Spain Overview People Government - Politics
- Government - Politics - Capital City - National Defense
Geography Economy News - Weather History National Symbols Photos Videos Travel and Tourism En Español Link-to-CountryReports Sources   United States Edition

Spain Government

What is the capital of Spain?

Country Name Spain
Full Country Name Kingdom of Spain
Local - Long Reino de Espana
Local - Short Espana
Etymology- history of name derivation of the name "Espana" is uncertain, but may come from the Phoenician term "span," related to the word "spy," meaning "to forge metals," so, "i-spn-ya" would mean "place where metals are forged"; the ancient Phoenicians long exploited the Iberian Peninsula for its mineral wealth
Government Type parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Capital Name Madrid
Capital - geographic coordinate 40 24 N, 3 41 W
Capital Time Difference UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

note: Spain has two time zones including the Canary Islands
Daylight Savings Time +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence 1492; the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain
National Holiday National Day, 12 October (1492); year when Columbus first set foot in the Americas
Constitution history: previous 1812; latest approved by the General Courts 31 October 1978, passed by referendum 6 December 1978, signed by the king 27 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

amendments: proposed by the government, by the General Courts (the Congress or the Senate), or by the self-governing communities submitted through the government; passage requires three-fifths majority vote by both houses and passage by referendum if required by one-tenth of the members of either house within 15 days of passage; proposals disapproved by both houses are submitted to a joint committee, which submits an agreed upon text for another vote; passage requires two-thirds vote in Congress and simple majority vote in the Senate; amended 1992, 2007, 2011

Spain Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Spain Government and Politics

Who is the president of Spain?

Executive Branch: chief of state: King FELIPE VI (since 19 June 2014); Heir Apparent Princess LEONOR, Princess of Asturias (daughter of the monarch, born 31 October 2005)

head of government: President of the Government of Spain (prime minister-equivalent) Pedro SANCHEZ PEREZ-CASTEJON (since 2 June 2018); Vice President Nadia Maria CALVINO Santamaria (since 12 July 2021)

cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president

elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually proposes as president the leader of the majority party or coalition, who is then indirectly elected by the Congress of Deputies; election last held on 10 November 2019 (next to be held in December 2023); vice president and Council of Ministers appointed by the president

election results: percent of National Assembly vote - NA

note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government, but its recommendations are non-binding
Citizenship Criteria: citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Spain

dual citizenship recognized: only with select Latin American countries

residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years for persons with no ties to Spain
Legal System: civil law system with regional variations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch: description: bicameral General Courts or Las Cortes Generales consists of:

Senate or Senado (265 seats; 208 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 57 members indirectly elected by the legislatures of the autonomous communities; members serve 4-year terms)

Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; 348 members directly elected in 50 multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote, with a 3% threshold needed to gain a seat, and 2 directly elected from the North African Ceuta and Melilla enclaves by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms or until the government is dissolved)

elections:

Senate - last held on 23 July 2023 (next to be held no later than July 2027)

Congress of Deputies - last held on 23 July 2023 (next to be held no later than July 2027)

election results:

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PP 120, PSOE 72, ERC 7, PNV 4, other 5; composition (as of mid-2022) - men 161, women 104; percent of women 39.3%

Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 33.1%, PSOE 31.7%, Vox 12.4%, Sumar 12.3%, ERC 1.7%, JuntsxCat 1.6%, EH-Bildu 1.4%, PNV 1.1% other 4.7%; seats by party - PP 136, PSOE 122, Vox 33, Sumar 31, ERC 7, JuntsxCat 7, EH-Bildu 6, PNV 5, other 3; men 196, women 154, percent of women 44%; note - overall General Courts percent of women 42%
Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo (consists of the court president and organized into the Civil Room, with a president and 9 judges; the Penal Room, with a president and 14 judges; the Administrative Room, with a president and 32 judges; the Social Room, with a president and 12 judges; and the Military Room, with a president and 7 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional de Espana (consists of 12 judges)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the monarch from candidates proposed by the General Council of the Judiciary Power, a 20-member governing board chaired by the monarch that includes presidential appointees, lawyers, and jurists confirmed by the National Assembly; judges can serve until age 70; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the National Assembly, executive branch, and the General Council of the Judiciary, and appointed by the monarch for 9-year terms

subordinate courts: National High Court; High Courts of Justice (in each of the autonomous communities); provincial courts; courts of first instance
Regions or States: 17 semi-autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma); Andalucia; Aragon; Asturias; Canarias (Canary Islands); Cantabria; Castilla-La Mancha; Castilla-Leon; Cataluna (Castilian), Catalunya (Catalan), Catalonha (Aranese) [Catalonia]; Ceuta*; Comunidad Valenciana (Castilian), Comunitat Valenciana (Valencian) [Valencian Community]; Extremadura; Galicia; Illes Baleares (Balearic Islands); La Rioja; Madrid; Melilla*; Murcia; Navarra (Castilian), Nafarroa (Basque) [Navarre]; Pais Vasco (Castilian), Euskadi (Basque) [Basque Country]

note: the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
Political Parties and Leaders: Asturias Forum or FAC [Carmen MORIYON]

Basque Country Unite (Euskal Herria Bildu) or EH Bildu [Arnaldo OTEGI] (coalition of 4 Basque pro-independence parties)

Basque Nationalist Party or PNV or EAJ [Andoni ORTUZAR]

Canarian Coalition or CC [Fernando Clavijo BATLLE] (coalition of 5 parties)

Ciudadanos Party (Citizens Party) or Cs [Adrian Vazquez LAZARA]

Compromis - Compromise Coalition [Enric MORERA i Català]

Together for Catalonia or JuntsxCat [Albert BATET]

People's Party or PP [Albert Nunez FEIJOO]

Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC [Oriol JUNQUERAS]

Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Pedro SANCHEZ]

Teruel Existe or TE [Tomas GUITARTE]

Unidas (Unite) or Sumar [Yolanda Diaz] (electoral coalition formed in March 2022) (formerly Unidas Podemos or UP)

Union of People of Navarra or UPN [Javier ESPARZA]

Vox or VOX [Santiago ABASCAL]
International Law Organization Participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic Representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Santiago CABANAS Ansorena (since 17 September 2018)

chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100

FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670

email address and website:

emb.washington@maec.es

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/washington/en/Paginas/index.aspx

consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic Representation from US: chief of mission: Ambassador Julissa REYNOSO (since 2 February 2022); note - also accredited to Andorra

embassy: Calle de Serrano, 75, 28006 Madrid

mailing address: 8500 Madrid Place, Washington DC 20521-8500

telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200

FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303

email address and website:

askACS@state.gov

https://es.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general: Barcelona
World Regions
Africa Asia Central America Europe Middle East North America Oceania South America The Caribbean
Most Popular
United States of America China France Italy Canada Spain India Brazil Mexico
All Countries
Afghanistan Akrotiri Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cook Islands Coral Sea Islands Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dhekelia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia, The Gaza Strip Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan, South Suriname Svalbard Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States (US) Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara World Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe