The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regulated in 1823 as a chairmanship of the extant Council of Ministers, although it is not possible to determine when it actually originated.
Upon a vacancy, the Spanish monarch nominates a presidency candidate for a vote of confidence by the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the (parliament). The process is a parliamentarian investiture by which the head of government is indirectly elected by the elected Congress of Deputies. In practice, the prime minister is almost always the leader of the largest party in the Congress. Since current constitutional practice in Spain calls for the king to act on the advice of his ministers, the prime minister is the country's de facto chief executive.
Pedro Sánchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has been prime minister since 2 June 2018, after a successful motion of no confidence against former prime minister Mariano Rajoy. The Sánchez government technically ceased on 29 April 2019 after the 2019 Spanish general election, but was acting afterwards. However, following the November 2019 general election, Sánchez earned a second mandate as prime minister after receiving a plurality of votes in the second round vote of his investiture at the Congress of Deputies on 7 January 2020. He then resumed being the official prime minister after he was sworn in by King Felipe on 8 January 2020. His new government was then sworn in by King Felipe on 13 January 2020.
Official title
The Spanish head of government has been known, since 1939, as "President of the Government" (), but the term 'president' is far older. Spain was not unique in this regard: it was one of several European parliamentary systems including France, Italy and Ireland that styled the head of government as 'presidents' of the government rather than the Westminster term of 'prime minister' (see President of the Council for the full list of corresponding terms); similarly, the president of the Congress or Senate referred to the parliamentary speakers. This system of multiple distinct offices all labelled 'president' causes confusion among English-speakers: both President George W. Bush and his brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, referred to José María Aznar as "president" on separate occasions, and Donald Trump referred to Mariano Rajoy both as "President" and "Mr. President" during Rajoy's 2017 White House visit. While this term of address was not incorrect, it could be misleading to English speakers so prime minister is commonly used as a culturally equivalent term to ensure clarity.
The custom to name the head of government as "president" dates back to the reign of Isabella II, specifically to 1834 and the regency of Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies when, styled after the head of government of the French July Monarchy (1830), the official title was the ("President of the Council of Ministers"). This remained until 1939, when the Second Spanish Republic ended. Before 1834 the figure was known as ("Secretary of State"), a denomination used today for junior ministers.
Origin
Since the 15th century, the Spanish monarch has delegated his executive powers in relevant personalities. Two are the most important: the validos and the secretaries of state. The validos, which existed since early 15th century to the late 17th century were people of the highest confidence of the kings and they exercised the Crown's power in the king's name. Since the 18th century, the validos disappeared and the secretaries of state were introduced. Both positions were de facto prime ministers, although they can not be completely compared.
On 19 November 1823, after a brief liberal democratic period called the Liberal Triennium between 1820 and 1823, King Ferdinand VII re-established the absolute monarchy and created the Council of Ministers that continues to exist today. This council was chaired by the secretary of state, who acted as prime minister. The Spanish Royal Statute of 1834 replaced the chair with a president of the Council of Ministers invested with executive powers.