KING Felipe VI's annual Christmas Eve speech once again included a covert appeal to secessionist politicians, as well as raising concerns about young adults' struggle to afford housing and violence against women.
All change: Who's who in Pedro Sánchez's cabinet reshuffle
12/07/2021
A MAJOR restructure in Spain's government means new faces on the scene and sideways moves for some of its ministers, whilst others will be relegated to 'mere' MPs rather than heading up a department of their own.
The exact reasons behind the radical shake-up are not clear, and it is not known whether national president Pedro Sánchez (pictured above) was unhappy with the work of some of his ministers, whether they themselves asked to step back a little from the front line, or whether it was simply a case of giving as many party members as possible a chance to lead.
In some cases, it seems the aim was to bring national politics closer to the person on the street, or make central government more 'local' – this may have been the motive behind three mayoresses who have not previously held seats in Parliament being promoted several rungs in one hit.
Although the changes took effect from Saturday and the new ministers have already sworn allegiance to their rôle in front of the King, in accordance with standard procedure, it is thought that their futures will start in earnest after the summer, given that Parliament breaks up for August and returns for the new 'term' in September.
Who's affected
Pedro Sánchez, president of Spain and leader of the socialist party (PSOE), governs in coalition with the left-wing independents Unidas Podemos – but only socialist MPs have been moved around.
This means Unidas Podemos ministers will remain in their jobs.
Work minister Yolanda Díaz, 49, social rights minister Ione Belarra, 33, universities minister Manuel Castells (currently Parliament's eldest at 78), minister for consumer affairs Alberto Garzón, 35 – who has recently raised controversy by urging the public to eat less meat 'for the sake of the planet', lauded by vegetarians and animal-lovers but panned by livestock farmers – and minister for equality Irene Montero, 32, wife of party founder and former deputy president Pablo Iglesias, will stay where they are.
Seven ministers take on new rôles, seven others will now just become MPs like all the others or even leave their seats and just be part of the membership – this has not been confirmed – and three existing ministers have taken on different jobs.
Another seven of Sánchez's socialist ministers will stay put.
Who will carry on as before
Along with all the Unidas Podemos ministers, former Supreme Court head judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska, 58, will continue as minister for the interior, and María Jesús Montero, 54, a medical doctor from Sevilla, will carry on as minister for the treasury.
Luis Planas, 68, currently grappling with the 'eat less meat' controversy, stays in place as minister of agriculture, fishing and food.
Albacete-born Economist José Luis Escrivá is still minister for inclusion, Social Security and migrations, despite recently raising hackles among Spain's 'baby boom' generation, those aged approximately 50-71, by hinting they would either have to earn a smaller pension, 'work for a bit longer', or retire on schedule with their planned pension but pay income tax on it.
He insists he was merely 'thinking out loud', and that no changes to the pension system will come into play until at least next year, giving him time to work out solutions that are fair to all concerned; interestingly, now aged 60, Escrivá falls within the age group which would be affected if his 'spoken thoughts' were to become reality.
Gran Canaria-born Carolina Darías, 55, has been forced to work flat-out as health minister, with the Covid crisis, although she has mainly caught the tail end of it, as her predecessor Salvador Illa was in the job when the pandemic first struck – he left the post earlier this year as he chose to run for regional presidency in the Catalunya elections.
Sra Darías is the fourth health minister since Pedro Sánchez became president in June 2018 – the first was Carmen Montón, ex-leader of health in the Valencia region, who resigned amid reports that her master's degree dissertation had included plagiarised sections, a claim never confirmed, and she was followed by María Luisa Carcedo, who was replaced by Illa during a cabinet reshuffle after the November 2019 elections.
Margarita Robles, 64, from León, carries on as minister of defence, the third female in the job in Spain's political history – first was the late Carme Chacón, during socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's reign and who famously walked the front line in Afghanistan whilst heavily pregnant; second was María Dolores de Cospedal, second-in-command to former right-wing PP president Mariano Rajoy.
