Solicitor General of Spain
| Solicitor General of the State | |
|---|---|
| Abogado General del Estado | |
Coat of Arms of the Spanish Legal Service | |
Incumbent since 18 June 2024David Vilas Álcarez | |
| Ministry of Justice Office of the Solicitor General | |
| Style | The Most Illustrious (formal) Mrs. Solicitor General (informal) |
| Member of | General State Administration State Legal Service Council of State Solicitors |
| Nominator | Minister of Justice after hearing the Council of Ministers |
| Appointer | The Monarch |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | Royal Decree about the Directorate-General of the Contentious of 1849 |
| Formation | 28 December 1849 |
| First holder | Ventura González Romero |
| Deputy | Director-General for Advisory Services |
| Website | Office of the Solicitor General of Spain |
The Solicitor General of the State is a senior official of the Ministry of Justice who directs the Legal Service of the Spanish government and represents it when necessary before the courts of justice. The solicitor general is highest legal advisor to the central government, its agencies, and all State institutions or other public administration within its jurisdiction.
The solicitor general of the state is appointed by the monarch, on the advice of the minister of justice, and after hearing the Council of Ministers. To be appointed solicitor general its needed first to be a State lawyer. According to the law, in case of vacancy, absence or illness, it is the minister of justice who decides who should substitute him, if he do not do so, the law establishes that the senior director-general must to replace him, in this case it would be the director-general for advisory services.
Solicitor General's Office
The Office of the Solicitor General (Spanish: Abogacía General del Estado) is a department of the Ministry of Justice which assumes the direction of the State Legal Service; in such concept, corresponds to it the direction, coordination and inspection of the services entrusted to State attorneys, ensuring in all cases the maintenance of the principle of unity of doctrine in the exercise of the powers attributed to them.[1]
The Solicitor General's Office is assisted by a Technical Cabinet, two directorates-general, four deputy director-generals, and the different offices of the State Solicitor's before courts and other bodies, namely:
- The Solicitor General's Technical Cabinet, which is responsible for supporting the solicitor general.
- The Directorate-General for Advisory Services, which is responsible for the legal advice of the General State Administration and its different agencies, including State-owned companies, as well as giving legal advice to the autonomous communities and local administrations.
- The Directorate-General for Contentious Services, which is responsible for the representation and defense of the State and its autonomous agencies, as well as other public bodies and entities; state-owned companies and foundations with state participation; autonomous communities, local administrations and the constitutional bodies before any jurisdictions and jurisdictional organs, to the conflicts of jurisdiction and conflicts and questions of competence and to the preliminary and extrajudicial procedures in which the State is interested. It also corresponds to give legal advice on claims prior to the civil and labor court, in cases in which the opinion of the deputy general directorate is requested, and of the files for the payment of costs to be condemned by the State when it arises controversy. Likewise, it is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of the principle of unity of doctrine in the scope of contentious functions, formulating general criteria for action in the trial for State attorneys.
- The Deputy Directorate for Human and Material Resources of the Solicitor General's Office, which assits the solicitor general regarding the internal policies of human and material resources, as well as those related to economic and budgetary affairs.
- The Deputy Directorate-General for Constitutional and Human Rights, which is responsible for the representation and defense of the State and its autonomous agencies as well as other bodies of the State in trial before the Constitutional Court. In the same way, it will develop the advice on procedural or substantive issues derived from the approach or processing of constitutional procedures; as well as, in particular, the advice, when requested by the Government or any of its members, on the constitutionality of the draft bills of any rank that have to be submitted for approval, and the legal examination and report, to petition of the Government or of any of its members, of the dispositions or resolutions of the autonomous communities that may be challenged before the Constitutional Court. Its also in charge of the representation of Spain before the European Court of Human Rights and the legal advice about European Convention on Human Rights issues and the legal advice about any other international treaty about human rights signed by Spain.
- The Deputy Directorate-General for European Union and International Affairs, which is responsible for the representation and defense of the Kingdom of Spain before the judicial bodies of the European Union and before the International Criminal Court. It also has competences, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in legal assistance in the infringement proceedings opened by the European Commission against Spain. It also offers legal assistance in the field of European Union law.
