The Ministry of the Interior was created to handle matters relating to the governance of the
Kingdom of Spain, a large area of responsibility that in the past had been assumed by the
Councils of the Monarchy and which from the 18th century onwards ended up being centralized by the
Council of Castile, whose numerous functions included assisting and collaborating with the
monarch on government affairs. In the 18th century, the extinction of the
Habsburg dynasty and the arrival of the
Bourbons brought profound institutional reforms. With King
Philip V, this Council extended its jurisdiction to the territories of the
Crown of Aragon and the whole country was ruled by the same institutions. Also during this time, the Councils started to lose importance and the
Secretariats of State and of the Office were created. King Philip reformed the government and the First Secretariat of State —today known as
Ministry of Foreign Affairs— was responsible for matter regarding the governance of the realm. However, depending on the king's confidence in his ministers, other departments could end up taking over these responsibilities. Thus, at different times, the heads of other Secretariats also assumed domestic governance, and even the Council of Castile, during the tenure of the
Count of Aranda, regained significant prominence in this area. However, the
Peninsular War introduced into Spain, under French influence, the concept of internal government as its own entity, which would lead to the creation of a new ministry.
Nineteenth century Origin: the Peninsular War '', by
Francisco Goya The
uprising of the people of Madrid on 2 May 1808, extended the
Napoleonic Wars to the Iberian Peninsula, in response to
Napoleon's imposition of his brother,
Joseph, on the Spanish throne. From that moment on, Spain was divided into two factions, each with its own legal system. On the French side, the
Bayonne Statute was approved, a charter granted by Joseph Bonaparte that adapted the Spanish political system to the French model, and created within its government a Ministry of the Interior and a Ministry of General Police. Meanwhile, on the Spanish side, the
Cortes of Cádiz approved the
Constitution of 1812, whose article 222 established a Secretariat of State and of the Office of the Governance of the Kingdom for the Peninsula and Adjacent Islands and another of the same characteristics for the
Overseas territories, which were added to the pre-existing departments since the reign of Philip V (
State,
War,
Grace and Justice,
Navy and Indies and
Finance). The vast majority of authors do not consider the department created by the Napoleonic government as the original one, because of its invasor nature. For our purposes, the Secretariat of State and of the Office of the Governance of the Kingdom was regulated by Decree CXLV of 6 April 1812 of the Cortes, which established that this department was responsible for: Despite the department's broad range of responsibilities, it lacked a fundamental one: public safety, hich, at that time, was part of the
Ministry of Justice. The first minister to hold this portfolio was
José García de León y Pizarro.
A liberal ministry The new department did not last long. Once the war was over and
Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne, he annulled most of the measures implemented by the Cortes of Cádiz and reinstated
absolutism. This was a severe blow to the
liberals, who had been the main instigators of the Monarchy's administrative reforms and who had hoped that, after supporting Ferdinand's cause, he would accept a change of regime. Nothing could have been further from the truth; the king reinstated the
Polysynodial System and abolished, among other bodies, the secretariats of government, returning to the pre-war situation. Viewed as a
liberal ministry, the Secretariat of Government was suppressed until 1820, when liberals rose up against the king following
Rafael del Riego's uprising and forced him to reinstate the constitutional regime established by the 1812 Constitution. This included the restoration of a department dedicated exclusively to the affairs of the Kingdom's governance. During the brief period of the
Liberal Triennium, several proposals were put forward to create police forces, such as the National Safeguard Legion. The instability of this period was evident in the ministerial appointments, with numerous officeholders, and it ended with the restoration of absolutism in 1823 thanks to the support the king received from the
Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis. This ushered in the
Ominous Decade, a dark period in Spanish history marked by repression of liberals. Once again, all traces of the reforms of the Liberal Triennium were eliminated, and although an attempt was made to reformulate a Ministry of the Interior called the Secretariat of the Interior (which encompassed both Peninsular and Overseas affairs), it lasted only a few months. Its sole head was . The most relevant events of this period were the creation in 1824 of the General Police of the Kingdom, direct predecessor of the current
National Police Corps, the creation of the
Carabineros in 1829 —which in 1940 was integrated into the
Civil Guard— and the succession issue, which caused King Ferdinand to make risky moves to secure the throne for his daughter
Isabella, Princess of Asturias. To achieve this, his government introduced some reforms, both in the academic and social spheres. As far as the administration of the Kingdom was concerned, the Sovereign had in mind since 1830 the creation of a Ministry of the Interior, an idea that was defended by relevant politicians of the time such as
Javier de Burgos (1826), (1830), or his own finance minister, (1830), who called it "Secretariat of the Office of the Political Government". It encountered greater resistance among some justice ministers like (1811) or (1832), who even resigned upon its creation, and even the
Council of State (1830), whose report ended in a tie among its members. The name's choice was not insignificant; an attempt was made to avoid both the term "Interior", due to its association with the French occupation, and the term "Government (or Governance)", linked to the liberals of Cádiz.
