The Administration of the Autonomous Communities, also known as Autonomous Administration, is a

Public Administration of Spain The Public Administration of Spain is the governmental apparatus that manages the Spanish public interests. The Constitution of 1978 declares in article 103.1 that the Public Administration serves objectively the general interests and acts in ac ...

. It belongs to the second level of the Public Administrations, because it exerts its powers within the limits of each

Autonomous Community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

. It is integrated by: * Central Organization (Government of the Autonomous Community or Council of Government, the President of the Autonomous Communities, the Vice President and the Councilors). * Peripheral Administration (Territorial Delegations of the Autonomous Communities, Sectoral Delegations of the Government Departments). The Autonomic Administration has a very broad level of competence, based on the

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

of the State or through the State of Autonomies. As for the level of competences, they are not always the same, and are regulated in each Statute of Autonomy for each

, making in some cases the level of competences is higher than those of a

Federal state A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...

. It should also be taken into account that the Autonomous Community has its own

legislative body A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

, and that the autonomous administration must behave before it like any other

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

, respecting the rules issued by its autonomous parliament. In the

Spanish Constitution of 1978 The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

it is regulated in Chapter Three, entitled "of the Autonomous Communities". This Chapter regulates the form of creation and authorization of the Autonomous Communities, the elaboration of its Statutes, the powers transferred to the Autonomous Communities, the powers of the State, its resources and its financing.

Structure

Like the

General State Administration The General State Administration () is one of the Public Administrations of Spain. It is the only administration with powers throughout the national territory and it is controlled by the central government. It comprises a: * Central Organizatio ...

, the Autonomous Administration is regulated by Law 40/2015 and the structure is practically the same.Ley 40/2015, de 1 de octubre, de Régimen Jurídico del Sector Público.
/ref> However, it can vary from one Autonomous Community to another depending on the provisions in the Statute of Autonomy. Here the common organs are exposed:

Central Organization

Government

The Autonomous Government is the executive power of the

. As in the

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

it responds before its

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

(autonomic parliament). The Government directs the Autonomous Administration within its competences. Contrary to what happens with the Central Government, the decisions taken by the Executive are not sanctioned by the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, and it is the President of the Autonomous Community who signs the laws and decisions on his behalf.

President

The President of the Autonomous Community is the head of the executive power as well as the highest authority of the Autonomous Community. He directs the Autonomous Government, elects its vice president and Councilors and decides the policies that the government carries out. As at the State level, the President may elect more than one Vice President and may freely separate his Vice Presidents and Councilors. If the President is ceased, they cease with him.

Councilors

The Councilors of the Autonomous Community are like the Ministers of the Central Government. They lead a ''Consejería'' (government department as a Ministry). Councilor work in their governmental area and appoint the members of their department like Vice Councilors, Directors-General, etc. The figure of the Vice Councilor or Deputy Councilor is not always present, because it is the decision of the Councilor to exist or not this position and, in Autonomous Communities of small size where the work is not much, often these positions do not exist.

Directors-General

The Directorates-General are management departmental bodies and steering bodies, hierarchically inferior to the Councilors or Vice Councilors (if they exist). The holder must have a degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent. The Royal Decree on the structure of the department may omit the first requirement because it is a Directorate-General whose exceptional characteristics require that the holder does not have the status of official of the State.

Cabinets

They are consultation bodies generally composed of a technical secretary and several technicians who support the President, Vice President, Councilors, etc. in their relations with institutions, in making decisions and performing special advisory tasks in a particular branch of knowledge.

Peripheral Administration

Territorial Delegations

The Territorial Delegations of the Autonomous Communities carry out the same activity as the Delegations of the Central Government. They are administrative bodies whose head is a high position appointed in the discretion of the Autonomous Government. He is in charge of the management of the Autonomous Administration in some of the territorial divisions of the Autonomous Communities, such as the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Sectoral Delegations

The Sectoral Delegations of the Consejerías are organs that represent the different Departments of an autonomous government. The holder must have a degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent

External links

Organization of each Autonomous Community

References

{{Authority control Public Administration of Spain Public administration Public policy Autonomous communities of Spain Decentralization