Second government of Adolfo Suárez explained

Cabinet Name:	2nd government of Adolfo Suárez
Cabinet Type:	Government
Jurisdiction:	Spain
Flag:	Flag of Spain (1977–1981).svg
Flag Border:	true
Incumbent:	1977–1979
Date Formed:	5 July 1977
Date Dissolved:	6 April 1979
Government Head:	Adolfo Suárez
Government Head Title:	Prime Minister
Deputy Government Head:	Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado^1st, Enrique Fuentes Quintana^2nd, Fernando Abril Martorell^3rd (1977–1978) Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado^1st, Fernando Abril Martorell^2nd (1978–1979)
Deputy Government Head Title:	Deputy Prime Ministers
State Head:	Juan Carlos I
State Head Title:	Monarch
Members Number:	19 (1977; 1978) 18 (1977–1978; 1978–1979)
Total Number:	24
Political Party:	UCD
Legislature Status:	Minority government
Opposition Party:	PSOE
Opposition Leader:	Felipe González
Election:	1977 general election
Last Election:	1979 general election
Legislature Term:	Constituent Cortes
Budget:	1978
Previous:	Suárez I
Successor:	Suárez III

The second government of Adolfo Suárez was formed on 5 July 1977, following the latter's confirmation as Prime Minister of Spain by King Juan Carlos I on 17 June, as a result of the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) emerging as the largest parliamentary force at the 1977 general election.^[1] It succeeded the first Suárez government and was the Government of Spain from 5 July 1977 to 6 April 1979, a total of days, or .^{[2] [3]}

Suárez's second cabinet was initially made up by independents and members from the political parties that had run within the UCD alliance, most of whom would end up joining it upon its transformation into a full-fledged political party.^{[4] [5] [6]} It was automatically dismissed on 2 March 1979 as a consequence of the 1979 general election, but remained in acting capacity until the next government was sworn in.^[7]

Cabinet changes

Suárez's second government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure:

• On 1 September 1977, the Ministry of Culture and Welfare was renamed as Ministry of Culture, with a restructuring of the ministerial department that saw some of its competences transferred to other ministries, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^{[8] [9]}
• On 27 September 1977, Ignacio Camuñas stepped down as Deputy Minister of Relations with the Cortes, without portfolio, over political discrepancies on the UCD's composition as a unitary political party.^{[10] [11]} After his resignation, Camuñas's office was discontinued.^[12]
• On 11 February 1978, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo was appointed to the newly created post of Minister of Relations with the European Communities, without portfolio.^{[13] [14]}
• On 25 February 1978, a major cabinet reshuffle resulting from the resignation of Enrique Fuentes Quintana saw Fernando Abril Martorell being reassigned as new Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy; Manuel Jiménez de Parga was replaced as Minister of Labour by Rafael Calvo Ortega; Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún replaced Alberto Oliart in the Ministry of Industry and Energy; Jaime Lamo de Espinosa became new Minister of Agriculture in place of José Enrique Martínez Genique; and the Ministry of Transport and Communications saw the change from José Lladó to Salvador Sánchez-Terán.^{[15] [16]}
• On 23 March 1979, Landelino Lavilla was elected President of the Congress of Deputies of the 1st Legislature, a position incompatible with his post as acting Minister of Justice. Rodolfo Martín Villa, acting Minister of the Interior, took on the ordinary duties of the affairs of Lavilla's vacant ministry.^[17]

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers was structured into the offices for the prime minister, the three deputy prime ministers and 18 ministries, including a number of deputy ministers without portfolio.^{[18] [19]} From February 1978, the council would only include two deputy prime ministers.^[16]