Rumours were rife that the position of minister for industry, trade and tourism would be occupied by someone else, but in the end, Reyes Maroto, 47, from Valladolid, has kept it.
Who changes place
Hitherto minister for territorial policy and public function Miquel Iceta is now minister for culture and sports, replacing José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, who has been in the rôle since January 2020.
Sánchez's shortest-serving culture minister was author and journalist Màxim Huerta, who resigned after a week amid claims he had set up a company structure for his income tax declarations – again, reports that have never been confirmed.
Galicia native Nadia Calviño, 52, former director-general for budgets for the European Commission, will continue as minister for the economy, but will move from second deputy president of Spain to first deputy president.
Teresa Ribera, 51, also keeps her position as minister for environment, energy transition and demographic challenge, but moves up from fourth to third deputy president; Yolanda Díaz shifts to second deputy president.
At the beginning of Sánchez's reign, he had four – Unidas Podemos' then leader Pablo Iglesias as his first deputy, followed by Carmen Calvo, Nadia Calviño and Teresa Ribera; after Iglesias bowed out, Yolanda was moved into third between Nadia and Teresa.
Who's leaving and who is replacing them
Dr Carmen Calvo, 63, a university professor from Sevilla and Zapatero's ex-culture minister, leaves her position as first deputy president; now, there will only be three.
She also hands over the reins of her job as minister for the presidency, Parliamentary relations and democratic memory to Félix Bolaños, 45, from Madrid, up to now secretary-general for the presidency and a lawyer by profession.
Arancha González Laya, 51, a specialist in international trade from the Basque Country who has worked extensively for the WTO, UN and EU, leaves her post as minister for foreign affairs, European Union and international cooperation, which she has held since June 2018.
She is replaced by José Manuel Albares, 49, from Madrid, hitherto Spanish ambassador in Paris.
Isabel Celaá, 71, a former high school teacher from Bilbao, leaves her position as minister for education, and is replaced by MP in Aragón Pilar Alegría, 43, from Zaragoza, a primary school teacher by profession but who only taught for a few years until she became involved in politics at provincial level aged 30.
Criminal court judge Juan Carlos Campo, 59, from Osuna (Sevilla province), has been justice minister for just seven months, but is now substituted by Pilar Llop, 47, from Madrid, who was chair of the Senate until now and a judge specialising in gender violence.
Childhood superhero for a whole generation, Spain's first 'man on the moon' Pedro Duque, 57, who lives between Madrid and Jávea (Alicante province), tended to get asked more questions about his career as an astronaut than his rôle as science minister; now, those awed kids who saw him on TV in his space suit at the turn of this century will sorely miss him as he now passes the helm to a fellow east-coast politician – around 40 or so kilometres north of Jávea, mayoress of Gandia (Valencia province), Diana Morant, has just stepped into his shoes.
Diana, 41, a graduate in telecommunications engineering from Valencia Polytechnic, became local leader of the socialist party aged 34, and mayoress of the 78,000-strong coastal town the following year; from age 35 to 37, she was also MP in Valencia.
She is now the only representative in Spain's government from the Comunidad Valenciana, and occupies the highest-ranking political position ever held by a Gandia resident.
Two Valencia-born ministers are now set to leave their rôles, one of whom is José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, 52, a professional juror whose culture and sports department will now be headed up by Miquel Iceta, 60, from Barcelona; this leaves a vacancy in Iceta's old job of territorial policy and public function, which will be taken on by the mayoress of Puertollano (Ciudad Real province), Isabel Rodríguez, 40, a law graduate who has been in politics at provincial level since the year she finished university.
Sra Rodríguez will also be government spokeswoman.
José Luis Ábalos, 61, a former teacher from Torrent (Valencia province) has been minister for transport, mobility and urban agenda – known until a year and a half ago as 'public works' – since Sánchez formed his cabinet after the November 2019 elections, but will now be replaced by Raquel Sánchez Jiménez, 45, currently mayoress of her native Gavà (Barcelona province).
