List of Presidents of Madrid
Encyclopedia
The President of Madrid is the highest-ranking officer of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and the head of the Executive Branch. The office is currently held by Esperanza Aguirre
of the People's Party
.
between 1975–1978, the nationalist
and regionalist
parties pressed to grant home rule
to parts of Spain. Finally, the Constitution
stated that any province or group of provinces could form an autonomous community and thus be granted partial home rule. The Autonomous Community of Madrid
(Spanish Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid) was created in 1982, and since then regional elections are held every 4 years.
Unlike those of the US states, the citizens of the Autonomous Communities of Spain
don't elect a person for presidency
of their community: they elect the regional legislature
, and that legislature elects the regional President. This system usually assures the government more stability because a candidate needs a majority
(that is supposed to be loyal to him/her during the whole term) to be elected, but has a significant drawback: a party can win the election (be the top-voted party) and still be denied the right to form the government (have a majority). This situation, though infrequent in nationwide elections, often happens in local/regional legislatures throughout Spain: the most usual coalition is between the Socialist Party (PSOE)
and the United Left (IU)
.
In Madrid, such a coalition was formed in the 2nd term, in which the incumbent Socialist Joaquín Leguina won the election without a majority, once more in the 3rd term, allowing him to remain in office even after having lost the election to the People's Party (PP)
, and once more in the 6th term, by the PSOE candidate Rafael Simancas. However, this last coalition ultimately failed due to the dissidence of two PSOE Assembly
Members, which denounced the pact with IU as being too wide and unrepresentative of the people's will due to the planned power balance. See the 6th term scandal.
switched leadership: incumbent President Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
aimed for the office of Mayor of Madrid
, which he successfully obtained with a safe majority, while the regional list was headed by Senator and ex-Minister Esperanza Aguirre. The election was strongly contested and in the end the PP won but fell some 25,000 votes short of a majority, with 55 out of 111 seats. The other two forces in the newly-elected Assembly
, the PSOE
(47 seats) and IU
(9), both leaning left, started negotiations and in the end agreed to a coalition government
, which included the election of a favorable President of the Assembly (i.e. Speaker) and Bureau. As part of the deal, Socialists would control the majority of the government, but a disproportionate amount of the budget would be under the responsibility of IU regional ministers. This sparked criticism from some sectors in the Socialist party, but then-leader Rafael Simancas dismissed them as moot, saying "it was time for a government of the left in Madrid".
However two PSOE deputies refused to back the planned pact with IU with the result that no President could be elected. Fresh elections were then held where the PP won an absolute majority.
Esperanza Aguirre
Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma, Countess of Murillo, Grandee of Spain, DBE is a Spanish politician and the current President of Madrid...
of the People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
.
Origins and election
In the process of the democracy restoration in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
between 1975–1978, the nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and regionalist
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
parties pressed to grant home rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
to parts of Spain. Finally, the Constitution
Constitution of Spain
Spain's first Constitution was passed in 1812. A list of the different Spanish constitutional laws follows:During Franco's dictatorship, there were many attempts to create stable institutions that did not emanate from the dictator as they did in the post-war period...
stated that any province or group of provinces could form an autonomous community and thus be granted partial home rule. The Autonomous Community of Madrid
Madrid (autonomous community)
The Community of Madrid is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located at the center of the country, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Castilian Central Plateau . The community is also conterminous with the province of Madrid and contains the capital of Spain, which is also...
(Spanish Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid) was created in 1982, and since then regional elections are held every 4 years.
Unlike those of the US states, the citizens of the Autonomous Communities of Spain
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
don't elect a person for presidency
Presidency
The word presidency is often used to describe the administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation...
of their community: they elect the regional legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, and that legislature elects the regional President. This system usually assures the government more stability because a candidate needs a majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
(that is supposed to be loyal to him/her during the whole term) to be elected, but has a significant drawback: a party can win the election (be the top-voted party) and still be denied the right to form the government (have a majority). This situation, though infrequent in nationwide elections, often happens in local/regional legislatures throughout Spain: the most usual coalition is between the Socialist Party (PSOE)
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
and the United Left (IU)
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
.
