The Ministry of Culture and Sport (MCD) is the department of 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 ...

responsible for the promotion, protection and dissemination of the Spanish historical heritage,

national museums A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

, books, reading and literary creation, of

cinematographic Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

and audiovisual activities and of national

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

and

libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...

. It is also responsible for the promotion and dissemination of

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, as well as the promotion of cultural cooperation and, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, of international relations in the field of culture. Likewise, the MCD is responsible for the proposal and execution of the government' policy on

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. The MCD is headed by the Culture Minister, a Cabinet member who is appointed by the

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

on advice 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 i ...

. Like 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 ...

, it does not have any Secretariat of State and is organized through a General Secretariat (with the rank of undersecretariat) and the Ministry's undersecretariat. The

National Sports Council The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka Dhaka ( or ...

is also part of the Ministry. The current Minister of Culture and Sport, since 12 July 2021, is

Miquel Iceta Miquel Iceta Llorens (born 17 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), currently serving as minister of Culture and Sport of the Spanish government since 2021 and as first secretary of the PS ...

History

Early period

The Ministry of Culture was created during the Spanish transition to democracy. However, the government action on culture dates back to the 18th century. From the beginning of the century and promoted by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, it appeared the first Royal Academies such as the

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

(1713),

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

(1738) or Fine Arts (1752), all of them dependent from the Secretariat of State. With the development and specialization of the

Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, the promotion and protection of culture was assumed by the Ministry of Development between 1834 and 1837 when it assumed powers over theaters, and all kinds of public amusements and recreation, as well as the Conservatories of Arts and Music, by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

between 1837 and 1847 and Development again between 1847 and 1851, by the Ministry of Grace and Justice between 1851 and 1855 and again by the Ministry of Development until 1900. The Budget Act of 1900 created the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts which assumed the responsibilities on culture until 1977. During this period, the Directorate-General for Fine Arts was created in 1915 which had competences on civil constructions related to National Monuments, Museums, Artistic Schools, Painting, Music Schools and other entities of an artistic nature and in 1939 it was created the Directorate-General for Archives and Libraries. Both merged in 1974 in a new Directorate-General for Artistic and Cultural Heritage. In 1946 it was created the Directorate-General for Cinematography and Theater which main task was to censor this cultural sectors. It was suppressed in 1967.

Democracy

Finally, in 1977 it was created an independent Culture Ministry which assumed the Directorate-General for Artistic and Cultural Heritage from the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, the responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Family, Youth and Sport from 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 ...

and the information and cultural functions of the

Ministry of Information and Tourism The Ministry of Information and Tourism () was a ministerial department of the Government of Spain created in 1951 during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to control information and the censorship to press and radio. The ministry also assume ...

(cinema, theaters, music). Likewise, the Secretariat of State for Culture was created and it also assumed

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

. The final structure established nine general directions: Artistic Heritage, Archives and Museums; Cultural Diffusion; Books and Libraries; Music Theater and Shows; Cinematography; Community Development; Youth; and Broadcasting and Television. It also assumed organically the Superior Council of Sports. In 1981 the Ministry ceded to the City of Madrid the management of the

Teatro Español Teatro may refer to: * Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...

. In 1985 the Ministry suffered a big reshuffle because of the devolution of cultural powers to the recently created

Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. At the same time it was created the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) and the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA). Between 1996 and 2004 the Ministry of Culture was merged with the Ministry of Education although the Secretariat of State for Culture was maintained. In 2004 it was created again and in 2011 the Ministry assumed the competencies on bullfighting. It was suppressed again in 2011 until 2018 when the new prime minister

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 ...

recovered this Ministry.

Structure

The Ministry's structure is: *The General Secretariat for Culture and Sport. **The Directorate-General for Books and Promotion of Reading. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for the Promotion of Books, Reading and Spanish Literature. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Library Coordination. **The Directorate-General for Cultural Industries, Intellectual Property and Cooperation. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for the Promotion of Cultural Industries. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Intellectual Property. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Cultural Cooperation with the Autonomous Communities. ** The Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for the Management and Coordination of Cultural Assets. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Records and Documentation of Historical Heritage. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Spain. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for State Museums. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for State Archives. **The Technical Cabinet. **The Deputy Directorate-General for International Relations and European Union * The

(CSD). ** The Directorate-General for Sports. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for High Competition. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Sports Promotion and Innovation. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Women and Sport. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for the Sport Legal Regime. *** The General Secretariat. ** The President's Cabinet. ** The Deputy Directorate-General for Professional Sports and Financial Control. ** The Press Office. * The Undersecretariat of Culture and Sport. ** The General Technical Secretariat. ** The Budget Office. ** The Deputy Directorate-General for Economic Management and General Affairs. ** The Deputy Directorate-General for Human Resources and Services Inspection. ** The Technical Cabinet. ** The Information Technology Division. Public organisms under direction of Ministry of Culture and Sport: * The Reina Sofía Museum. *The

Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

. * The National Library of Spain. * The National Institute of Performing Arts and Music. *The Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts. *The Spanish Anti-Doping Agency.

List of officeholders

Office name: *Ministry of Culture and Welfare (1977) *Ministry of Culture (1977–1996; 2004–2011) *Ministry of Culture and Sports (2018–present)

Awards given out

Established in 1975 and first presented in 1976, the Ministry of Culture awards the

Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( es, Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. History The prize was established in 1975 ...

each year to honor the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in th ...

Notes

References

External links

Official site of the Spanish Ministry of Culture
(in Spanish) {{authority control

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

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 ...