The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise (MINECO) 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 proposing and carrying out the government policy on economic affairs, through reforms to improve

competitiveness Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...

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 ...

, focused on business support and the potential growth of the economy. At the same time, it directs the

commercial policy A commercial policy (also referred to as a trade policy or international trade policy) is a government's policy governing international trade. Commercial policy is an all encompassing term that is used to cover topics which involve international ...

of internationalization of companies, as well as the supervision of

investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

s and foreign transactions. As the main

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

department responsible for the

economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...

, it is also the ministry in charge of the proper functioning of the oldest and most relevant Delegated Committee, the Government Delegated Committee for Economic Affairs (CDGAE), a collective body of the Government in charge of guaranteeing the full coordination and coherence of the government policies with the economic policy. The Economy Minister chairs this committee, while the Secretary of State for Economy assumes the secretariat. The MINECO is headed by the Economy Minister, a

member who is appointed by the

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

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 of Economy is assisted by four high-ranking officials, the Secretary of State for Economy and Enterprise Support, the Secretary of State for Trade, the Secretary-General for the Treasury and International Financing and the Under-Secretary of Economy. The current minister is

Carlos Cuerpo Carlos Cuerpo Caballero (born 26 September 1980) is a Spanish economist and politician appointed minister of Economy, Trade and Business in December 2023, succeeding Nadia Calviño after she was elected as president of the European Investment ...

, a State economist and former Secretary-General for the Treasury.

History

Origin and protectionism

The responsibilities over the economy had been integrated in the

Ministry of the Treasury The was a division of the eighth-century Japanese government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, instituted in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. The Ministry was replaced in the Meiji period. Overview The nature of the min ...

since its creation in the 18th century. However, because of the weakness and the deficiencies of the Spanish industry and trade sectors, during the

dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...

was needed an autarchic policy. In addition, after the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the complexity of international markets had plunged

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 ...

into a strong industrial crisis. As a result, the sectors affected demanded a

protectionist tariff Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. They aim to make imported goods cost more than equivalent goods produced domestically, thereby causing sales of domestically produced goods to rise, ...

policy in defense of national production against foreign one and, in turn, make it easy the

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

s. Thus began an autarchic policy based on economic nationalism and tariff protectionism whose best example is the Cambó tariff of 1922. This policy was assumed by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. Thus a certain economic bonanza was achieved that was truncated by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

of 1929. The Cambo tariff was the technical and fiscal response to the critical deficit situation of the Spanish trade balance since 1920. It was a tariff policy that served two competing needs: one was to protect the different sectors of the

Spanish economy The economy of Spain is a highly developed social market economy. It is the world's 12th largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest in Europe (fifth excluding Russia). Spain is a member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as the ...

against the international, heavily taxing imports of products produced by foreign counterparts; another responded to the need to defend export agriculture, a sector with a large foreign market and which was damaged by the rise in tariffs, victim of the consequent increases in the countries affected by the Spanish measures. This was solved with the signing of international treaties of Commerce and Navigation agreeing a particular and significant reduction of the tariff with each one of the foreign nations with which commercial exchanges took place. Flores de Lemus defined the situation that was lucidly created: there was a complementarity between export agriculture and agriculture and industry in need of protection, although the instruments used by the Government were opposed and a continuous tension was created between them. In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and throughout the Francoist period, economic policy remained heavily centralized and interventionist, but by 1959 the limitations of strict autarky prompted the government to implement the Stabilization Plan, which opened the economy to foreign investment, reduced tariffs and state controls, and laid the groundwork for industrial modernization. Over the next two decades this “Spanish miracle” fostered rapid growth, particularly in tourism, construction and manufacturing—but also led to regional imbalances and inflationary pressures. With the transition to democracy in the late 1970s, these challenges spurred the creation in 1977 of a standalone Ministry of Economy and Trade, entrusted with coordinating fiscal, monetary and trade policies in line with evolving European Community norms.

Dictatorship, Republic and Civil War

Although remote antecedents of the Economy portfolio can be found in the creation of the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

as an immediate consequence of the crisis of 1917; The first step towards the creation of a specific department occurred during the

dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...

when the National Economy Council established by Royal Decree of 8 March 1924. The council was born with the purpose of studying the problems of the national production and consumption, for the purpose of setting the customs tariffs and determining the way to establish international commercial relations adapted to the Spanish economic reality. For this reason, its main functions were to collect statistics on foreign trade and

cabotage Cabotage () is the transport of goods or passengers between two places in the same country. The term originally applied to shipping along coastal routes, port to port, but now applies to aviation, railways, and road transport as well. Cabotage rig ...

; obtain economic and commercial information in Spain and abroad; establish the official valuation of the goods, taking into account the cost of the same; propose new customs tariffs, as well as the revision of nomenclatures and tariffs. It was also responsible for proposing the conclusion of

Trade Agreements A trade agreement (also known as trade pact) is a wide-ranging taxes, tariff and trade treaty that often includes investment guarantees. It exists when two or more countries agree on terms that help them trade with each other. The most common tra ...

. Finally, this body served to control all

pressure groups Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

in the country and thus channel their antagonistic interests: Boards and chambers of Commerce, Industry and Navigation, associations of producers, employers' organizations and

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

of all kinds. The end of the Military Directorate in 1925, the restoration of the ministerial regime and the economic circumstances led to the creation of the ''Ministry of National Economy'' (despite its name, it is today the

Ministry of Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

) by Royal Decree-Law of 3 November 1928, in response to public opinion that this affairs required to be placed under one direction only, both in terms of production, trade and consumption; and that to date they were dispersed among the rest of the government departments. The National Economy Council depended on the new Economy Ministry, although slightly modified, continuing with its work of collecting and contrasting the realities of the country around each and every one of the sectors of his economic life. By Decree of 16 December 1931, the department was renamed as Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Trade. In the middle of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the government of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

created a Ministry of Finance and Economy, first based in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and then in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. The head of the new institution was

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...

, who at the same time was

. Its creation was ordered by Decree of 17 May 1937 and its functions and structure were dictated by Decree 27 of that same month.

From the economic autarky to the developmentalism of the 1960s

The catastrophic situation in which the country was plunged after the

and the collapse of international markets caused by the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, led to the creation of a new National Economy Council. The new body monitored that all ministries follow the economic guidelines of the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

in a harmonious and coordinated manner. His legal regime constituted him as an autonomous body of work, consultant, adviser and technician in all the matters that affected the national economy making it dependent on the Office of the Prime Minister. The importance of the council will be increased, so much that institutionally its president will be compared to those of the

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...

, the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, the

Court of Auditors The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is the supreme audit institution of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg and is one of the seven EU institutions. The Court comprises on ...

and the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

. Its power and influence in economic matters, always oriented towards

autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movement ...

, will be equal to that of the General Secretariat of the Movement. Finally, the president of the council had the rank of

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. Its connection to the most immobile sector of the regime in terms of economy will mean the beginning of its decline. Confronted openly with the Ministries of the Treasury and Commerce for the turn that the

Stabilization Plan The Stabilization Plan of 1959 () or the National Plan of Economic Stabilization () were a series of economic measures taken by the Spanish Government in 1959. Its main goal was the economic liberalization of the Spanish markets, marking a turni ...

had made towards a

capitalist economy Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by a n ...

, the National Economy Council gradually began to lose importance in the 1960s. It disappeared in 1977, absorbed by the Ministry of Economy. During the premiership of Arias Navarro, a specific

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

was created for economic affairs, a position that was assumed by the head of the Treasury portfolio. The new position implied the disappearance of the Ministry of Development Planning, leaving its Undersecretariat ascribed to the Delegate Commission of the Government for Economic Affairs.

Democracy: the Ministry

Despite all that, the department that we know today was created in 1977, named Ministry of Economy. Its creation took place in conjunctural circumstances and of great importance for the economic history of

. Once the political transition to democracy began, the second government presided over by Suarez was aware that the constitutional process would be seriously hampered if there was no economic growth. The circumstances were totally contrary due to the serious situation that the country was going through due to the

oil crisis of 1973 In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after E ...

, the ineffectiveness of the measures adopted by the last governments of the dictatorship; as well as the accentuation of the latent problems:

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

, external deficit, deficit of the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

and the low level of investments. The institutional solutions involved remodeling 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 ...

, creating a Second Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs and the position of Minister of Economy through several royal decrees signed on 4 July 1977, appointments that fall in Fuentes Quintana. The Ministry, created to group in a single department the different competences in the matter of organization and economic planning and to be able to single out the decisions on economic policy extracting them in part from the

. Its main task was to establish the guidelines of the general economic policy, the short and medium term programming and the study of the proposal of advisable measures to ensure the smooth running of the economy of the country. To carry out is new duties, the department was structured through a Secretariat of State, an Undersecretariat, a General Technical Secretariat and four directorates-general, one for design the economic policy of the government, other to study and analyse the economic policy and its effects, other one to study the economiy and forecast and a fourth one for finance policy and supervision of banking entities. Most of those bodies were newly created and others were transferred from the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

and the

Ministry of the Presidency The Ministry of the Presidency (MPR) was the Spanish government departments, department of the Government of Spain that, from 1974 to 2023, assured the link between the different Ministries and the Prime Minister of Spain, Prime Minister and it w ...

. The new ministry also assumed the statistical powers of the government through the National Statistics Institute. The administrative reforms carried out by the first government headed by

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- ...

led in 1982 to the merger in one of the departments of Treasury and Economy and Commerce, giving birth to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. This body has continued to operate continuously with the exception of the 7th Cortes Generales (2000-2004), under the premiership 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 ...

, in which the Treasury and Economy portfolios were split in two. The same happens since the 10th Cortes Generales (2011–present). Between 2016 and 2018, the Ministry of Economy merged with the Ministry of Industry. Since 2018 the Ministry’s remit has expanded and contracted in response to shifting policy priorities and external shocks. In October 2018 it merged briefly with Industry, only to revert in 2020 to a stand-alone Economy portfolio as Spain confronted the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tasked with designing and implementing measures such as furlough schemes (ERTEs), liquidity guarantees for businesses and direct support to strategic sectors, the Ministry also became Spain’s lead coordinator for the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, channeling over €69 billion into national programmes for green transition, digitalisation and social cohesion.

Structure

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise is organised in the following superior bodies: * The Secretariat of State for Economy and Enterprise Support ** The General Secretariat for the Treasury and International Financing *** The Directorate-General for the Treasury and Financial Policy *** The Directorate-General for International Financing ** The Directorate-General for Economic Policy ** The Directorate-General for Economic Analysis ** The Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds * The Secretariat of State for Trade ** The Directorate-General for International Trade and Investments ** The Directorate-General for Commercial Policy **The Deputy Directorate-General for Studies and Commercial Foresight **The Deputy Directorate-General for Commercial Strategy and Economic Security * The Undersecretariat of Economy, Trade and Enterprise ** The Technical General Secretariat **The Inspectorate of Services **The Deputy Directorate-General for Human Resources **The Deputy Directorate-General for Financial Administration and Administrative Office **The Budget Office **The Deputy Directorate-General for Information and Communication Technologies *The Deputy Directorate-General for European Funds

Ministry agencies

*Macroprudential Authority Financial Stability Council. * National Statistics Institute *

Official Credit Institute The Official Credit Institute (; ICO) is a Spanish lending institution. Its functions include funding investment projects and the assistance for the liquidity needs of Spanish companies. It also operates as State Financial Agency. A successor to ...

National Commission on Markets and Competition National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

National Securities Market Commission The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) () is the Spanish government agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in Spain. It is an independent agency that falls under the Ministry of Economy (Spain), Minis ...

*Institute for Accounting and Accounts Audit * SEPBLAC *Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies * Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade

List of officeholders

Office name: *Ministry of Economy (1977–1980; 2000–2004) *Ministry of Economy and Trade (1980–1982) *Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (2011–2016) *Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (2016–2018) *Ministry of Economy and Enterprise (2018–2020) *Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (2020–2023) *Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise (2023–present)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minister of Economy And Finance (Spain) Economy and Finance

Economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

fr:Ministère de l'Économie et des Finances (Espagne)