| Third Deputy Prime Minister of Spain | |
|---|---|
| Vicepresidencia Tercera del Gobierno de España | |
.svg) | |
.jpg) | |
| Style | Excelentísimo/a Señor/a |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Residence | Palacio de la Moncloa |
| Seat | Madrid, Spain |
| Nominator | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | |
| Term length | No fixed term No term limits |
| Constituting instrument |
|
| Formation | 3 January 1974 |
| First holder | Licinio de la Fuente y de la Fuente |
The third deputy prime minister of Spain, officially the Third Vice President of the Government of Spain (Spanish: Vicepresidencia Tercera del Gobierno de España), is a senior member of the Government of Spain. The office is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the prime minister (PM). It is a constitutional office because the Constitution provides for the possibility of more than one deputy PM.
It has rarely been utilized, being occupied three times in the last years of the Franco dictatorship and three times in the following democratic period (1977–1978; 2009–2011; and since 2020).
The office does not possess special constitutional powers beyond its responsibility as a member of the Council of Ministers. The position is regulated by the Government Act of 1997 and only specifies that the office's purpose is to replace the PM when that office is empty due to a vacancy, absence, or illness.[1] The third deputy PM only assumes this responsibility if the first and second deputies cannot.
- ^ Ley 50/1997, de 27 de noviembre, del Gobierno (Law 50) (in Spanish). 28 November 1997. Retrieved 13 January 2020.