The first government of

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

was formed on 6 May 1996, 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 4 May and his swearing-in on 5 May, as a result of the People's Party (PP) emerging as the largest parliamentary force at the

1996 Spanish general election A General elections in Spain, general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 3 March 1996, to elect the members of the 6th . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 257 seats in the Senate of Spain, Senat ...

. It succeeded the fourth González 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 6 May 1996 to 28 April 2000, a total of days, or . The cabinet comprised members of the PP and a number of independents. It was automatically dismissed on 13 March 2000 as a consequence of the 2000 general election, but remained in acting capacity until the next government was sworn in.

Investiture

Cabinet changes

Aznar's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure: *On 16 July 1998,

Josep Piqué Josep Piqué Camps (21 February 1955 – 6 April 2023) was a Spanish politician of the conservative People's Party (PP). He served in ministerial departments under the José María Aznar government. He also helmed the People's Party of Catalo ...

was assigned the functions of Spokesperson of the Government after the resignation of

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría (born 9 January 1940) is a Costa Rican economist, lawyer, businessman and politician who served as President of Costa Rica from 1998 to 2002. He was minister of planning from 1968 to 1970 and minister of the ...

Secretary of State for Press The Secretary of State for Press, also known as Secretary of State for Communication (SECOM) is a high-ranking official of the Office of the Spanish Prime Minister in charge of the government's communication policy. This position must not to be ...

on 10 July. The office had been vacant ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' since the new government was sworn into office in May 1996, but Rodríguez exercised as '' de facto'' spokesperson by attending press conferences held after the councils of ministers until his resignation and Piqué's subsequent appointment. *On 19 January 1999, following the nomination of Javier Arenas and

Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma (; born 3 January 1952) is a Spanish politician. As member of the People's Party (PP), she served as President of the Senate between 1999 and 2002 (becoming the first female politician to have held the post), a ...

to become new secretary-general of the People's Party (PP) and

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

, respectively, a cabinet reshuffle ensued which saw Manuel Pimentel being named as new Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, whereas

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (, ; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

replaced Aguirre in Education and Culture.

Ángel Acebes Ángel Acebes Paniagua (born 3 July 1958) is a Spanish politician. Early life and education Acebes holds a degree in law from the University of Salamanca. Political career Acebes has been a member of parliament for the right-wing People's Pa ...

was appointed to fill Rajoy's vacancy in the Public Administrations ministry. *On 30 April 1999,

Jesús Posada Jesús Posada Moreno (born 4 April 1945) is the former President of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish Cortes Generales. He has worked as a civil engineer and economist. From 1979 to 1981 he served as civil governor of the ...

replaced

Loyola de Palacio Ignacia de Loyola de Palacio y del Valle Lersundi (16 September 1950 – 13 December 2006) was a Spanish politician. She was among the first women to rise to political prominence in Spain during the early years of reconstituted democracy. She ...

in the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food portfolio after the latter was nominated on 22 April to run as the PP leading candidate in the

1999 European Parliament election The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and ...

. *On 21 February 2000, Manuel Pimentel resigned as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs as a result of a scandal involving irregularities conducted by one of his closest collaborators, Juan Aycart, leading Aznar to appoint Juan Carlos Aparicio as a replacement.

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 Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

, 14

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 María Aznar'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 1996–2004. Ministers of José María Aznar
Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish).

Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Aznar government 1 1996 establishments in Spain 2000 disestablishments in Spain Cabinets established in 1996 Cabinets disestablished in 2000 Council of Ministers (Spain)