From Interior to Governance During the reign of
Isabella II, and with the Queen Regent
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies acting in her name, the latter had no choice but to rely on the liberals to defend her daughter's right to reign. To this end, she promulgated a charter, the
Royal Statute, which, for the first time, regulated a government separate from the Crown —although headed by it— and with a clearly differentiated head of the executive, the President of the Council of Ministers (
prime minister). In this new phase, the liberals renamed the department in May 1834, reinstating the term "Interior" and the sub-delegates of public works became known as civil governors. A few months later, the Undersecretariat of the Interior was created with as under-secretary, and the Ministry was relocated, moving to the former headquarters of the
Council of the Supreme Inquisition, on Torija Street in Madrid. Again, at the end of 1835, the name of the Department was changed once more, becoming the "Department of Governance of the Kingdom". This new stage as the Ministry of Government began with a six-department organization, dedicated to the general affairs, local administration and services, police forces, prisons, public education, economic development, agriculture and public works. Despite numerous reforms in the area of public safety, a feasible solution could not be found, and government protection was considered imperative to ensure the freedom of citizens; this was stated in a Decree of 26 January 1844, "civil liberty, continually exposed to individual manipulations and violence, does not seem to subsist firmly without the protective vigilance and robust support of the solicitous and vigorous authority of the government". In this regard, a few months later another decree was approved that created the
Civil Guard, led at that time by
The Duke of Ahumada, with a dual dependency of
War and Governance.
Ministry of Development in the context of the
Spanish Revolution of 1854 By Royal Decree of 28 January 1847, the Secretariat of State and of the Office of Trade, Instruction and Public Works was created. This new ministry, which since 1851 was known as
Ministry of Development, was created by assuming the Ministry of Interior powers related to
public instruction,
charity and
public works, as well as those relating to
commerce, which at that time was under the
Ministry of the Navy. Likewise, the Ministry of the Governance assumed responsibility for matters relating to the government of the overseas territories, which until then had been under the jurisdiction of the Navy. During this period, the dependence of the civil governors on this Ministry was notable, as the department controlled and manipulated elections through them during the era of
turnismo, achieving the most advantageous results.
José Posada Herrera, interior minister from 1858 to 1868 and, again, from 1865 to 1866, did it so blatantly that he was known at the time as the "grand elector". In 1848, the Madrid Police Headquarters was established, considered the first police headquarters in Spain.
Stability in instability ,
dissolving the Cortes in 1874 During the rest of the 19th century, the Ministry had relative stability in terms of organization, although it was one of the main departments in charge of managing the social unrest that existed throughout the end of the
reign of Isabella II and the subsequent periods of Spanish history, such as the
Democratic Sexennium or the
First Republic. Key events included the creation in 1868 of the drectorates-general of Administration and Policy, the merger of the directorates general of the Postal Service and Telegraphs, Also, during the
Provisional Government, the Rural Guard was dissolved and its members integrated into the Civil Guard. Following the
Spanish–American War, which resulted in the loss of the last Spanish territories in the Americas and Asia, the Civil Guard units stationed in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and
the Philippines were dissolved, and their members were integrated into the national force.
Twentieth century The early years of the 20th century were years of intense social reforms promoted by this department, such as the 1900 law on workplace accidents, the royal decree prohibiting workdays longer than eleven hours in June 1902, the creation of the Institute of Social Reforms () and the approval of the law on the repression of child begging, both in 1903, and the approval of the law on child protection in 1904, the law on the protection of children and the law on
Sunday rest in 1904, or the creation of the National Institute for Social Welfare () in 1908. , awarding the
Cross of the Order of Beneficence to a
Civil Guard officer. 1908 Social measures continued to increase, and the labour sector gained more importance in public policy. Because of this, during the third government of
Eduardo Dato, the
Ministry of Labour was created, assuming the labour responsibilities previously held by the Ministry of the Governance. In 1928, during the
dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, the Department lost powers over mechanical
road transport and supplies, which passed to the
Ministry of Development and to the
Ministry of National Economy, respectively. During the
Second Republic, by decree of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of 16 August 1932, raised to the rank of Law on 8 September, the
Directorate-General of the Civil Guard, which had been attached to the Ministry of War, and all the agencies and services of it dependents were transferred to the Ministry of the Interior. It lost some more powers, such as those related to
mail,
telegraphy and others related to communications, which passed to the new
Ministry of Communications. Likewise, in 1933 the health and welfare responsibilities were transferred to the Ministry of Labour, which was renamed the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Welfare and this situation remained until 1939 when, after the war was over, its functions returned to the Department.
Civil war installed the Ministry's headquarters in the Palace of the Provincial Government of Burgos During the
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), each side structured its own government. On the
Republican side, the traditional Ministry of the Governance was maintained, but with fewer powers since, as mentioned, it lost responsibilities for health, social welfare, and communications. For their part, the
Nationalist gave all the power to
Francisco Franco, who in October 1936 established the office of Governor-General, responsible for "supervising the occupied provinces and everything related to the organization of civic life, supplies, work and charity". In January 1938, its responsibilities were split between the Ministry of the Interior, assuming matters relating to the internal government of the country, and the Ministry of Public Order, responsible for public safety. On 1 January 1939 the second one was abolished, transferring all its services to the first one and recovering its traditional name, Governance.
Dictatorship of Francisco Franco During the remainder of
Francisco Franco's dictatorship, the situation reverted to that prior to the Second Republic, with the Ministry of the Governance having responsibilities for domestic policy, local administration, charity, social assistance, health, public order, borders, traffic, mail and telecommunications, press, propaganda, censorship, and tourism. One of the most important bodies during the dictatorship was the
Directorate-General for Security, which, based in the
Royal House of the Post Office, directed and carried out much of the regime's repression. During this period, the
Carabineros —who during the war sided with the Republic— was abolished and absorbed by the
Civil Guard and the civilian police was reorganized, creating the
General Police Corps and the
Armed and Traffic Police Corps. In 1951 the
Ministry of Information and Tourism was created, which assumed, among other functions, those of the Ministry of the Governance relating to press, propaganda, censorship and tourism. The same occurred in 1957 with the creation of the
Ministry of Housing, which grouped into a single department the functions relating to housing, architecture, devastated regions and urban planning. During the final years of the regime, some functions and bodies were defined. In 1959 the Central Traffic Office (
Directorate-General for Traffic) was created by Law 47/1959, of 30 July; the Technical General Secretariat by Decree 1841/1960, and the
Directorate-General for Civil Protection.
