Third government of Felipe González facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 3rd government of Felipe González
Government of Spain
1989–1993
The government in March 1991.
Date formed	7 December 1989
Date dissolved	14 July 1993
People and organisations
Monarch	Juan Carlos I
Prime Minister	Felipe González
Deputy Prime Minister	Alfonso Guerra (1989–1991) Narcís Serra (1991–1993)
No. of ministers	18 (1989–1991) 17 (1991–1993)
Total no. of members	28
Member party	PSOE
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	PP
Opposition leader	José María Aznar
History
Election(s)	1989 general election
Outgoing election	1993 general election
Legislature term(s)	4th Cortes Generales
Budget(s)	1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
Predecessor	González II
Successor	González IV

The third government of Felipe González was formed on December 7, 1989. This happened after he was chosen as the Prime Minister of Spain by the Congress of Deputies (which is like Spain's parliament) on December 5. He officially started his job on December 6. His political party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), won the most seats in the 1989 Spanish general election.

This government followed the second government led by González. It was the official Government of Spain from December 7, 1989, until July 14, 1993. That's a total of 1315 days, or about 3 years, 7 months, and 7 days.

González decided to keep many of the same people in his new government. This was partly because there were still some legal questions about the election results. The government included two members from the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) and four independent members. These independent members were people who didn't belong to a specific political party.

The government officially ended on June 7, 1993, after the 1993 Spanish general election. However, it continued to work until the next government was ready to take over.

How the Prime Minister Was Chosen

To become Prime Minister, a person needs to be voted in by the Congress of Deputies. This vote is called an investiture. In Spain, the person needs to get more "yes" votes than "no" votes to be chosen.

On December 5, 1989, Felipe González needed at least 167 votes out of 332 to become Prime Minister. He received 167 "yes" votes, mostly from his own party, the PSOE. Other parties voted "no" or chose not to vote. This meant he had enough support to form his new government.

Changes in the Government Team

González's third government had several changes in its team of ministers:

• On April 19, 1990, Manuel Chaves, who was the Minister of Labour and Social Security, left his job. He was chosen to lead the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in an election in the region of Andalusia. Luis Martínez Noval took his place as Minister of Labour on May 2.
• On January 12, 1991, Alfonso Guerra resigned as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain. He left his position on January 14. This happened because of some issues involving his brother and also because his relationship with Prime Minister Felipe González had become difficult. González used this chance to make many changes to his government in March 1991.
  • In these changes, Narcís Serra became the new Deputy Prime Minister.
  • New ministers joined the team, including Tomás de la Quadra-Salcedo for Justice, Josep Borrell for Public Works and Transport, Pedro Solbes for Agriculture, Juan Manuel Eguiagaray for Public Administrations, Jordi Solé Tura for Culture, and Julián García Valverde for Health.
  • Some ministers left, like Enrique Múgica, Javier Sáenz de Cosculluela, Carlos Romero, Joaquín Almunia, and Jorge Semprún.
  • Julián García Vargas became the new Minister of Defence.
  • The old Ministry of Transport, Tourism and Communications was split into other departments.
• On January 10, 1992, Julián García Valverde resigned as Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs. This was due to some accusations from his time as president of a railway company. Felipe González accepted his resignation on January 13 and appointed José Antonio Griñán as the new minister.
• On June 16, 1992, Felipe González accepted Francisco Fernández Ordóñez's resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He had been ill for some time. Javier Solana took his place on June 24. Then, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba became the new Minister of Education, replacing Solana. Fernández Ordóñez passed away a month and a half after he resigned.

Ministers in the Government

The government, called the Council of Ministers, included the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and 17 other ministers. Each minister was in charge of a different area, like foreign affairs or education. In March 1991, the number of ministries was reduced to 16.

Images for kids

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  Prime Minister Felipe González

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  Alfonso Guerra, Deputy Prime Minister

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  Narcís Serra, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence

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  Francisco Fernández Ordóñez, Minister of Foreign Affairs

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  Javier Solana, Minister of Education and later Foreign Affairs

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  Enrique Múgica, Minister of Justice

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  Tomás de la Quadra-Salcedo, Minister of Justice

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  Julián García Vargas, Minister of Defence and Health

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  Carlos Solchaga, Minister of Economy and Finance

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  José Luis Corcuera, Minister of the Interior

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  Javier Sáenz de Cosculluela, Minister of Public Works

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  Josep Borrell, Minister of Public Works and Transport

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  Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, Minister of Education

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  Manuel Chaves, Minister of Labour

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  Luis Martínez Noval, Minister of Labour

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  Claudio Aranzadi, Minister of Industry

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  Carlos Romero, Minister of Agriculture

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  Pedro Solbes, Minister of Agriculture

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  Joaquín Almunia, Minister for Public Administrations

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  Juan Manuel Eguiagaray, Minister for Public Administrations

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  José Barrionuevo, Minister of Transport

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  Jorge Semprún, Minister of Culture

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  Jordi Solé Tura, Minister of Culture

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  Julián García Valverde, Minister of Health

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  José Antonio Griñán, Minister of Health

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  Virgilio Zapatero, Minister of Relations with the Cortes

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  Matilde Fernández, Minister of Social Affairs

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  Rosa Conde, Spokesperson Minister of the Government

See also

In Spanish: Tercer Gobierno González para niños

• Governments of Felipe González