The first government of

Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...

was formed on 7 June 2018, 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 1 June and his swearing-in on 2 June, as a result of the success of a motion of no confidence against

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 ...

. It succeeded the second Rajoy 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 7 June 2018 to 13 January 2020, 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 nicknamed as the "beautiful government" () by the media, because its composition was purposely leaked in a slow cascade of surprise, well-received announcements in the days prior to its formation in order to heighten the positive media coverage on the new appointments. It also became the government with the most female ministers in the country's history and in the world at the time, with 11 out of 17

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 ...

held by women or 64.7% of the total. The government was defeated in the parliamentary vote of the 2019 General State Budget bill, prompting Sánchez to dissolve the Cortes and call a

snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...

; as a result, this was the shortest government since the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

—not counting acting periods—lasting for 10 months before an election was held. It was automatically dismissed on 29 April 2019 as a consequence of the April 2019 general election, but remained in acting capacity until the next government was sworn in.

Investiture

Cabinet changes

Sánchez's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure: *On 13 June 2018, Màxim Huerta stepped down as Minister of Culture and Sports after it was revealed that he had been sanctioned for using a

shell corporation A shell corporation is a company or corporation with no significant assets or operations often formed to obtain financing before beginning business. Shell companies were primarily vehicles for lawfully hiding the identity of their beneficial ...

as a means for

tax avoidance Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable. A tax shelter is one type of tax avoidance, and tax havens are jurisdictions that facilitate reduced taxe ...

between 2006 and 2008. He was succeeded by José Guirao. *On 11 September 2018, Carmen Montón announced her resignation as Minister of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare after evidence was uncovered that she had obtained a master's degree from the King Juan Carlos University without attending most classes, amid other irregularities. She was succeeded by María Luisa Carcedo. From 29 April 2019, Sánchez's cabinet took on acting duties for the duration of the government formation process resulting from the April 2019 general election. This lasted for an estimated days and saw a new general election being held in the meantime. A number of ministers renounced their posts throughout this period, with the ordinary duties of their ministries being transferred to other cabinet members as a result of Sánchez being unable to appoint replacements while in acting role. *On 21 May 2019, Meritxell Batet was elected President of the Congress of Deputies of the 13th Legislature, a position incompatible with her post as acting Minister of Territorial Policy and Civil Service. Luis Planas, acting

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889 ...

, took on the ordinary discharge of duties of Batet's vacant ministry. *On 30 November 2019,

Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Spani ...

renounced his position as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in order to become

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Un ...

in the

Von der Leyen Commission Von der Leyen Commission refers to either of two consecutive European Commissions headed by Ursula von der Leyen: * Von der Leyen Commission I (2019–2024) * Von der Leyen Commission II The second von der Leyen Commission is the current Euro ...

. Margarita Robles, acting

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 ...

, took on the ordinary discharge of duties of Borrell's vacant ministry.

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

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, 17

and the post of the spokesperson of the Government.

Departmental structure

Pedro Sánchez'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 of Spain 2011–present. Ministers of Mariano Rajoy and Pedro Sánchez
Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sánchez government 1 Pedro Sánchez 2018 establishments in Spain 2020 disestablishments in Spain Cabinets established in 2018 Cabinets disestablished in 2020 Council of Ministers (Spain)