until reaching María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba de Tormes. To his death without descendants in 1802, Charles IV acquired the mansion and the orchard and added it to the Royal Site of La Florida, which was then called Royal Site of La Moncloa. In 1816,
Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...
ordered the restoration of the palace. Thirty years later,
Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...
ceded the property of La Moncloa to the State, which became part of the Ministry of Development. The palace was restored again in 1929, when it was reopened as a museum. The Palace was destroyed during the
Siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Octo ...
in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. A decade after its destruction, the architect Diego Méndez built, between 1949 and 1953, the present building following the model of the
Casa del Labrador The Casa del Labrador is a neoclassical palace in Aranjuez, Spain. The name means "house of the farm labourer", and was borrowed from an earlier building on the site, although the new building was intended for royal use. It was designed to compl ...
of
Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
. Then it was destined to official residence of heads of State in visits to
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and high personalities. By law of July 15, 1954, the Moncloa Palace and its gardens, with an area of 58,293.81 square meters and adjoining the four cardinal points with land of the
University City of Madrid The University City of Madrid ( es, Ciudad Universitaria de Madrid), also called the Campus de Moncloa, is a complex in the Moncloa-Aravaca district of Madrid, Spain, that holds buildings of two universities and several related organizations. The ...
, was integrated into the National Heritage. The new design was adapted to the new functions assigned to the palace, which was inaugurated by
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 ...
in 1953. On June 3, 1954, arrived the palace's first foreign head of state,
Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...
. On November 28, 1976, the last one,
Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as '' El Gocho'' (due to his Andean origins), was a Venezuelan politician and the president of Venezuela from 12 March 1974 to 12 M ...
. In 1977, Prime Minister
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 ...
moved the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government, located until then in the central Villamejor Palace, to La Moncloa. The change occurred, fundamentally, and given the remote location of the palace, away from the center of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, for security reasons, in the face of concern that an attack against the young prime minister, newly appointed by
King 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 ...
. With the new palace was also established on it the official residence for the Prime Minister and his family.


Renovations

Since 1977, successive prime ministers have consistently ordered renovations and expansions of the complex.
Adolfo Suarez Adolfo may refer to: * Adolfo, São Paulo, a Brazilian municipality * Adolfo (designer), Cuban-born American fashion designer * Adolfo or Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in Ge ...
ordered the construction of a tennis court and the renovation of the pool. He also ordered the old main courtyard be covered, which would later become the famous Hall of Columns. During his brief tenure as prime minister in the early 1980s,
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Leopoldo Ramón Pedro Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo (; 14 April 1926 – 3 May 2008), usually known as Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, was Prime Minister of Spain between 1981 and 1982. Early life and career Calvo-Sotelo was b ...
installed more bedrooms on the third floor for his eight children as well as a music room.
Felipe González Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a Spanish lawyer, professor, and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997, and the 3rd Prime Minister of Spain since the ...
arrived in 1982 and cultivated a small orchard of
bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
s. González's major contribution, though, was the construction of an underground bunker inspired by his memory of the coup d'état attempt of February 23, 1981. He also built a new building close to the presidential residence to host the Council of Ministers, dedicating the main building to serve more as the private residence of the prime minister.
José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spain. A member of the Fre ...
, Ana Botella, their three sons and two cocker dogs lived at Moncloa between 1996 and 2004. Aznar was responsible for the construction of a game room for his children as well as a paddle tennis court to practice his favorite sport.
Sonsoles Espinosa Sonsoles Espinosa Díaz (born 8 November 1961) is a Spanish classical singer and music teacher. She is married to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former President of the Government (''Presidente del Gobierno''. Biography She was born in Ávila, ...
, wife of the Prime Minister
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...
, decided to radically renovate the private rooms. She favored a minimalist style, painting the rooms light colors, changing classic furniture for different designs (but retaining certain pieces such as the table of General Narváez, a gift from Juan Carlos I to Adolfo Suárez located in the Prime Minister's Office) and hung pictures of contemporary artists on the walls.
Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...
and his wife did not make many changes that are known beyond swapping out the vases.


