Third Deputy Prime Minister of Spain facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Third Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
Coat of arms of Spain
Incumbent Sara Aagesen since 25 November 2024
Government of Spain Council of Ministers
Style	Excelentísimo/a Señor/a
Member of	Cabinet
Residence	Palacio de la Moncloa
Seat	Madrid, Spain
Nominator	Prime Minister
Appointer	Monarch Countersigned by the Prime Minister of Spain
Term length	No fixed term No term limits
Constituting instrument	Organic Act of the State of 1967 (original) Constitution of 1978 (current)
Formation	3 January 1974 (51 years ago) (1974-01-03)
First holder	Licinio de la Fuente

The Third Deputy Prime Minister of Spain is a very important person in the Government of Spain. This job is also called the Third Vice President of the Government of Spain (Spanish: Vicepresidencia Tercera del Gobierno de España). It's not a job that always exists. The Prime Minister decides if they need someone in this role. Spain's main rulebook, the Constitution, allows for more than one deputy prime minister.

This position has not been used very often. It was used three times during the last years of Spain's dictatorship and three times after Spain became a democracy (1977–1978; 2009–2011; and since 2020).

The Third Deputy Prime Minister does not have special powers. Their main job is to be part of the Council of Ministers, which is a group of top government officials. A law from 1997 says that this person's main purpose is to take over for the Prime Minister if the Prime Minister is away, sick, or if the job is empty. However, they only do this if the First Deputy and Second Deputy cannot.

History of the Third Deputy Prime Minister

How the Position Started

The job of Third Deputy Prime Minister was created in January 1974. This was similar to how the Second Deputy Prime Minister's job started. The rules for this position came from an important law called the 1967 Organic Law of the State.

First People in the Role

The first person to hold this job was Licinio de la Fuente. He was also the Minister of Labour. De la Fuente did not agree with the Prime Minister, Arias Navarro. He felt that the Third Deputy Prime Minister job was just for show and had no real power. He wanted to lead a special group to deal with social issues, but the Prime Minister said no. After many disagreements, De la Fuente quit on March 5, 1975.

Fernando Suárez González took over from De la Fuente as both Third Deputy and Labour Minister. He helped pass some of De la Fuente's unfinished laws. A few months later, Prime Minister Navarro chose Juan-Miguel Villar Mir for the Third Deputy role. Villar Mir was also the Minister of Economy and Finance.

Later Uses of the Position

Adolfo Suárez, another Prime Minister, did not use this position until his second term in 1977. He appointed Fernando Abril Martorell as Third Deputy Prime Minister. Abril Martorell's official title was Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs. His main job was to manage the relationship between the government and the Parliament.

After that, the position was not used for more than 30 years. It was brought back in 2009 when Prime Minister Zapatero appointed Manuel Chaves. Chaves was also the Minister of Territorial Policy. Chaves left this job in 2011 when he was promoted to Second Deputy Prime Minister.

The conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy never used this position. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez did not use it in his first government. However, he did use it in his second government. In 2020, Sánchez appointed Nadia Calviño, who was the Economic Affairs Minister, as Third Deputy Prime Minister. She served until 2021 when she was promoted to Second Deputy. Then, Yolanda Díaz, the Labour Minister, took her place as Third Deputy.

List of Third Deputy Prime Ministers

Official Name of the Job:

• Third Vice Presidency of the Government (1974–1975; 1977–1978; 2009–2011; 2020–present)
• Vice Presidency of the Government for Economic Affairs (1975–1976)

Picture	Name (Years Alive)	Time in Office			Political Party		Government	Prime Minister (Years in Office)
		Started	Left	How Long
	Licinio de la Fuente (1923–2015)	January 4 1974	March 5 1975	1 year and 60 days		National Movement (FET–JONS)	Arias Navarro I		Carlos Arias Navarro (1973–1976)
	Fernando Suárez González (1933–2024)	March 5 1975	December 12 1975	282 days		National Movement (Nonpartisan)
	Juan Miguel Villar Mir (1931–2024)	December 12 1975	July 5 1976	206 days		National Movement (Nonpartisan)	Arias Navarro II
Job was not used during this time
	Fernando Abril Martorell (1936–1998)	July 5 1977	February 25 1978	235 days		Independent	Suárez II		Adolfo Suárez (1976–1981)
Job was not used during this time
	Manuel Chaves (born 1945)	April 7 2009	July 12 2011	2 years and 96 days		PSOE	Zapatero II		José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2004–2011)
Job was not used during this time
	Nadia Calviño (born 1968)	January 13 2020	March 31 2021	1 year and 77 days		Independent	Sánchez II		Pedro Sánchez (2018–present)
	Yolanda Díaz (born 1971)	March 31 2021	July 12 2021	103 days		PCE
	Teresa Ribera (born 1969)	July 12 2021	November 21 2023	3 years and 136 days		PSOE
		November 21 2023	November 25 2024				Sánchez III
	Sara Aagesen (born 1976)	November 25 2024	Incumbent	210 days		Independent

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Vicepresidente tercero del Gobierno de España para niños

• Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
• Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
• Fourth Deputy Prime Minister of Spain