A graduate in law from Barcelona University and with a master's in Social Security and employment law from the city's Pompeu Fabra University, Raquel practised as a lawyer until she became assistant mayoress in 2007, aged 31.
Related Topics
A MAJOR restructure in Spain's government means new faces on the scene and sideways moves for some of its ministers, whilst others will be relegated to 'mere' MPs rather than heading up a department of their own.
The exact reasons behind the radical shake-up are not clear, and it is not known whether national president Pedro Sánchez (pictured above) was unhappy with the work of some of his ministers, whether they themselves asked to step back a little from the front line, or whether it was simply a case of giving as many party members as possible a chance to lead.
In some cases, it seems the aim was to bring national politics closer to the person on the street, or make central government more 'local' – this may have been the motive behind three mayoresses who have not previously held seats in Parliament being promoted several rungs in one hit.
Although the changes took effect from Saturday and the new ministers have already sworn allegiance to their rôle in front of the King, in accordance with standard procedure, it is thought that their futures will start in earnest after the summer, given that Parliament breaks up for August and returns for the new 'term' in September.
Who's affected
Pedro Sánchez, president of Spain and leader of the socialist party (PSOE), governs in coalition with the left-wing independents Unidas Podemos – but only socialist MPs have been moved around.
This means Unidas Podemos ministers will remain in their jobs.
Work minister Yolanda Díaz, 49, social rights minister Ione Belarra, 33, universities minister Manuel Castells (currently Parliament's eldest at 78), minister for consumer affairs Alberto Garzón, 35 – who has recently raised controversy by urging the public to eat less meat 'for the sake of the planet', lauded by vegetarians and animal-lovers but panned by livestock farmers – and minister for equality Irene Montero, 32, wife of party founder and former deputy president Pablo Iglesias, will stay where they are.
Seven ministers take on new rôles, seven others will now just become MPs like all the others or even leave their seats and just be part of the membership – this has not been confirmed – and three existing ministers have taken on different jobs.
Another seven of Sánchez's socialist ministers will stay put.
Who will carry on as before
Along with all the Unidas Podemos ministers, former Supreme Court head judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska, 58, will continue as minister for the interior, and María Jesús Montero, 54, a medical doctor from Sevilla, will carry on as minister for the treasury.
Luis Planas, 68, currently grappling with the 'eat less meat' controversy, stays in place as minister of agriculture, fishing and food.
Albacete-born Economist José Luis Escrivá is still minister for inclusion, Social Security and migrations, despite recently raising hackles among Spain's 'baby boom' generation, those aged approximately 50-71, by hinting they would either have to earn a smaller pension, 'work for a bit longer', or retire on schedule with their planned pension but pay income tax on it.
He insists he was merely 'thinking out loud', and that no changes to the pension system will come into play until at least next year, giving him time to work out solutions that are fair to all concerned; interestingly, now aged 60, Escrivá falls within the age group which would be affected if his 'spoken thoughts' were to become reality.
Gran Canaria-born Carolina Darías, 55, has been forced to work flat-out as health minister, with the Covid crisis, although she has mainly caught the tail end of it, as her predecessor Salvador Illa was in the job when the pandemic first struck – he left the post earlier this year as he chose to run for regional presidency in the Catalunya elections.
Sra Darías is the fourth health minister since Pedro Sánchez became president in June 2018 – the first was Carmen Montón, ex-leader of health in the Valencia region, who resigned amid reports that her master's degree dissertation had included plagiarised sections, a claim never confirmed, and she was followed by María Luisa Carcedo, who was replaced by Illa during a cabinet reshuffle after the November 2019 elections.
Margarita Robles, 64, from León, carries on as minister of defence, the third female in the job in Spain's political history – first was the late Carme Chacón, during socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's reign and who famously walked the front line in Afghanistan whilst heavily pregnant; second was María Dolores de Cospedal, second-in-command to former right-wing PP president Mariano Rajoy.
Rumours were rife that the position of minister for industry, trade and tourism would be occupied by someone else, but in the end, Reyes Maroto, 47, from Valladolid, has kept it.
