The 13th Cortes Generales was a meeting of the

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meet ...

, the national

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 ...

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 ...

, with the membership determined primarily by the results of the general election held on 28 April 2019. The cortes met for the first time on 21 May 2019 and was dissolved prematurely on 24 September 2019.

Election

The 13th Spanish general election under the 1978 Constitution was held on 28 April 2019. It saw the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

(PSOE) become the largest party in the Senate, the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the Cortes Generales, for the first time since

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, as well as the largest party in the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

, the lower house of the Cortes Generales, for the first time since

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, but falling short of a majority.

History

The new Senate met for the first time on 21 May 2019 and elected Manuel Cruz (PSOE) as

President of the Senate of Spain The president of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Spanish Senate, the upper house of Spain's Cortes Generales. It is the fourth authority of the country after the Monarch (Head of State), the Prime Minister (Head of Government) and ...

. The new Congress of Deputies also met for the first time on 21 May 2019 and after two rounds of voting

Meritxell Batet Meritxell Batet Lamaña (born 19 March 1973) is a Spanish jurist and politician member of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia, currently serving as President of the Congress of Deputies. Prior to this, she served as Minister for Territorial Poli ...

(PSOE) was elected as

President of the Congress of Deputies The president of the Congress of Deputies ( es, Presidente del Congreso de los Diputados) is the speaker of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament). The president is elected among the members o ...

with the support of the Unidos Podemos-En Comú Podem (UP-ECP) and various nationalist and regionalist parties. In July 2019

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

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 ...

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 ...

(POSE) failed to secure the necessary votes in congress to form a government after the failure of coalition talks with UP–ECP. Sánchez announced on 17 September 2019 that an election would be held on 10 November 2019, the fourth in as many years. The 13th Cortes Generales was formally dissolved on 24 September 2019.

Members

Senate

Congress of Deputies

References

{{Reflist 2019 establishments in Spain 2019 disestablishments in Spain Cortes Generales