- The Deputy Directorate-General for Internal Audit and Knowledge Management, which is responsible for the coordination of relations between State Solicitors Offices that perform advisory functions and State Solicitors Offices that perform contentious functions. Likewise, it corresponds to this Deputy General Directorate the promotion of research works and the organization of activities aimed at the knowledge and dissemination of legal issues of national or international scope, as well as the organization of training and improvement activities for the civil servants of the State Lawyers Corps.
The following officies are also part of the Office of the Solicitor General:
- The Solicitor's Office before the Supreme Court.
- The Solicitor's Office before the Audiencia Nacional.
- The Solicitor's Office before the Court of Auditors.
- The Solicitor's Office in the different government departments.
- The Solicitor's Office in the different agencies of the Administration.
History
The Solicitor General's Office in Spain have received many names. In the year of its creation, 1849, the Office was called Directorate-General of the Contentious of the Ministry of Finance or Directorate-General of the Contentious of the Public Treasury. This denomination was maintained until 1854, when it started to be called General Advisor of the Ministry of Finance until 1877, when recovered its original name by being called Directorate-General of the Contentious of the State.
It remained that way until 1985, when the office was renamed Directorate-General of the State Legal Service. In 2000 it was renamed as "Office of the Solicitor General of the State-Directorate of the State Legal Service" and, since 2022, the name has been simplified to Office of the Solicitor General of the State.
In its origins, the solicitor general depended on the Minister of Finance and it required that its members to be students of law, administrative science and have experience in the Public Treasury's area. Its functions were limited to the powers of the Ministry of Finance and were responsible for issuing legal reports and supervising the prosecutors' actions in the courts.[2]
In the reform of 1881, that the State solicitors (or attorneys) assumed the two functions that they have today: the advisory function and the contentious function, in addition to the representation function.[3]
List of Solicitors General
Royalist
Independent
- Status
Denotes service as acting Attorneys General
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Prime Minister(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1º | Ventura González Romero (1796–1870) |
28 December 1849 | 25 October 1853 | Ramón María Narváez | |||||
| Juan Bravo Murillo | |||||||||
| Federico Roncali | |||||||||
| Francisco Lersundi Hormaechea | |||||||||
| Luis José Sartorius | |||||||||
| 2º | Pedro Jiménez Navarro (–1852) |
25 October 1853 | 14 July 1854 | ||||||
| 3º | Jacobo Ulloa de las Riberas (–1877) |
29 December 1854 | 18 October 1856 | Luis José Sartorius | |||||
| Fernando Fernández de Córdova | |||||||||
| Ángel de Saavedra | |||||||||
| Baldomero Espartero | |||||||||
| Leopoldo O'Donnell | |||||||||
| Ramón María Narváez | |||||||||
| Francisco Armero Peñaranda | |||||||||
| 4º | Antonio Pérez Herrasti | 18 October 1856 | 6 May 1858 | ||||||