In Madrid, such a coalition was formed in the 2nd term, in which the incumbent Socialist Joaquín Leguina won the election without a majority, once more in the 3rd term, allowing him to remain in office even after having lost the election to the People's Party (PP)
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, and once more in the 6th term, by the PSOE candidate Rafael Simancas. However, this last coalition ultimately failed due to the dissidence of two PSOE Assembly
Madrid Assembly
The Madrid Assembly is the unicameral regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of Madrid since the approval of the Madrid Charter of Autonomy in 1983....
Members, which denounced the pact with IU as being too wide and unrepresentative of the people's will due to the planned power balance. See the 6th term scandal.
List of Presidents of the Autonomous Community of Madrid
| Picture | President | Political Party | Assembly Madrid Assembly The Madrid Assembly is the unicameral regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of Madrid since the approval of the Madrid Charter of Autonomy in 1983.... term |
Assembly composition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
_coa.svg.png) |
Joaquín Leguina | PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in... |
1st (1983–87) | PSOE: 51; AP Popular Alliance (Spain) The People's Alliance was a electoral coalition, and later a political party, founded in 1976 by Manuel Fraga along with six other former Francoist ministers.- History :... -PDP-UL: 34; IU United Left (Spain) The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain... : 9 |
| 2nd (1987–91) | PSOE: 40; AP: 32; CDS: 17; IU:7 | |||
| 3rd (1991–95) | PP People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship... : 47; PSOE: 41; IU:13 |
|||
| Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez is a Spanish politician and mayor of Madrid. A stalwart of the conservative People's Party , he has previously been a leading figure in various local and national legislative bodies.-Personal life:... |
PP People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship... |
4th (1995–99) | PP: 54; PSOE: 32; IU: 17 | |
| 5th (1999–2003) | PP: 55; PSOE: 39; IU: 8 | |||
| same as caretaker Caretaker government Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government... President |
6th (May–October 2003) | PP: 55; PSOE: 47 (45); IU: 9; Ind: 0 (2) | ||
| Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma, Countess of Murillo, Grandee of Spain, DBE is a Spanish politician and the current President of Madrid... |
7th (2003–07) | PP: 57; PSOE: 45; IU: 9 | ||
| 8th (2007–11) | PP: 67; PSOE: 42; IU: 11 | |||
| 9th (2011–15) | PP: 72; PSOE: 36; IU: 13; UPyD Union, Progress and Democracy Union, Progress and Democracy is a Spanish political party founded in September 2007.It is a progressivist party, between social democracy and social liberalism. One of its goals is to build a federal system for Spain and European Union, with clear responsibilities distributed among local... : 8 |
The 6th term scandal
In the May 2003 election, the ruling People's PartyPeople's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
switched leadership: incumbent President Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez is a Spanish politician and mayor of Madrid. A stalwart of the conservative People's Party , he has previously been a leading figure in various local and national legislative bodies.-Personal life:...
aimed for the office of Mayor of Madrid
Mayor of Madrid
The Mayor of Madrid is an elected politician who, along with Madrid City Council, is accountable for the strategic government of Madrid....
, which he successfully obtained with a safe majority, while the regional list was headed by Senator and ex-Minister Esperanza Aguirre. The election was strongly contested and in the end the PP won but fell some 25,000 votes short of a majority, with 55 out of 111 seats. The other two forces in the newly-elected Assembly
Madrid Assembly
The Madrid Assembly is the unicameral regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of Madrid since the approval of the Madrid Charter of Autonomy in 1983....
, the PSOE
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(47 seats) and IU
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
(9), both leaning left, started negotiations and in the end agreed to a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
, which included the election of a favorable President of the Assembly (i.e. Speaker) and Bureau. As part of the deal, Socialists would control the majority of the government, but a disproportionate amount of the budget would be under the responsibility of IU regional ministers. This sparked criticism from some sectors in the Socialist party, but then-leader Rafael Simancas dismissed them as moot, saying "it was time for a government of the left in Madrid".