Public access and security


Accessibility

Before September 19, 2018, the entrance to the palace by the public were not allowed. Only accredited personnel like journalists or public servants were allowed to enter along with universities, high schools and primary schools students. These latter usually make a short tour to know the gardens and the Press Center. Since September 2018, the new PM
Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has been Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since June 2017, having pr ...
allows the public to visit the Complex, not only the Press Room and the Council of Minister's Room but the main buildings of the complex, including the Deputy PM's Office, the Ministry of the Presidency building and the Prime Minister Chief of Staff's Office. There is a tradition in summer by which the prime minister make a tour through the Palace to the children of the employees of the Complex. The requirements to visit the governmental complex is to be a Spanish citizen or to live in Spain, ask for a date, show the guards the ID and leave in the entrance all electronic devices.


Security

The security of the complex is carried out by the Department of Security of the Presidency of the Government, a government body responsible for the protection of 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 is not ...
,
Deputy Prime Minister 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, ...
, Government's Ministers and former Prime Ministers, along with their families. It also gives protection to the Moncloa Complex and the private and public residences of the members of the
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. The security agents come from the Civil Guard and the
National Police Corps The National Police Corps ( es, Cuerpo Nacional de Policía, link=no, CNP; ; also known simply as National Police, ) is the national civilian police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing ...
.


Buildings and rooms


Council Building

The building was built in 1989 during the premiership of
Felipe González Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a Spanish lawyer, professor, and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997, and the 3rd Prime Minister of Spain since the ...
in order to differentiate the residential and working areas of the palace. The Prime Minister's Office maintains an agreement with the
Reina Sofía Museum Reina (the Spanish word for queen) or La Reina may refer to: Geography * Reina, Badajoz, a municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain * Reina, Estonia, a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County, Estonia * La Reina, a commune ...
under which the decoration of the building is composed of works of this museum. The artistic collection consists of more than 140 works by authors such as
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...
,
Eduardo Chillida Eduardo Chillida Juantegui, or Eduardo Txillida Juantegi in Basque (10 January 1924 – 19 August 2002), was a Spanish Basque sculptor notable for his monumental abstract works. Early life and career Born in San Sebastián (Donostia) to Ped ...
, Julio González,
Pablo Palazuelo Pablo Palazuelo (October 8, 1915 – October 3, 2007) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. Work and biography Pabich led to an invitation to join the Galérie Maeght (currently Galérie Lelong), an association that has continued for some f ...
or
Antoni Tàpies Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tápies (; 13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012) was a Catalan People, Catalan painter, sculptor and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation. Life The son of Jo ...
, among others. It also has numerous furniture belonging to the National Heritage.


Council Room

The main room of the building is the Council Room where the meetings of 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 ...
are held.


Tapestry Room

The Tapestry Room is one of the biggest rooms of the building and it is used for receptions, official events and, occasionally, for press conferences.


Tàpies Room

The Tàpies Room is the room where the Prime Minister receives its guests.


Vice Presidency Building

It is one of the newest buildings of the Complex. It was built in 2006 under the premiership of
José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...
. This building currently houses the Deputy Prime Minister's Office.


Seeds Building

The Seeds Building was built in 1950 as part of the
Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
. Its name is because it was the place where the
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s were once stored. It currently hosts the personal Cabinet of the Office of the Prime Minister. On the first floor is the office of the
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
, an office that was used in the 1980s by Alfonso Guerra, and before by Joaquín Garrigues Walker with prime minister
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 ...
.


INIA Building

The INIA building was built in 1953 by the architect José Azpiroz. It receives this name for having housed the National Institute of Agrarian Research (INIA). It's also known as the Monastery of the Presidency because for its resemblance to a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
. It is currently the headquarters of the
Ministry of the Presidency The Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory (MPR) is the department of the Government of Spain which assures the link between the different Ministries and the Prime Minister and is responsible for the relations ...
.


General Commission Room

Inside of the INIA building takes place the meetings of the General Commission of Secretaries of State and Undersecretaries, the body responsible for preparing the matters to be discussed in the Council of Ministers.


Spokesperson Building

It was built in 1950 as another branch of the
Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
, formerly the laboratory where the seeds were analyzed. When the government's headquarters were moved to Moncloa, it went on to house the Information Office. Between 1988 and 1993 and between 2000 and 2002, the building was the headquarters of a ministerial department when the Office was elevated to the rank of Ministry. Currently the building houses the Secretariat of State for Press. Among its rooms it has the Press Room, where the journalists have their own place to work and the Press Centre, where the spokesperson and other ministers hold the press briefing after the Council of Ministers meetings.