Democratic transition With the dictator dead, in 1975 the Monarchy was restored in the person of
Juan Carlos I, heir to the
Bourbon dynasty, and with him began the
transition to democracy which brought with it a profound reform of the police system and the Ministry of the Governance, which by Royal Decree 1558/1977, of July 4, was renamed Ministry of the Interior, a name commonly used in European countries. , National Police Corps (normal and dress uniform), and
General Police Corps. In addition to organizing the
first election since the Second Republic, the Department promoted the 1978 Police Act, which replaced the position of Under-Secretary of Public Order with that of Director of the State Security, which years later would be elevated to the rank of secretary of state and would eventually be called
Secretary of State for Security. Similarly, the law demilitarized and replaced the police corps created during the dictatorship with two others, namely, the National Police Corps and the
Superior Police Corps, and did the same with the
Directorate-General for Security, which was replaced by the
Directorate-General of the Police. As for the
Civil Guard, there were no major changes beyond ratifying its dual dependence on the ministries
of Defence and Interior. The Civil Guard did the same in 1988. The reforms were not limited to the police and public safety affairs, but also affected the rest of the Department's responsibilities. The same decree that renamed the Ministry gave it a more homogeneous character, leaving the Ministry of the Interior with its most characteristic powers: public safety and the political governance of the Kingdom, while the remaining functions were transferred to other departments. The directorates-general for Mail and Telecommunications and for Health, as well as the related
agencies, were integrated into the new ministries
of Transport and Communications and
of Health and Social Security, respectively. It only lasted two years and, although it was a short period of time, it left several changes and innovations that remain today. On the one hand, to better manage its three main areas of responsibility —public safety, justice, and prisons— the same number of state Secretariats of state were established in 1994, notably the
Secretariat of State for Justice, and at the same time the Directorate-General for International Legal Cooperation was established; both bodies are still active. On the other hand, the separation of the ministries in 1996 returned, after more than a century, to the pre-1887 situation regarding the prison system, as it was assigned to the Ministry of the Interior.
Twenty-first century Today, the Ministry of the Interior maintains almost intact the responsibilities it possessed at the end of the last century, with the exception, as already mentioned, that since 1996, it also has powers over prisons and in 2004 it lost those relating to the National Drugs Plan. Likewise, in 1997 the position of civil governor was replaced by that of government sub-delegate, now reporting to a
Government Delegate within the jurisdiction of an
autonomous community. They ceased to be attached to the Ministry of the Interior and instead reported directly to the
Prime Minister and functionally to the ministry responsible for territorial affairs. Despite this, since the Government Delegates and Sub-delegates, in addition to directing and supervising the bodies of the
General State Administration in the different regions and provinces, also have responsibilities related to public safety and the exercise of fundamental rights, they remain partially dependent on the Ministry of the Interior for these matters. In 2000, the Government Delegation for Foreigners and Immigration was created, but it was abolished in the following legislature and its functions transferred to the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Not entirely, as it retains some through the Directorate-General for International Relations and Foreigners created in 2006 and, at the same time, the Directorate-General for Support to Victims of Terrorism was created, powers that the Ministry had for years but with the rank of deputy directorate-general.
Unified police command In 2006, minister
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba merged the directorates of the Police and of the Civil Guard, creating a unified command of the State Security Forces and Corps with a Directorate-General of the Police and the Civil Guard. This body had the objective of "carrying out the tasks entrusted to the State Security Forces and Corps in a more comprehensive, homogeneous and coordinated manner, thereby improving citizen security and the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens". This unification of command was the will of prime minister
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and, in 2008, some reports indicated that Pérez Rubalcaba was not happy with this unification and that he wished to separate them again, but this was not an opinion shared by the prime minister. At the end of 2011, the arrival to government of the conservative
Mariano Rajoy and the appointment of
Jorge Fernández Díaz as interior minister led to the separation of police command, recovering the two traditional governing bodies, which continued to be coordinated by the
Secretary of State for Security. In July 2017, minister
Juan Ignacio Zoido eliminated, within the police forces, the position of deputy director of operations —a technical position, second-in-command to the political director general—, a decision that was reversed by minister
Fernando Grande-Marlaska in July of the following year.
Recent years In 2008, responsibilities for prisons were elevated in rank with the creation of the General Secretariat for Penitentiary Institutions, that is complemented since 2018 by a Directorate-General for Criminal Enforcement and Social Reintegration. In the most recent period, during the reign of
Felipe VI, in 2021 the Coordination and Studies Office (1996) was elevated to the rank of directorate-general and, in 2022, a University Training Center of the National Police was founded. Also, in 2023 a Directorate-General for International Protection was created in response to the drastic workload increase in this area. In April 2026, the civil protection area was elevated to a higher administrative level with the establishment of a General Secretariat for Civil Protection and Emergencies, under which the existing
Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies was placed, with a view to strengthening the government’s emergency response capacity. == Organization==