The fourth deputy prime minister, officially Fourth Vice President of the Government (Spanish: Vicepresidencia Cuarta del Gobierno de España), is a senior member of the Government of Spain. The office of the Fourth Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister. It is a constitutional office because it is foreseen in the Constitution when it provides for the possibility of existing more than one Vice Presidency.
| Fourth Deputy Prime Minister | |
|---|---|
| Vicepresidencia cuarta del Gobierno | |
.svg) | |
Incumbent Office abolished | |
| Government of Spain Council of Ministers | |
| Style | Excelentísimo/a Señor/a |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Residence | Palacio de la Moncloa |
| Seat | Madrid, Spain |
| Nominator | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | Monarch Countersigned by the Prime Minister of Spain |
| Term length | No fixed term No term limits are imposed on the office. |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of 1978 |
| Formation | 13 January 2020 |
| First holder | Teresa Ribera |
| Final holder | María Jesús Montero |
| Abolished | 12 July 2021 29 December 2023 |
History and powers
It is an office of new creation established on 13 January 2020.[1] Teresa Ribera, the minister for the Ecological Transition, was appointed the first officeholder.
The office of fourth deputy prime minister does not possess special constitutional powers beyond its responsibility as a member of the Council of Ministers. The position is regulated in the Government Act of 1997 and it only specifies that the raison d'être of the office is to replace the Prime Minister when the office is vacant, or the premier is absent or ill.[2] The fourth deputy prime minister only assumes this responsibility if the first, second and third deputies could not do it.
The office was abolished on 12 July 2021, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promoted Teresa Ribera to third deputy prime minister. It was re-established on 21 November 2023, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez appointed María Jesús Montero to the office.
List of officeholders
Office name:
- Fourth Vice Presidency of the Government (2020–2021; 2023)
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Party | Government | Prime Minister (Tenure) | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Duration | ||||||||
.jpg) | Teresa Ribera (born 1969) | 13 January 2020 | 12 July 2021 | 1 year and 180 days | PSOE | Sánchez II | Pedro Sánchez.jpg) (2018–present) | [3] [4] | ||
| Office disestablished during this interval. | ||||||||||
.jpg) | María Jesús Montero (born 1966) | 21 November 2023 | 29 December 2023 | 38 days | PSOE | Sánchez III | Pedro Sánchez.jpg) (2018–present) | [5] [6] | ||