The Ministry of Health (MISAN) is the department of the

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responsible for proposing and executing the government policy on

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, planning and providing

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

as well as the exercise of the powers of the

General State Administration The General State Administration ( es, Administración General del Estado) 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. ...

to assure citizens the right to health protection. The Ministry is headquartered in the

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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 ...

, opposite the

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Healthcare in Spain Spain operates a universal health care system. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, total health spending accounted for 9.4% of GDP in Spain in 2011, slightly above the OECD average of 9.3%. The Spanish health ca ...

is provided by the National Health System, a decentralized organization composed by the regional health systems and the National Institute of Health Management, the health agency of the central government that provides health care to the autonomous cities of

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and

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. According to

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(2017 data), Spain spends 8.9% of GDP on health, approximately $104 billion (

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

86 billion). According to the Annual Report of the National Health System 2019, the total expenditure of the Spanish health system in 2018 was 109.9 billion euros (77.4 billion corresponding to the public sector and 32.5 billion to the private sector). This represents 2,351 euros per capita and an expenditure of 9.1% of the Spanish GDP. As of 2018, regarding human resources, the NHS had 780,377 professionals. Of these, 188,166 are medical professionals, 274,633 nursing professionals, and 317,578 are other types of health professionals. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Health, who is appointed by the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

at request 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 ...

. The Minister is assisted by three main officials, the Secretary of State for Health, the Secretary-General for Digital Health, Information and Innovation of the National Health System and the Under Secretary of Health. The current Health Minister is Carolina Darias.

History

Early period

References can be found to the action of Government in public health and welfare in the 19th century. The Royal Decree of 9 November 1832 created a Ministry of Development, which included powers over "the field of health with the infirmaries, water and mineral baths" and "charitable institutions". A further Royal Decree of 10 March 1847, created a Department of Health, one of six that made up what is now 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" * Ministry ...

First ministry

State powers in this area remained with this department until 1933, when the Undersecretariat for Health and Charity was transferred to the

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

, which then became known as the Ministry of Labour and Health. However, the first ministry focused on health was created on 4 November 1936, as the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance, with a woman holding a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

portfolio for the first time in the history of Spain:

Federica Montseny Frederica Montseny i Mañé (; 1905–1994) was a Catalan Anarchism, anarchist and intellectual who served as Ministry of Health (Spain), Minister of Health and Social Assistance in the Government of the Second Spanish Republic, Spanish Republi ...

. This ministry was short-lived. When the Prime Minister of the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...

, replaced

Francisco Largo Caballero Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist. He was one of the historic leaders of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and of the Workers' General Union (UGT). In 1936 and 19 ...

, the ministry was abolished and its powers were transferred to the Ministry of Labour (Social Assistance affairs) and to the Ministry of Public Instruction (Health affairs) by a Decree of May 1937. After 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 ...

, the responsibility returned to the

until 1977.

Democratic period

The Health Ministry was created again in the Constituent Legislature in 1977, integrating responsibilities for Health that were hitherto managed by the

, and the powers of the Undersecretariat for

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

. Royal Decree 1558 of 4 July 1977 established the ministry in its current form, including responsibility for Social Security. Staffing consisted of two undersecretariats (one for the domestic governance of the Department and other focused on Health), a Technical General Secretariat and six Directorates-General: Staff, Management and Finance; Social Benefits; Social Services; Healthcare; Pharmaceutical Management and Public Health and Veterinary Health. For a short period between February and November 1981, Health was once again merged with

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

. Royal Decree 2823/1981, restored it to full ministerial rank but this time without social security which remained within the Labour ministry. With this reform the Ministry acquired competencies over Consumers Affairs (through the National Institute for Consumers Affairs). During the first years of the premiership of Felipe González and the National Health System and the National Transplant Organization were created thanks primarily to the impulse of the minister

Ernest Lluch Ernest Lluch Martín, (21 January 1937 – 21 November 2000) was a Spanish economist and politician, member of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC). He was Minister of Health and Consumption from 1982 to 1986 in the first Spanish Socialist Wor ...

. With the victory of the People's Party in the general election of 1996,

José Manuel Romay Beccaría José Manuel Romay Beccaría (born 18 January 1934) is a Spanish lawyer and politician. During his political life, he has been regional minister in several occasions in the Regional Government of Galicia, Member of the Congress of Deputies and S ...

was appointed Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, a position he held throughout the 6th Legislature. Under his direction was created in 1997, the

Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices ( es, Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios; AEMPS) is a regulatory and autonomous agency of the Government of Spain that acts as the highest sanitary authority in the countr ...

. In the 7th Legislature

Celia Villalobos Celia Villalobos Talero (born 18 April 1949) is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician. Born in Benalmádena, Province of Málaga, she was the mayor of Málaga from 1995 to 2000. She left office when she joined José María Aznar's cabi ...

became minister (2000-2002) and achieved notoriety by her handling

mad cow disease Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...

. She was succeeded by

Ana Pastor Julián Ana María Pastor Julián (born 11 November 1957) is a Spanish doctor and politician for the People's Party who served as President of the Congress of Deputies from 19 July 2016 to 20 May 2019. Previously she was Minister of Health from 2002 t ...