← Suárez II Government → (5 July 1977 – 6 April 1979)
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office
Prime Minister	Adolfo Suárez			17 June 1977	2 April 1979
First Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Defence	Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado		Military	5 July 1977	6 April 1979	^[20]
Second Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Economy	Enrique Fuentes Quintana			5 July 1977	25 February 1978	^[21]
Third Deputy Prime Minister	Fernando Abril Martorell			5 July 1977	25 February 1978
Minister of Foreign Affairs	Marcelino Oreja			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of Justice	Landelino Lavilla			5 July 1977	22 March 1979
Minister of Finance	Francisco Fernández Ordóñez			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of the Interior	Rodolfo Martín Villa			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of Public Works and Urbanism	Joaquín Garrigues Walker			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of Education and Science	Íñigo Cavero			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of Labour	Manuel Jiménez de Parga			5 July 1977	25 February 1978
Minister of Industry and Energy	Alberto Oliart			5 July 1977	25 February 1978
Minister of Agriculture	José Enrique Martínez Genique			5 July 1977	25 February 1978
Minister of Trade and Tourism	Juan Antonio García Díez			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of the Presidency	José Manuel Otero			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of Transport and Communications	José Lladó			5 July 1977	25 February 1978
Minister of Health and Social Security	Enrique Sánchez de León			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Minister of Culture and Welfare	Pío Cabanillas Gallas			5 July 1977	1 September 1977
Deputy Minister for the Regions, without portfolio	Manuel Clavero			5 July 1977	6 April 1979
Deputy Minister for Relations with the Cortes, without portfolio	Ignacio Camuñas			5 July 1977	27 September 1977
Changes September 1977
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office
Minister of Culture	Pío Cabanillas Gallas			1 September 1977	6 April 1979
Changes February 1978
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office
Second Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Economy	Fernando Abril Martorell		UCD	25 February 1978	6 April 1979	^[22] ^[23]
Minister of Labour	Rafael Calvo Ortega		UCD	25 February 1978	6 April 1979
Minister of Industry and Energy	Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún		UCD	25 February 1978	6 April 1979
Minister of Agriculture	Jaime Lamo de Espinosa		UCD	25 February 1978	6 April 1979
Minister of Transport and Communications	Salvador Sánchez-Terán		UCD	25 February 1978	6 April 1979
Minister for Relations with the European Communities, without portfolio	Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo		UCD	11 February 1978	6 April 1979	^[24]
Changes 1979
Portfolio	Name	Party		Took office	Left office
Minister of Justice

Departmental structure

Adolfo Suárez's second government is organised into several superior and governing units, whose number, powers and hierarchical structure may vary depending on the ministerial department.^{[25] [26]}

Unit/body rank

• Secretary of state
• Undersecretary
• Director-general
• Autonomous agency
• Military & intelligence agency

Office	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Alliance/party
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister		Adolfo Suárez	17 June 1977	2 April 1979			UCD
First Deputy Prime Minister		Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Second Deputy Prime Minister		Enrique Fuentes Quintana	5 July 1977	25 February 1978			Independent
		Fernando Abril Martorell	25 February 1978	6 April 1979			UCD
Third Deputy Prime Minister		Fernando Abril Martorell	5 July 1977	25 February 1978			UCD
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs		Marcelino Oreja	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD	^[27]
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice		Landelino Lavilla	5 July 1977	22 March 1979			UCD
		Rodolfo Martín Villa	22 March 1979	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence		Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD	^[28]
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Finance		Francisco Fernández Ordóñez	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior		Rodolfo Martín Villa	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Public Works and Urbanism
Ministry of Public Works and Urbanism		Joaquín Garrigues Walker	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Education and Science
Ministry of Education and Science		Íñigo Cavero	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Labour		Manuel Jiménez de Parga	5 July 1977	25 February 1978			UCD
		Rafael Calvo Ortega	25 February 1978	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Industry and Energy
Ministry of Industry and Energy		Alberto Oliart	5 July 1977	25 February 1978			UCD
		Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún	25 February 1978	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture		José Enrique Martínez Genique	5 July 1977	25 February 1978			UCD
		Jaime Lamo de Espinosa	25 February 1978	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Trade and Tourism
Ministry of Trade and Tourism		Juan Antonio García Díez	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of the Presidency
Ministry of the Presidency		José Manuel Otero	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Economy
Ministry of Economy		Fernando Abril Martorell	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Transport and Communications
Ministry of Transport and Communications		José Lladó	5 July 1977	25 February 1978			UCD
		Salvador Sánchez-Terán	25 February 1978	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Health and Social Security
Ministry of Health and Social Security		Enrique Sánchez de León	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Culture and Welfare ----Ministry of Culture		Pío Cabanillas Gallas	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Ministers without portfolio
Deputy Minister for the Regions, without portfolio		Manuel Clavero	5 July 1977	6 April 1979			UCD
Deputy Minister for Relations with the Cortes, without portfolio		Ignacio Camuñas	5 July 1977	27 September 1977			UCD
Minister for Relations with the European Communities, without portfolio		Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo	11 February 1978	6 April 1979			UCD

Bibliography

• Rodríguez Teruel. Juan. 2004–2005. Los Ministros de la España democrática. Perfil, trayectorias y carrera ministerial de los miembros de Suárez a Zapatero (1976-2005). Autonomous University of Barcelona. es. 23 August 2020.