| 5º | Francisco de Cárdenas Espejo (1817–1898) |
6 May 1858 | 3 November 1863 | ||||||
| Leopoldo O'Donnell | |||||||||
| Saturnino Calderón Collantes | |||||||||
| Leopoldo O'Donnell | |||||||||
| Manuel Pando Fernández de Pinedo | |||||||||
| 6º | Juan Bautista Trúpita (1815–1873) |
5 November 1863 | 17 January 1864 | ||||||
| 7º | Rafael Ramírez Arellano (1815–1873) |
22 January 1864 | 28 August 1864 | Lorenzo Arrazola | |||||
| Alejandro Mon y Menéndez | |||||||||
| 8º | Ambrosio González y Rodríguez | 28 August 1864 | 22 February 1865 | ||||||
| Ramón María Narváez | |||||||||
| 9º | Felipe Vereterra | 22 February 1865 | 15 October 1865 | ||||||
| Leopoldo O'Donnell | |||||||||
| 10º | Vicente Hernández de la Rua (1808–1890) |
15 October 1865 | 15 July 1866 | ||||||
| Ramón María Narváez | |||||||||
| 11º | Benito Plá y Cancela (1812–1874) |
15 July 1866 | 6 August 1868 | ||||||
| Luis González Bravo | |||||||||
| 12º | Ignacio Paez Jaramillo | 23 August 1868 | 9 October 1868 | ||||||
| José Gutiérrez de la Concha | |||||||||
| Francisco Serrano | |||||||||
| 13º [note 1] |
Antonio Ramos Calderón | 5 November 1868 | 30 June 1869 | ||||||
| Juan Prim | |||||||||
| Office suppressed between June 30, 1869 and July 26, 1874 | |||||||||
| 14º | Justo Pelayo de la Cuesta Núñez (1823–1889) |
26 July 1874 | 5 January 1875 | Juan Zavala de la Puente | |||||
| Práxedes Mateo Sagasta | |||||||||
| Antonio Cánovas del Castillo | |||||||||
| 15º | Emilio Cánovas del Castillo (1832–1910) |
15 January 1875 | 23 July 1877 | ||||||
| Joaquín Jovellar Soler | |||||||||
| Antonio Cánovas del Castillo | |||||||||
| - | Juan de la Concha Castañeda Acting Solicitor General (1818–1903) |
23 July 1877 | 23 August 1877 | ||||||
| 15º | Emilio Cánovas del Castillo (1832–1910) |
23 August 1877 | 1 March 1878 | ||||||
| 16º | Antonio Sánchez de Milla | 1 March 1878 | 18 August 1879 | ||||||
| Arsenio Martínez-Campos | |||||||||
| - | Fernando Cos-Gayón Acting Solicitor General (1825–1828) |
18 August 1879 | 19 September 1879 | ||||||
| 16º | Antonio Sánchez Milla | 19 September 1879 | 22 June 1880 | ||||||
| Antonio Cánovas del Castillo | |||||||||
| 17º | Saturnino Arenillas Paredes | 22 June 1880 | 14 February 1881 | ||||||
| Práxedes Mateo Sagasta | |||||||||
| 18º | José Gallostra y Frau (1833–1888) |
14 February 1881 | 17 September 1881 | ||||||
| 19º | Manuel Nuñez de Haro | 31 December 1881 | 11 January 1883 | ||||||
| 20º | Manuel Díaz Valdés | 16 January 1883 | 12 March 1883 | ||||||
| 21º | Federico Pons y Montells (1838–1902) |
12 March 1883 | 23 July 1883 | ||||||
| - | Manuel Nuñez de Haro Acting Solicitor General |
23 July 1883 | 20 August 1883 | ||||||
| 21º | Federico Pons y Montells (1838–1902) |
20 August 1883 | 22 January 1884 | ||||||
| José Posada Herrera | |||||||||
| Antonio Cánovas del Castillo | |||||||||
| 22º | José de Cárdenas Uriarte (1846–1907) |
29 January 1884 | 16 August 1844 | ||||||
| - | Plácido de Jove y Hevia Viscount of Campo-Grande Acting Solicitor General (1823–1909) |
16 August 1844 | 12 September 1884 | ||||||
| 22º | José de Cárdenas Uriarte (1846–1907) |
12 September 1884 | 1 December 1885 | ||||||
| Práxedes Mateo Sagasta | |||||||||
| 23º | Fidel García Lomas | 3 December 1885 | 13 March 1886 | ||||||
