The second deputy prime minister of Spain, officially the second vice president of the Government (), is a senior member of the Government of Spain. The office is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the prime minister.
The current second deputy prime minister is Yolanda Díaz, who is also minister of Labour and Social Economy.
History The office was established by the Organic Act of the State of 1967 which allowed for the creation of a Council of Ministers composed of the Prime Minister, one or more Deputy Prime Ministers and the Ministers. However, it was not until 1974, one year after the dictator Francisco Franco split the office of head of government (prime minister) and head of state, that prime minister Arias Navarro appointed Antonio Barrera de Irimo, Minister of Finance as second deputy prime minister.
In Arias Navarro's second term, the Finance Minister Rafael Cabello de Alba was also appointed second deputy prime minister in October 1974. During his third term, Arias Navarro appointed Minister of the Interior Manuel Fraga as second deputy prime minister.
Prime minister Adolfo Suárez appointed his Interior Minister, Alfonso Osorio García and Minister of the Presidency as second deputy prime minister. From 1977 to 1981, Suárez appointed his Finance Ministers as Second Deputies and during his short term, Calvo-Sotelo did the same.
Socialist PM González never appointed a second deputy prime minister during his almost 14 years of premiership. José María Aznar and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero however followed the previous pattern of appointing their Finance Minister as second deputy prime minister. However, a cabinet reshuffle in 2011 appointed the Minister of Territorial Policy and Civil Service, Manuel Chaves as second deputy prime minister.
The conservative PM Mariano Rajoy did not appoint a second deputy prime minister. The subsequent prime minister Pedro Sánchez did not appoint in second deputy prime minister in his first government, but he did in his second term. In March 2021, after the resignation of Pablo Iglesias as second deputy prime minister, the tradition of appointing a minister of economic affairs as second deputy PM was resumed. In July 2021, Labour and Social Economy Minister Yolanda Díaz was appointed as second deputy PM.
Powers The office of second deputy prime minister does not possess special constitutional powers beyond its responsibility as a member of the Council of Ministers. The position is regulated in the Government Act of 1997 and it only specifies that the raison d'être of the office is to replace the Prime Minister when the office is vacant, or the premier is absent or ill. The second deputy prime minister only assumes this responsibility if the first deputy is unable to fill the role.
List of officeholders Office name: Second Vice Presidency of the Government (1974–1975; 1977–1979; 1981–1982; 1996–2000; 2003–2011; 2020–present) Vice Presidency of the Government for Interior Affairs (1975–1976) Second Vice Presidency of the Government, in charge of the Coordination of the Economic Affairs (1979–1981) Second Vice Presidency of the Government for Economic Affairs (2000–2003) Vice Presidency of the Government for Territorial Policy (2011)
Portrait Name Term of office Party Government Prime Minister Antonio Barrera de Irimo 1974 1974 NationalMovement Arias Navarro I Carlos Arias Navarro Rafael Cabello de Alba 1974 1975 NationalMovement Manuel Fraga 1975 1976 NationalMovement Arias Navarro II Alfonso Osorio 1976 1977 NationalMovement Suárez I Adolfo Suárez Enrique Fuentes Quintana 1977 1978 Independent Suárez II Fernando Abril Martorell 1978 1979 UCD 1979 1980 Suárez III Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo 1980 1981 UCD Juan Antonio García Díez 1981 1982 UCD Calvo-Sotelo Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Rodrigo Rato 1996 2000 PP Aznar I José María Aznar 2000 2003 Aznar II Javier Arenas 2003 2004 PP Pedro Solbes 2004 2008 Independent Zapatero I José LuisRodríguez Zapatero 2008 2009 Zapatero II Elena Salgado 2009 2011 Independent Manuel Chaves 2011 2011 PSOE Pablo Iglesias 2020 2021 Podemos Sánchez II Pedro Sánchez Nadia Calviño 2021 2021 Independent Yolanda Díaz 2021 2023 PCE SMR, PCE 2023 Incumbent Sánchez III
See also Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Third Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Fourth Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
References