1975)
head of government : President of the Government Jose Maria AZNAR
(since 5 May 1996); First Vice President Francisco ALVAREZ-CASCOS
FERNANDEZ (since 5 May 1996) and Second Vice President (and Minister
of Economy and Finance) Rodrigo RATO FIGAREDO (since 5 May 1996)
cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president
note : there is also a Council of State that is the supreme
consultative organ of the government
elections: the king is a hereditary monarch; president proposed by the
king and elected by the National Assembly following legislative
elections; election last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by NA
2000)
election results: Jose Maria AZNAR elected president; percent of
National Assembly vote - NA

Legislative branch: bicameral The General Courts or National Assembly
or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (256 seats;
208 members are directly elected by popular vote and the other 48 were
appointed by the regional legislatures to serve four-year terms) and
the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats;
members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional
representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March
2000); Congress of Deputies - last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held
by March 2000)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9; Congress of
Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%,
CiU 4.6%; seats by party - PP 156, PSOE 141, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo

Political parties and leaders:
principal national parties, from right to left: Popular Party or PP
[Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE
[Felipe GONZALEZ Marquez, secretary general]; Spanish Communist Party
or PCE [Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez]; United Left or IU (a coalition of
parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Julio ANGUITA
Gonzalez]
chief regional parties: Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL,
secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of
Catalonia or CDC [Pere ESTEVE] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia
or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN LLEIDA]); Basque Nationalist Party or PNV
[Xabier ARZALLUS Antia and Jose Antonio ARDANZA]; Canarian Coalition
or CC (a coalition of five parties)

Political pressure groups and leaders