Understanding Spanish Public Administration: Structure & Bodies
Spanish Public Administration: Structure and Key Bodies
Schema representing a global public administration: Public administration in Spain encompasses the general administration of the state (central, peripheral, foreign public bodies), institutional administration, autonomous administration, and local administration (province, municipality).
Organs of Government: Government vs. Cabinet
Government: The upper body consists of the President, Vice President, and Ministers. Government members are chosen through general elections, and ministers are appointed by the King upon the President’s proposal.
Council of Ministers and Government Delegates
The Council of Ministers and government delegates differ in that delegate committees of government represent the government in specific areas.
Current delegate committees:
- Economic Affairs
- Regional Politics
- Committees for crisis situations
- Delegated government affairs for international intelligence
Delegate committees report to and coordinate with the government, comprising a number of ministers. The Cabinet advises the government.
Higher Bodies of State Administration
The higher bodies of state administration are the Cabinet, committees delegated by the government, the President of the Government, and Ministers.
Formation of the Government
The government is formed by the President, one or more Vice Presidents, and Ministers.
Cabinet Meetings
The meeting of the full government is a Cabinet meeting, called under the direction of the President.
Appointment of Ministers
Ministers are appointed by the King at the proposal of the Prime Minister.
Powers of the Prime Minister and Ministers
Prime Minister:
- Directs defense policy
- Creates and deletes Secretary of State positions
- Appeals of unconstitutionality
- Proposes the dissolution of Parliament to the King
- Coordinates the actions of government members
- Raises a question of trust in the Congress
Ministers:
- Set goals for their respective ministries
- Approve the expenditure of their ministry’s budget
- Determine the internal organization of their ministry
- Direct the actions of higher bodies within the ministry
Hierarchical Structure within Ministries
The hierarchical structure within ministries is as follows:
Ministers — Secretaries of State — Undersecretaries — General Secretaries — Technical Subdirectors
Government Representatives
a) Government representatives exercise the functions of the General Administration of the State in regions, with Sub-Delegates in the provinces and island directors in the islands.
b) Government representatives depend on the government and represent the government to the autonomous communities, while the president of the community represents the state.
c) Sub-delegates direct government services for the general administration of the province and manage and coordinate civil protection in the province.
d) In single-province autonomous communities, the government delegates assume the authority of sub-delegates, except in the community of Madrid, where a sub-delegate exists.
Bodies of the General Administration of State
The bodies that make up the General Administration of the State include diplomatic missions abroad, representations, delegations, and consular offices outside of Spain.
Examples of Public Bodies
Examples include:
- UNED
- RENFE
- Consulates
- Island Directions
- Vice President of the Government
- Central Boards
- Department of Industry Advisory
- Under-direction peripheral village
- Department of Local or public bodies
- Government Delegation
- Minister of the Interior
- Sotsdelegat peripheral
Characteristics of Public Organizations
Public agencies are entities that have specific purposes and can be divided into:
- Autonomous bodies
- Public companies
- Management companies of security societies
- Specific arrangements of public bodies
Audit and Intervention in State Administration
The administration of the general state performs an internal control prior to the execution of expenses. The audit depends on the courts and makes an external control and retrospective accounts of the general state, judging incurred responsibilities of people administering public funds.