Date formed 12 April 2008 | Head of state Juan Carlos I | |
Date dissolved 22 November 2011 (formally)
21 December 2011 (caretaker) Head of government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Deputy head of government First
María Teresa Fernández de la Vega
(2004–10)
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba
(2010–11)
Second
Pedro Solbes
(2004–09)
Elena Salgado
(2009–11)
Third
Manuel Chaves
(2009–11)
Economic Affairs
Elena Salgado
(2011)
Regional Policy
Manuel Chaves
(2011) No. of ministers 18 (2008–10)
16 (2010–11) | ||
The 9th Spanish General Courts were elected at the 2008 general election on 9 March and first met on 1 April. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was invested as Prime Minister on 11 April by the Congress of Deputies and was sworn into office the following day. On the nomination of the Prime Minister, the Second Zapatero Government, or the 13th Government of Spain since the Spanish transition to democracy, was appointed.
Contents
History
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero led his party to a second consecutive victory in the 2008 general election, winning 169 out of 350 seats and allowing for a government to be formed with a large enough majority to ensure Zapatero's investiture for a second term in office as Prime Minister. The cabinet endured from 12 April 2008 to 21 December 2011, a total of 1,348 days, or 3 years, 8 months and 9 days.
The Second Zapatero Cabinet was composed mainly by members of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and its sister party, the Socialists' Party of Catalonia, but also included a large number of independents. At its formation, the government was formed by 18 ministries, including the office of Prime Minister. It saw three major cabinet reshuffles. The first, on 7 April 2009, did not change the overall number of ministries. The second came on 21 October 2010, when the number of ministries was reduced to 16. The third one resulted from Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba's resignation from his cabinet posts, leading to a reassignment of his duties and a re-organization of the vice-presidency system.
Changes
Mariano Fernández Bermejo resigned as Minister of Justice on 23 February 2009 as a result of accusations from the opposition PP that he had interfered with the investigation of the Gürtel case involving senior PP members, after it was known that he had participated in a hunting trip in Andalusia alongside Judge Baltasar Garzón (who was, at the time, responsible for investigating the Gürtel case). He was succeeded by Francisco Caamaño.
On 7 April 2009, a cabinet reshuffle took pace, resulting in an increase in the political weight within the Government, as previous independent ministers were replaced by party members such as former President of Andalusia Manuel Chaves or PSOE Vice Secretary-General José Blanco.
On 20 October 2010, using the opportunity granted to him by the timed resignation of Celestino Corbacho as Minister of Labor and Immigration in order to stand as MP candidate in the 2010 Catalonian regional election, Zapatero made another major Cabinet reshuffle. Its purpose was to reduce the number of ministries as an economic measure as well as to have a better-equipped government team to deal with the worsening economic situation and the implementation of austerity measures into the last year of the legislature. It also intended to improve the government's dismal ratings in opinion polls as a result of its management of the country's economic situation.
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba announced on 8 July 2011 his imminent resignation from the offices he held within the Government, as a result of having been designated as PSOE candidate for the 2011 general election. He expressed his will to dedicate "full time" to his new appoinment, a task he felt unable to cope with the job of managing the three ministries he held. He remained in office until the change was made effective on 12 July 2011.