(2002-2004). The mad cow crisis precipitated the creation in 2011 of the Spanish Food Safety Agency, named since 2007 as Spanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency. At the beginning of the 8th legislature

Elena Salgado Elena Salgado Méndez () (born 12 May 1949 in Ourense, Galicia, Spain) is a Spanish politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain and held several ministerial portfolios during her politi ...

assumed as Health Minister (2004-2007). With her, in 2004 the National Plan on Drugs, belonged to the Ministry of the Interior, was shifted to the Ministry of Health. Eight months before the end of the legislature, the scientific

Bernat Soria Bernat Soria Escoms (born 7 May 1951) is a Spanish scientist. He is also affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, for whom he served as Minister of Health from 2007 to 2009. He was educated at the University of Valencia (MD, PhD), an ...

assumed the office of Health Minister. In the next

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

Soria was confirmed as Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, and he was succeeded by

Trinidad Jiménez Trinidad Jiménez García-Herrera (: born 4 June 1962) is a Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) politician and was Spain's Foreign Affairs Minister. She is widely considered to be a confidante of former Spanish prime ministers Felipe Gonzál ...

in 2009 following a cabinet reshuffle. Under Jiménez Social Policy was returned to the health portfolio, including the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (IMSERSO), previously under

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. Under minister

Leire Pajín Leire Pajín Iraola (born September 16, 1976) is a Spanish socialist politician. She served as a minister under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Early life and education Pajín was born in San Sebastián but moved with her parents to Benidorm wh ...

(October 2010-December 2011), responsibilities on Equality issues were added to her duties, previously under a separate ministry of its own, and also assuming the Institute for Women and the Institute for Youth. At the beginning of the 10th legislature

Ana Mato Ana Mato Adrover (born 24 September 1959 in Madrid) is a Spanish politician. From 2011 to 2014 she served as Spain's Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality in the Rajoy Cabinet. On 26 November 2014 she resigned due to the involvement o ...

became minister and the Ministry assumed (only functionally) the Charles III Health Institute (which still belonged to the Ministry of Economy). In addition, in January 2014 the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition and the National Institute for Consumer Affairs merged giving rise to the new Spanish Agency for Consumer Affairs, Food Safety and Nutrition. On 24 November 2014, Mato resigned after being implicated in the corruption case known as Gürtel. On 3 December 2014, Alfonso Alonso succeeded her. After the 2016 cabinet reshuffle,

Dolors Montserrat Dolors Montserrat i Montserrat (born 18 September 1973, in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia) is a Spanish lawyer and politician who serves as Member of the European Parliament. Previously, she has served as Minister of Health, Social Services and Equalit ...

was appointed Minister of Health and one of his first measures was to raise the rank of the Director of the National Transplant Organization to Director-General in order to strengthen this institution. Barely 1 year later after the assumption of Montserrat, the Güertel case that provoked the resignation of minister Mato also provoked in June 2018 the fall of the Rajoy government through a

motion of no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

driven by the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

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 ...

. After the success of the motion, Sánchez appointed Carmen Montón as Health Minister and the Ministry transferred the competences over equality to 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 ...

. Montón also strengthen the consumers affairs competences by recovering the Directorate-General for Consumers Affairs and regained

universal healthcare Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

for undocumented immigrants. She resigned after three months in office after a degree scandal and María Luisa Carcedo succeeded her. Carcedo continued with the program established by Montón on fight against pseudosciences and recovering the Observatory of Women's Health. A major restructuring occurred in 2020. The Department of Health lost all its competences on consumer affairs and social servicies, that were transferred to the ministries of

Consumer Affairs Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

and of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda, respectively. However, in exchange, the department assumed the government policies on drugs. During this time, Carcedo was replaced by

Salvador Illa Salvador Illa Roca (born 5 May 1966) is a Spanish politician who served as Minister of Health of Spain from 2020 to 2021. He has been the Secretary for Organization of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia since 2016, and the candidate for the p ...

, who had to face the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. It was precisely as a result of this pandemic that in August 2020 the department underwent a major reform in its structure, recovering the position of Secretary of State for Health (which already existed between 1979 and 1981) as second-in-command and creating the General Secretariat for Digital Health, Information and Innovation of the National Health System.

Structure

The Ministry of Health is organised in the following superior bodies: * The Secretariat of State for Health ** The Directorate-General for Public Health ***The Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies ** The Directorate-General for the Common Catalogue of Services of the National Health System and Pharmacy ** The Directorate-General for Professional Management **The Government Delegation for the National Drugs Plan * The General Secretariat for Digital Health, Information and Innovation of the National Health System ** The Directorate-General for Digital Health and Information Systems for the National Health System * The Undersecretariat of Health ** Technical General Secretariat In addition, the Department has two advisory bodies: * The Advisory Council for Health and Social Services, as an advisory and assistance body in the formulation of health policy. * The Committee of the professions of the health and social sector.

Ministry agencies

Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) is a regulatory agency of the Government of Spain responsible for promoting food safety and for providing guarantees and objective information to consumers and economic agents of the Spani ...

* National Transplant Organization *National Institute of Health Management

List of officeholders

Office name: *Ministry of Health and Social Assistance (1936–1937) *Minister of Health and Social Security (1977–1981) *Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs (1981–2009) *Minister of Health and Social Policy (2009–2010) *Minister of Health, Social Policy and Equality (2010–2011) *Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality (2011–2018) *Minister of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare (2018–2020) *Minister of Health (2020–present)

Notes

References

External links

Ministry of Health
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Health (Spain)

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

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 ...

Ministries established in 1977 1977 establishments in Spain

Health care in Spain