The first government of

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. O ...

was formed on 18 April 2004, following the latter's election as

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...

by the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

on 16 April and his swearing-in on 17 April, as a result of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(PSOE) emerging as the largest parliamentary force at the

2004 Spanish general election A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 14 March 2004, to elect the members of the 8th . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 259 seats in the Senate. Incumbent prime minister José María Azna ...

. It succeeded the second Aznar government and was the

Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...

from 18 April 2004 to 14 April 2008, a total of days, or . The cabinet comprised members of the PSOE (including its sister party, the

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (, PSC–PSOE) is a social democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socia ...

, PSC) and a number of independents. It was automatically dismissed on 10 March 2008 as a consequence of the 2008 general election, but remained in acting capacity until the next government was sworn in.

Investiture

Cabinet changes

Zapatero's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure: *On 7 April 2006,

José Bono José Bono Martínez (born 14 December 1950) is a politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He served as President of the Congress of Deputies during the 9th Legislature. Before that, he was the Minister of Defence of Spain fr ...

's stepping down as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

out of personal motives, a decision which had been taken throughout the months prior, led to the first cabinet reshuffle of Zapatero's premiership.

José Antonio Alonso José Antonio Alonso Suárez (28 March 1960 – 2 February 2017) was a Spanish judge and politician, member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was member of the Spanish Cabinet from 2004 to 2008. Born in León, Spain, León, he w ...

replaced Bono in Defence, and in turn he was replaced by Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. María Jesús San Segundo was replaced by Mercedes Cabrera as Minister of Education and Science. The new ministers were sworn into office on 11 April. *On 8 September 2006,

José Montilla José Montilla Aguilera (; born 15 January 1955 in Iznájar, Andalusia, Spain) is a Spanish politician who is currently a member of the Spanish Senate. He was the 128th President of Generalitat de Catalunya. He became the First Secretary of ...

stepped down as Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade in order to run as the

(PSC)'s candidate for

President of the Government of Catalonia The president of the Government of Catalonia (, ) is head of government of Catalonia, leading the executive branch of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalan government. It is one of the bodies that the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia stipul ...

in the 2006 Catalan regional election. He was succeeded by

Mayor of Barcelona This is a list of mayors of Barcelona since 1835. The Mayor of Barcelona is the highest political authority of the City Council of Barcelona, Barcelona City Council. In accordance with Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, on the General Electoral Regi ...

Joan Clos. *On 12 February 2007,

Mariano Fernández Bermejo Mariano Fernández Bermejo (born 1948) is a Spanish jurist and politician, who served as justice minister of Spain from 2007 to 2009. Early life and education Bermejo was born in Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila, in 1948. He holds a PhD in law, whi ...

replaced Juan Fernando López Aguilar as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, after the latter's decision to lead the

(PSOE) into the 2007 Canarian regional election. López Aguilar had been nominated unopposed as the party's leading candidate for

President of the Canary Islands The president of the Canary Islands is the head of government of the Canary Islands, one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain, while the monarch Felipe VI of Spain, Felipe VI remains the head of state as Monarchy of Spain, king of Spain (an ...

on 28 October 2006, after several months of speculation. *On 9 July 2007, a second major cabinet reshuffle saw

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), ...

replacing Elena Salgado as Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, who in turn replaced Jordi Sevilla in the Public Administrations ministry. María Antonia Trujillo was replaced by

Carme Chacón Carme Maria Chacón Piqueras (; March 13, 1971April 9, 2017) was a Spanish lawyer, lecturer and politician who was minister of Defence from 2008 to 2011 in the cabinet led by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. A member of t ...

as Minister of Housing, and César Antonio Molina became the new officeholder of the

Culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

portfolio replacing Carmen Calvo.

Council of Ministers

The

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

was structured into the offices for the

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, the two deputy prime ministers, 16

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 ...

and the post of the spokesperson of the Government.

Departmental structure

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's first government was organised into several superior and governing units, whose number, powers and hierarchical structure varied depending on the ministerial department. ;Unit/body rank *() Secretary of state *()

Undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

*()

Director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

*() Autonomous agency *()

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...

Notes

References

External links

Governments. Juan Carlos I (20.11.1975 ...)
CCHS-CSIC (in Spanish).
Governments of Spain 2004–2011. Ministers of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish).

Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Zapatero government 1 2004 establishments in Spain 2008 disestablishments in Spain Cabinets established in 2004 Cabinets disestablished in 2008 Council of Ministers (Spain)