The first government of

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 ...

was formed on 8 July 1976, following the latter's appointment as

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 ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

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 ...

on 3 July and his swearing-in on 5 July, as a result of

Carlos Arias Navarro Carlos Arias Navarro, 1st Marquis of Arias-Navarro (11 December 1908 – 27 November 1989) was one of the best-known Spanish politicians during the Francoist regime. Arias Navarro was a moderate leader in the last phase of Francoism and the b ...

's resignation from the post on 1 July 1976. It succeeded the second Arias Navarro government and was 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 , da ...

from 8 July 1976 to 5 July 1977, a total of days, or . Suárez's first cabinet comprised members from the

National Movement Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

(with the notable absences of

FET y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...

and the

Opus Dei Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei ( la, Praelatura Sanctae Crucis et Operis Dei), is an institution of the Catholic Church whose members seek personal Christian holiness and strive to imbue their work a ...

), but also by members of the reformist 'Tácito' group, a number of political associations that could not yet be legalized as parties—such as the

Spanish People's Union {{Infobox political party , name = Spanish People's Union , native_name = Unión del Pueblo Español , logo = Unión del Pueblo Español.png , logo_size = 190px , colorcode = {{party color, Spanis ...

(UDPE) and the

Spanish Democratic Union The Spanish Democratic Union ( es, Unión Democrática Española; UDE) was a Spanish political party founded in 1975 as a political association, then as a party from August 1976. Among the party's most notable members were government ministers in ...

(UDE)—and the Federation of Independent Studies (FEDISA) political society. Following the death of

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in ti ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 19 ...

, the regulations of the

Cortes Españolas The Cortes Españolas ( en, Spanish Courts), known informally as the Cortes franquistas ( en, Francoist Courts), was the name of the legislative institution promulgated by the '' Caudillo'' of Spain Francisco Franco which was established on 17 ...

had been amended to allow legislators to group into parliamentary factions, one of whom—the Independent Parliamentary Group (GPI), which would later become the Independent Social Federation (FSI) party—being represented in 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 ...

through

Rodolfo Martín Villa Rodolfo Martín Villa (born 3 October 1934) is a Spanish engineer and politician, who served in various capacities in the cabinets of the Spanish transition to democracy, including interior minister and first deputy prime minister. He is being ...

. On 7 April 1977, the National Movement and the FET y de las JONS party were officially disbanded, and many cabinet members—who had gone their own separate ways to a number of political parties ahead of the 1977 general election—joined into the nascent Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

under Suárez's leadership upon its formation in May 1977.

Cabinet changes

Suárez's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure: *On 23 September 1976,

Fernando de Santiago Fernando de Santiago y Díaz de Mendívil (23 July 1910 – 6 November 1994) was a conservative politician who served as deputy prime minister of Spain and briefly as acting prime minister during the Spanish transition to democracy in the ...

was replaced as First Deputy Prime Minister by

Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, 1st Marquess of Gutiérrez Mellado (30 April 1912 – 15 December 1995) was a Spanish Army officer and politician who played a relevant role during the Spanish transition to democracy especially with regard to dem ...

. * Minister of the Navy

Gabriel Pita da Veiga Gabriel Pita da Veiga y Sanz (31 January 1909 – 8 May 1993) was a Spanish admiral who served as Minister of the Navy of Spain between 1973 and 1977, during the Francoist dictatorship. References 1909 births 1993 deaths Defence ministe ...

announced his resignation on 12 April 1977 over personal disagreements with the government's decision to legalize the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...

(PCE) on 9 April; he was replaced by Admiral

Pascual Pery Pascual Pery Junquera (17 October 1911 – 20 June 1989) was a Spanish admiral who served as Minister of the Navy of Spain in 1977, during the Francoist dictatorship Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship ...

on 15 April. *On 23 April 1977,

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 ...

resigned as

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tan ...

in order to organize the newly-formed Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) ahead of the

1977 Spanish general election The 1977 Spanish general election was held on Wednesday, 15 June 1977, to elect the Spanish Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 207 seats in the Senate. It was the fir ...

Carlos Pérez de Bricio Carlos Pérez de Bricio (1927 – 16 July 2022) was a Spanish businessman and politician who was the minister of industry from 1975 to 1977. Biography Pérez de Bricio was born in Madrid in 1927. He was the official of the Special Technical Cust ...

took on the ordinary duties of the affairs of the ministry until Calvo-Sotelo's successor, Luis Ortiz González, could take office on 11 May 1977.

Council of Ministers

The

was structured into the offices for 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 ...

, the two

deputy prime ministers 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, ...

and 19

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 ...

, including one

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Governments. Juan Carlos I (20.11.1975 ...)
CCHS-CSIC (in Spanish).
Governments of Spain 1975–1977. Ministers of Carlos Arias Navarro and Adolfo Suárez
Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish).

Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).
Biographies

Royal Academy of History The Real Academia de la Historia (RAH, 'Royal Academy of History') is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history " ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the ...

(in Spanish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Suárez government 1 1976 establishments in Spain 1977 disestablishments in Spain Cabinets established in 1976 Cabinets disestablished in 1977 Council of Ministers (Spain)