Who changes place
Hitherto minister for territorial policy and public function Miquel Iceta is now minister for culture and sports, replacing José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, who has been in the rôle since January 2020.
Sánchez's shortest-serving culture minister was author and journalist Màxim Huerta, who resigned after a week amid claims he had set up a company structure for his income tax declarations – again, reports that have never been confirmed.
Galicia native Nadia Calviño, 52, former director-general for budgets for the European Commission, will continue as minister for the economy, but will move from second deputy president of Spain to first deputy president.
Teresa Ribera, 51, also keeps her position as minister for environment, energy transition and demographic challenge, but moves up from fourth to third deputy president; Yolanda Díaz shifts to second deputy president.
At the beginning of Sánchez's reign, he had four – Unidas Podemos' then leader Pablo Iglesias as his first deputy, followed by Carmen Calvo, Nadia Calviño and Teresa Ribera; after Iglesias bowed out, Yolanda was moved into third between Nadia and Teresa.
Who's leaving and who is replacing them
Dr Carmen Calvo, 63, a university professor from Sevilla and Zapatero's ex-culture minister, leaves her position as first deputy president; now, there will only be three.
She also hands over the reins of her job as minister for the presidency, Parliamentary relations and democratic memory to Félix Bolaños, 45, from Madrid, up to now secretary-general for the presidency and a lawyer by profession.
Arancha González Laya, 51, a specialist in international trade from the Basque Country who has worked extensively for the WTO, UN and EU, leaves her post as minister for foreign affairs, European Union and international cooperation, which she has held since June 2018.
She is replaced by José Manuel Albares, 49, from Madrid, hitherto Spanish ambassador in Paris.
Isabel Celaá, 71, a former high school teacher from Bilbao, leaves her position as minister for education, and is replaced by MP in Aragón Pilar Alegría, 43, from Zaragoza, a primary school teacher by profession but who only taught for a few years until she became involved in politics at provincial level aged 30.
Criminal court judge Juan Carlos Campo, 59, from Osuna (Sevilla province), has been justice minister for just seven months, but is now substituted by Pilar Llop, 47, from Madrid, who was chair of the Senate until now and a judge specialising in gender violence.
Childhood superhero for a whole generation, Spain's first 'man on the moon' Pedro Duque, 57, who lives between Madrid and Jávea (Alicante province), tended to get asked more questions about his career as an astronaut than his rôle as science minister; now, those awed kids who saw him on TV in his space suit at the turn of this century will sorely miss him as he now passes the helm to a fellow east-coast politician – around 40 or so kilometres north of Jávea, mayoress of Gandia (Valencia province), Diana Morant, has just stepped into his shoes.
Diana, 41, a graduate in telecommunications engineering from Valencia Polytechnic, became local leader of the socialist party aged 34, and mayoress of the 78,000-strong coastal town the following year; from age 35 to 37, she was also MP in Valencia.
She is now the only representative in Spain's government from the Comunidad Valenciana, and occupies the highest-ranking political position ever held by a Gandia resident.
Two Valencia-born ministers are now set to leave their rôles, one of whom is José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, 52, a professional juror whose culture and sports department will now be headed up by Miquel Iceta, 60, from Barcelona; this leaves a vacancy in Iceta's old job of territorial policy and public function, which will be taken on by the mayoress of Puertollano (Ciudad Real province), Isabel Rodríguez, 40, a law graduate who has been in politics at provincial level since the year she finished university.
Sra Rodríguez will also be government spokeswoman.
José Luis Ábalos, 61, a former teacher from Torrent (Valencia province) has been minister for transport, mobility and urban agenda – known until a year and a half ago as 'public works' – since Sánchez formed his cabinet after the November 2019 elections, but will now be replaced by Raquel Sánchez Jiménez, 45, currently mayoress of her native Gavà (Barcelona province).
A graduate in law from Barcelona University and with a master's in Social Security and employment law from the city's Pompeu Fabra University, Raquel practised as a lawyer until she became assistant mayoress in 2007, aged 31.
Related Topics
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