General

Parliamentary democracy was restored in Spain following the death of General Franco in 1975, who had ruled since the end of the civil war in 1939. Spain now, is a constitutional monarchy governed under the constitution of 1978. The hereditary monarch, who is the head of state, may ratify laws, dissolve the legislature, and propose candidates for the office of prime minister; he is also head of the armed forces.

The Prime Minister (Presidente) is the head of government. The King proposes the Prime Minister, who must be approved by the legislature. The Prime Minister directs the activities of the government as a whole. The Prime Minister can also designate various vice presidents (although it is not mandatory).

The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate (Senado) with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.

The Spanish Judiciary is exercised by professional Judges and Magistrates and composed of different courts depending on The Jurisdictional Order and what is to be judged, the highest ranking court of the judicial structure in Spain is the Supreme Court. The role of the judiciary is governed by the General Council Of the Judiciary Power of Spain whose Chairperson is also the Chairperson of the Supreme Court. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Administratively, the country is divided into 17 regions (autonomous communities) and 2 autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla). All autonomous communities have their own elected parliaments, governments, public administrations, budgets and resources. Health and education systems, on the other hand, are managed regionally. The Basque Country and Navarre also manage their own public finances based on fuero provisions.

Overview

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain
conventional short form: Spain
local long form: Reino de Espana
local short form: Espana

Government type:
parliamentary monarchy

Capital:
name: Madrid
geographic coordinates: 40 24 N, 3 41 W
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
note: Spain is divided into two time zones including the Canary Islands