The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MITMA) (), traditionally known as the Ministry of Development (MIFOM), is the department of the

Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...

responsible for preparing and implementing the government policy on land, air and maritime

transport infrastructure Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelines ...

and the control, planning and regulation of the transport services on this areas. It is also responsible for guaranteeing access to

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

; urban, soil and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

policies; planning and controlling the postal and telegraph services, directing the services related to

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

and mapping, and planning and programing the government investments on infrastructure and services related to this scope. The Ministry's headquarters are in the New Ministries government complex. MITMA is headed by the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, who is appointed by the

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

at request of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. The Minister is assisted by two main officials, the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Housing and the Under Secretary of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. Other senior officials of the ministry include the Secretary General for Infrastructure, the Secretary General for Transport and the Secretary General for Housing. Since 21 November 2023 the minister has been Óscar Puente.

History

First years and new ministries

The Ministry of Development, currently Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda was created by Royal Decree of 28 January 1847. In this date, the former Secretariat of State and of the Dispatch of General Development of the Realm (created in 1812 and re-established in 1832) had a huge scope of competences and included areas of government policy that, over the years, would be splintered in the

Ministries of Education Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

Culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, Development,

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

, Industry and Commerce. On 13 May 1834 the ministry was renamed "of the Interior" and in December 1835 "Secretary of State and of the Dispatch of the Governance of the Realm". In 1847. that department split for the first time with the creation of a Secretariat of the Dispatch for Commerce, Instruction and Public Works which assumed the competences over public works, education and charity and, in 1851, officially acquired the name of Ministry of Development. Around 1869 the Ministry was composed of the Directorate-General for Public Instruction and the Directorate-General for Public Works, Agriculture, Industry and Trade. A year later the National Geographic Institute was created, which is incorporated from the first moment to this Ministry. In 1900, the Education and Culture areas were torn apart from Development, when the Ministry of Public Instruction was created. For five years, the department was named Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Public Works, with powers over

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

, canals,

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, lighthouses and beacons, as well as

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, industry and

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

. These last three areas of activity were attributed to the new Ministry of National Economy in 1928, maintaining

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

, railways, mines,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. After the advent of the Second Republic, and by virtue of the Decree of 16 December 1931, the name of the Ministry of Public Works was adopted. It had an Undersecretariat and three Directorates-General: Railways, Trams and Mechanical Road Transport; Roads and Hydraulic Works and the Central Service of Ports and Maritime Signals. The structure was maintained for almost half a century, albeit with partial modifications: in 1968 the Technical General Secretariat was created; the Directorate-General for Railways, Trams and Mechanical Transport by Road was renamed Directorate-General for Land Transport and the Directorate-General for Roads and Hydraulic Works was renamed Directorate-General for Roads.

Democratic stage

Major changes occurred during the Constituent Legislature. Between July 1977 and March 1991, the competences of the original department remained divided in two: On the one hand, the Ministry of Public Works and Urbanism (with the incorporation of the competences in matter of housing and the Directorate-General for Territorial Action and Environment, coming from Office of the Prime Minister) and on the other hand, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (since 1981, also Tourism). In 1990, the environmental issue was given greater importance, with the creation of the General Secretariat for Environment. It was not until the third government of

Felipe González Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a retired Spanish politician who was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996 and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. He is the longest-serving democratically- ...

when the merger occurred again (except for the Tourism area), by Royal Decree 576/1991, of 21 April, with Josep Borrell as minister of the Department (who in 1993 incorporated to its denomination the term 'Environment'). With the arrival of

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

to the Government, the old denomination of Ministry of Development was recovered and it is created, for the first time in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, a Ministry of Environment which assumed those competences. Since then, the competencies have been practically the same with little modifications like the loss of the telecoms functions in 2000 and the loss of housing functions between 2004 and 2010.

Structure

The Ministry of Development employs the following bodies: * The Secretariat of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility. ** The General Secretariat for Land Transport. *** The Directorate-General for Roads. ***The Directorate-General for the Railway Sector. ***The Directorate-General for Road Transport ***The Technical Cabinet. ** The General Secretariat for Air and Maritime Transport. *** The Directorate-General for Civil Aviation. *** The Directorate-General for the Merchant Marine. ***The Transport Studies and Technology Division. ***The Technical Cabinet. ** The General Secretariat for Sustainable Mobility. *** The Directorate-General for Mobility Strategies. ** The Emergency and Crisis Management and Coordination Unit. * The Deputy Directorate-General for International Relations. *The Undersecretariat. ** The Technical General Secretariat. ** The Directorate-General for Economic Programming and Budget. ** The Directorate-General for Organization and Inspection. ** The Directorate-General of the National Geographic Institute. **The Emergency and Crisis Coordination Unit.

Ministry agencies and enterprises

* Ports of the State * Railway Infrastructure Administrator *

Renfe Operadora Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles, Spanish National Railway Netwo ...

* ENAIRE * Railway Safety Agency * Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency * Maritime Safety and Rescue Society

List of ministers

(1) Minister of Communications
(2) Minister of Public Works
(3) Minister of Public Works and Communications
(4) Minister of Communications and the Merchant Navy
(5) Minister of Communications, Transport and Public Works
(6) Minister of Communications and Transport
(7) Minister of Public Works and Urban Development
(8) Minister of Public Works, Transport and the Environment
(9) Minister of Development
(10) Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Public Works
(11) Minister of General Development of the Realm
(12) Minister of Trade, Education and Public Works
(13) Minister of Inner Affairs
(14) Secretary of State and of the Dispatch of General Development of the Realm
(15) Minister of Transports and Communications
(16) Minister of Transports, Tourism and Communications
(17) Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda
(18) Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility

Notes and references

External links

Ministry of Public Works and Transport
(Spanish) {{authority control, state=expanded 1847 establishments in Spain Government agencies established in 1847

Public Works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

Transport organisations based in Spain Transport in Spain Housing in Spain Infrastructure in Spain