Other buildings

The whole complex is composed of 16 buildings where the different services of the Prime Minister's Office are distributed such as security, protocol, health service, etc.


Prime Minister's Office

The Prime Minister's Office lies within the Moncloa Palace. It is staffed by a mix of career Civil Servants and Advisers. The highest ranking of the Office is the
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
which is a political appointment on which the rest of the Office officials depend.


Current positions within the Office of the Prime Minister

* On September 14, 2018, Pau Vicent Marí Klose was appointed High Commissioner for the fight against child poverty after María Luisa Carcedo, the previous high commissioner was promoted to
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...
. * On March 1, 2019, Jorge Mijangos Blanco was appointed Chief of the Protocol Department replacing Andrés Costilludo Gómez who was the Director of the Protocol Department of PM
Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...
(and of PM Sánchez between June 2018 and March 2019). * On March 22, 2019, Pau Vincet Marí Klose was dismissed by the Prime Minister because Klose wanted to be candidate in the 2019 general election and it wasn't compatible with the office. Since then, the Director of the Office of the High Commissioner, Sandra León Alfonso is the Acting High Commissioner. * On April 5, 2019, Alberto Pozas Fernández resigned as Director-General for National Information after a possible case of espionage to political rivals in previous legislatures was uncovered in which he could be involved. Since then, the Deputy Director-General José María Caballero assumed the office as Acting Director-General. *On January 13, 2020, Finance Minister
María Jesús Montero María Jesús Montero Cuadrado (born 4 February 1966), is a Spanish hospital administrator and politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) who has been serving as Minister of Finance and Civil Service under Prime Minister Pedro S ...
replaced Education Minister Isabel Celaá as Government Spokesperson after the Cabinet reshuffle. *On January 15, 2020, the deputy chief of staff, Andrea Gavela Llopis, was dismissed with no replacement. *On January 23, 2020, Francisco José Salazar Rodríguez MP, was appointed deputy chief of staff. *On April 7, 2021, the director of the Department for Regional Information, Jesús Javier Perea Cortijo, was appointed Secretary of State for Migration and he was replaced by Raquel González Redondo on April 14. *In July 2021, the prime minister carried out a deep reform of the Cabinet that entailed the replacement of the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff, the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, and the Secretary of State for Press, among others.


Structure of the Prime Minister's Office

* Prime Minister's Cabinet *:It is the main body of the Office. It coordinates and oversees the rest of the departments. It is directed by the Chief of Staff. * Secretariat of State for Press *: It's the body that assumes the competencies over press. The
Secretary of State for Press The Secretary of State for Press, also known as Secretary of State for Communication (SECOM) is a high-ranking official of the Office of the Spanish Prime Minister in charge of the government's communication policy. This position must not to be ...
is in charge of this body, but depends from the Government's Spokesperson. ** Department for National Information ** Department for International Information **Department for Regional Information **Department for Economic Information **Digital Department **Information Logistics Unit **Institutional Advertising Unit **Deputy Directorate-General for Analysis and Documentation * Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff ** Department for National Affairs *** Education, Science and Culture Unit *** Equality and Social Policies Unit *** Justice and Interior Unit ***Fair Transition and Rural Environment Unit ***Transports, Housing and Consumer Affairs Unit *** Coordination Unit ** Department for Political Affairs *** Macroeconomic and Financial Policies Unit *** Socio-Labor Policies Unit ** Department for Institutional Affairs **Department for Analysis and Studies * General Secretariat of the Office ** Office of the Deputy Secretary-General ** Department of Protocol ** Department of Security **Department for Planning and Monitoring of Government Activity * General Secretariat for International Affairs, European Union, G20 and Global Security ** Department for International Affairs and Global Security ** Department for European Affairs and G20 * Department of Homeland Security


References


External links


Official website of the Presidency of the Government of Spain
{{Authority control
Moncloa Moncloa-Aravaca is a district of the municipality of Madrid, Spain. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, spanning across both banks of the Manzanares. It is made up of the neighborhoods of Aravaca, Argüelles, Casa de Campo, Ciud ...
Palaces in Madrid Prime ministerial residences Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Madrid Spanish Prime Minister's Office Buildings and structures in Ciudad Universitaria neighborhood, Madrid