Fourth Deputy Prime Minister of Spain

Fourth Deputy Prime Minister
Vicepresidencia cuarta del Gobierno
Coat of arms of Spain
Incumbent
Office abolished
Government of Spain
Council of Ministers
StyleExcelentísimo/a Señor/a
Member ofCabinet
ResidencePalacio de la Moncloa
SeatMadrid, Spain
NominatorPrime Minister
AppointerMonarch
Countersigned by the Prime Minister of Spain
Term lengthNo fixed term
No term limits are imposed on the office.
Constituting instrumentConstitution of 1978
Formation13 January 2020
(5 years ago) (2020-01-13)
First holderTeresa Ribera
Final holderMaría Jesús Montero
Abolished12 July 2021
29 December 2023

The fourth deputy prime minister, officially Fourth Vice President of the Government (Spanish: Vicepresidencia Cuarta del Gobierno de España), is a senior member of the Government of Spain. The office of the Fourth Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister. It is a constitutional office because it is foreseen in the Constitution when it provides for the possibility of existing more than one Vice Presidency.

History and powers

It is an office of new creation established on 13 January 2020.[1] Teresa Ribera, the minister for the Ecological Transition, was appointed the first officeholder.

The office of fourth 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.[2] The fourth deputy prime minister only assumes this responsibility if the first, second and third deputies could not do it.

The office was abolished on 12 July 2021, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promoted Teresa Ribera to third deputy prime minister. It was re-established on 21 November 2023, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez appointed María Jesús Montero to the office.

List of officeholders

Office name:

  • Fourth Vice Presidency of the Government (2020–2021; 2023)
Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of office Party Government Prime Minister
(Tenure) 		Ref.
Took office Left office Duration
Teresa Ribera
(born 1969) 		13 January
2020 		12 July
2021 		1 year and 180 days PSOE Sánchez II Pedro Sánchez

(2018–present) 		[3]
[4]
Office disestablished during this interval.
María Jesús Montero
(born 1966) 		21 November
2023 		29 December
2023 		38 days PSOE Sánchez III Pedro Sánchez

(2018–present) 		[5]
[6]

References

  1. ^ "El anuncio de una cuarta vicepresidencia descoloca a Podemos". El País (in Spanish). 9 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  2. ^ Ley 50/1997, de 27 de noviembre, del Gobierno (Law 50) (in Spanish). 28 November 1997. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Real Decreto 7/2020, de 12 de enero, por el que se nombra Vicepresidenta Cuarta del Gobierno a doña Teresa Ribera Rodríguez" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (11). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 2881. 13 January 2020. ISSN 0212-033X.
  4. ^ "Real Decreto 512/2021, de 10 de julio, por el que se dispone el cese de doña Teresa Ribera Rodríguez como Vicepresidenta Cuarta del Gobierno" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (165). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 82886. 12 July 2021. ISSN 0212-033X.
  5. ^ "Real Decreto 834/2023, de 20 de noviembre, por el que se nombra Vicepresidenta Cuarta del Gobierno a doña María Jesús Montero Cuadrado" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (278). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 154694. 21 November 2023. ISSN 0212-033X.
  6. ^ "Real Decreto 1233/2023, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se dispone el cese de doña María Jesús Montero Cuadrado como Vicepresidenta Cuarta del Gobierno" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (312). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 177015. 29 December 2023. ISSN 0212-033X.

See also