Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales (English: Spanish Parliament, lit. ’General Courts’).

The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados), a lower house with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and the Senate (Senado), an upper house with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote, using a limited voting method, and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.

The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers presided over by the Prime Minister, who is nominated as candidate by the monarch after holding consultations with representatives from the different parliamentary groups, voted in by the members of the lower house during an investiture session and then formally appointed by the monarch.

Head of State (King)

Felipe VI, since 19 June 2014

Prime Minister (head of government) or “President of the Government” (Presidente del Gobierno): Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, elected 1 June 2018.

Deputy prime ministers (designated by the Prime Minister): Currently Nadia Calviño Santamaría (1st), Yolanda Díaz Pérez (2nd), Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (3rd).

Ministers (designated by the Prime Minister): Second government of Pedro Sánchez.

The Prime Minister, deputy prime ministers and the rest of ministers convene at the Council of Ministers.

Spain is organisationally structured as a so-called Estado de las Autonomías (“State of Autonomies”); it is one of the most decentralised countries in Europe, along with Switzerland, Germany and Belgium; for example, all autonomous communities have their own elected parliaments, governments, public administrations, budgets, and resources. Health and education systems among others are managed by the Spanish communities, and in addition, the Basque Country and Navarre also manage their own public finances based on foral provisions. In Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre and the Canary Islands, a full-fledged autonomous police corps replaces some of the State police functions (see Mossos d’Esquadra, Ertzaintza, Policía Foral/Foruzaingoa and Policía Canaria).