External links

• Governments. Juan Carlos I (20.11.1975 ...). CCHS-CSIC (in Spanish).
• Governments of Spain 1977–1982. Ministers of Adolfo Suárez and Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo. Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish).
• The governments of the Union of the Democratic Centre (1977–1982). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).

Notes and References

1. News: 18 June 1977. Suárez, confirmado por el Rey, formará nuevo Gobierno. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
2. News: 5 July 1977. Segundo Gobierno Suárez. es. El País. 5 January 2020.
3. News: 30 January 1981. Los Gobiernos de Suárez. es. El País. 5 January 2020.
4. News: 5 July 1977. Diez ministros pertenecen a la "Unión del Centro Democrático". es. La Vanguardia. 23 August 2020.
5. News: Merino. Julio. 20 April 2020. La historia de UCD a través de Landelino Lavilla, uno de los hombres clave de la Transición. es. El Cierre Digital. 23 August 2020.
6. Web site: 3. Partidos políticos que integraron "Unión de Centro Democrático". es. Ministry of the Interior. 23 August 2020.
7. News: 3 March 1979. La victoria de UCD (167 escaños) sitúa a Suárez en condiciones de formar un Gobierno monocolor. es. El País. 5 January 2020.
8. News: 1 September 1977. Se crea la Subdirección General de Medios de Comunicación. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
9. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 209. 1 September 1977. es. Real Decreto 2258/1977, de 27 de agosto, sobre estructura orgánica y funciones del Ministerio de Cultura. 0212-033X. 19581–19584.
10. News: 28 September 1977. Camuñas abandona el Gobierno. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
11. News: 29 September 1977. Un síntoma de la crisis. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
12. News: 29 September 1977. Suárez quiere neutralizar la crisis gubernamental por unos días. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
13. News: 10 February 1978. Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo será nombrado hoy ministro para Europa. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
14. News: 11 February 1978. Calvo Sotelo, ministro para las Relaciones con la CEE. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
15. News: 26 October 1977. Se confirma la crisis de Gobierno. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
16. News: 25 February 1978. Fernando Abril asume el Ministerio de Economía y cambian cuatro ministros del Gabinete. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
17. News: 23 March 2019. Martín Villa se hace cargo de Justicia. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
18. News: 5 July 1977. Adolfo Suárez aprobó la reforma administrativa por simple decreto. es. El País. 4 January 2020.
19. Web site: lamoncloa.gob.es. es. Gobiernos por legislaturas. Legislatura Constituyente. 4 January 2020.
20. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 159. 5 July 1977. es. Real Decreto 1563/1977, de 4 de julio, por el que se nombran Ministros del Gobierno. 0212-033X. 15045–15046.
21. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 159. 5 July 1977. es. Real Decreto 1562/1977, de 4 de julio, por el que se nombran Vicepresidentes del Gobierno a don Enrique Fuentes Quintana y don Fernando Abril Martorell. 0212-033X. 15045.
22. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 48. 25 February 1978. es. Real Decreto 230/1978, de 24 de febrero, por el que se nombra Vicepresidente segundo del Gobierno a don Fernando Abril Martorell. 0212-033X. 4613.
23. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 48. 25 February 1978. es. Real Decreto 231/1978, de 24 de febrero, por el que se nombran Ministros del Gobierno. 0212-033X. 4613.
24. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 36. 11 February 1978. es. Real Decreto 135/1978, de 10 de febrero, por el que se nombra Ministro para las Relaciones con las Comunidades Europeas, sin cartera, a don Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo. 0212-033X. 3437.
25. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 195. 31 July 1957. es. Decreto de 26 julio de 1957 por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley de Régimen jurídico de la Administración del Estado. 0212-033X. 646–651.
26. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 159. 5 July 1977. es. Real Decreto 1558/1977, de 4 de julio, por el que se reestructuran determinados Organos de la Administración Central del Estado. 0212-033X. 15035–15037.
27. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 95. 20 April 1976. es. Decreto 804/1976, de 2 de abril, por el que se reorganiza el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores. 0212-033X. 7799–7803.
28. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 265. 5 November 1977. es. Real Decreto 2723/1977, de 2 de noviembre, por el que se estructura orgánica y funcionalmente el Ministerio de Defensa. 0212-033X. 24278–24281.