| - | Manuel de Eguilior y Llaguno Acting Solicitor General (1842–1931) |
13 March 1886 | 7 April 1886 | ||||||
| 23º | Fidel García Lomas | 7 April 1886 | 21 October 1886 | ||||||
| 24º | Manuel Gómez Marín | 21 October 1886 | 13 September 1888 | ||||||
| 25º | José María Jimeno de Lerma (?–1905) |
30 September 1888 | 4 October 1890 | ||||||
| Antonio Cánovas del Castillo | |||||||||
| 26º | Francisco Javier González de Castejón y Elío Marquess of Vadillo (1848–1919) |
4 October 1890 | 27 November 1891 | ||||||
| 27º | Fermín Hernández Iglesias (1848–1919) |
27 November 1891 | 20 December 1892 | ||||||
| Práxedes Mateo Sagasta | |||||||||
| 28º | Juan Rosell y Rubert (1852–1925) |
20 December 1892 | 22 March 1895 | ||||||
| Antonio Cánovas del Castillo | |||||||||
| 29º | Juan Armada y Losada Marquess of Figueroa (1861–1932) |
11 July 1895 | 19 October 1897 | ||||||
| Marcelo Azcárraga Palmero | |||||||||
| 30º | Manuel García Prieto (1859–1938) |
19 October 1897 | 31 May 1898 | ||||||
| Práxedes Mateo Sagasta | |||||||||
| 31º | Álvaro López Mora (1853–1917) |
1 July 1898 | 9 March 1899 | ||||||
| Francisco Silvela | |||||||||
| 32º | Federico Arrazola y Guerrero (1846–1913) |
9 March 1899 | 29 April 1899 | ||||||
| 33º | Federico de Arriaga y del Arco | 29 April 1899 | 21 May 1901 | ||||||
| Marcelo Azcárraga Palmero | |||||||||
| 34º | Antonio Fidalgo Sánchez-Ocaña | 21 May 1901 | 15 September 1910 | ||||||
| Práxedes Mateo Sagasta | |||||||||
| Francisco Silvela | |||||||||
| Raimundo Fernández Villaverde | |||||||||
| Antonio Maura | |||||||||
| Marcelo Azcárraga Palmero | |||||||||
| Raimundo Fernández Villaverde | |||||||||
| Eugenio Montero Ríos | |||||||||
| Segismundo Moret | |||||||||
| José López Domínguez | |||||||||
| Segismundo Moret | |||||||||
| Antonio Aguilar y Correa | |||||||||
| Antonio Maura | |||||||||
| Segismundo Moret | |||||||||
| José Canalejas | |||||||||
| 35º | Pablo de Garnica y Echevarría (1876–1959) |
15 September 1910 | 13 June 1913 | ||||||
| Manuel García Prieto | |||||||||
| Álvaro de Figueroa | |||||||||
| 36º | Antonio Fidalgo Sánchez-Ocaña | 30 June 1913 | 23 March 1915 | ||||||
| Eduardo Dato | |||||||||
| 37º | Nicanor de las Alas Pumariño (1870–1935) |
23 March 1915 | 18 December 1915 | ||||||
| Álvaro de Figueroa | |||||||||
| 38º | Federico Marín y López | 18 December 1915 | 27 September 1920 | ||||||
| Manuel García Prieto | |||||||||
| Eduardo Dato | |||||||||
| Manuel García Prieto | |||||||||
| Antonio Maura | |||||||||
| Manuel García Prieto | |||||||||
| Álvaro de Figueroa | |||||||||
| Antonio Maura | |||||||||
| Joaquín Sánchez de Toca | |||||||||
| Manuel Allendesalazar Muñoz | |||||||||
| Eduardo Dato | |||||||||
| 39º | Juan Díaz de la Sala | 13 October 1920 | 3 January 1923 | ||||||
| Eduardo Dato | |||||||||
| Manuel Allendesalazar Muñoz | |||||||||
| Antonio Maura | |||||||||
| José Sánchez Guerra | |||||||||
| Manuel García Prieto | |||||||||
| 40º | Antonio Fidalgo de Solís (Son of the 34th and 36th Solicitor General) |
30 January 1923 | 28 August 1926 | ||||||
| Miguel Primo de Rivera | |||||||||
| 41º | Vicente Santamáría de Paredes y Rojas Count of Santamaría de Paredes (?–1961) |
23 August 1926 | 16 April 1931 | ||||||
| Dámaso Berenguer | |||||||||
| Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas | |||||||||
| Niceto Alcalá Zamora | |||||||||
| 42º | Valeriano Casanueva y Picazo (–1961) |
16 April 1931 | 11 March 1933 | ||||||
| Manuel Azaña | |||||||||
| 43º | Luis Martínez Sureda | 11 March 1933 | 13 June 1934 | ||||||
| Alejandro Lerroux | |||||||||
| Diego Martínez Barrio | |||||||||
| Alejandro Lerroux | |||||||||
| Ricardo Samper | |||||||||
| Alejandro Lerroux | |||||||||
| 44º | Baldomero de Campo-Redondo y Fernández | 18 June 1934 | 27 February 1936 | ||||||
| Joaquín Chapaprieta | |||||||||
| Manuel Portela | |||||||||
| Manuel Azaña | |||||||||
| 45º | Luis de la Peña y Costa | 27 February 1936 | 15 September 1936 | ||||||
| Augusto Barcia Trelles | |||||||||
| Santiago Casares Quiroga | |||||||||
| Diego Martínez Barrio | |||||||||
| José Giral | |||||||||
| Francisco Largo Caballero | |||||||||
| 46º | José Prat García (1905–1994) |
15 September 1936 | 27 May 1937 | ||||||
| Juan Negrín | |||||||||
| 47º | Eleazar Huerta Valcárcel (1903–1974) |
10 October 1937 | 8 February 1938 | ||||||
| 48º | Pedro Alfaro Alfaro (?–1969) |
8 February 1938 | 3 September 1941 | Francisco Franco | |||||
| 49º | José María de Lapuerta y de las Pozas (?–1970) |
3 September 1941 | 16 October 1942 | ||||||
| 50º | Francisco Gómez de Llano (1896–1974) |
16 October 1942 | 27 July 1951 | ||||||
| 51º | José Fernández Arroyo Caro | 27 July 1951 | 8 March 1957 | ||||||
| 52º | José María Zabia Pérez | 8 March 1957 | 15 November 1963 | ||||||
| 53º | Luis Peralta España | 15 November 1963 | 25 February 1966 | ||||||
| 54º | Juan Antonio Ollero de la Rosa | 25 February 1966 | 23 April 1968 | ||||||
| 55º | José María Tejera Victory (1917–1995) |
5 May 1968 | 9 February 1973 | ||||||
| 56º | Alfonso Carrillo de Mendoza y Morales | 9 February 1973 | 17 May 1974 | ||||||
| Luis Carrero Blanco | |||||||||
| Torcuato Fernández-Miranda | |||||||||
| Carlos Arias Navarro | |||||||||
| 57º | José Luis Gómez Dégano y Ceballos Zúñiga (?–) |
31 May 1974 | 17 October 1986 | ||||||
| Adolfo Suárez González | |||||||||
| Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo | |||||||||
| Felipe González | |||||||||
| 58º | Fernando Valdés Dal-Ré (1945–2023) |
17 October 1986 | 2 November 1990 | ||||||
| 59º | Gonzalo Quintero Olivares | 8 November 1990 | 18 September 1992 | ||||||
| 60º | Emilio Jiménez Aparicio | 2 October 1992 | 24 May 1996 | ||||||
| 61º | José Javier Abad Pérez | 24 May 1996 | 12 May 2000 | José María Aznar | |||||
| 62º | Arturo García-Tizón López (1946–) |
12 May 2000 | 23 April 2004 | ||||||
| 63º | Joaquín Fuentes Bardají (1953–) |
23 April 2004 | 13 January 2012 | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | |||||
| 64º | Marta Silva de Lapuerta (1969–) |
13 January 2012 | 25 November 2016 | Mariano Rajoy | |||||
| 65º | Eugenio López Álvarez (1953–) |
25 November 2016 | 29 June 2018 | ||||||
| 66º | Consuelo Castro Rey (1964–) |
29 June 2018 | 18 June 2024 | Pedro Sánchez | |||||
| 67º | David Vilas Álcarez (1973–) |
18 June 2024 | Incumbent | ||||||
References
- ^ Ministry of Justice (16 October 2024). "Real Decreto 1057/2024, de 15 de octubre, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de la Abogacía General del Estado" [Royal Decree 1057/2024, of October 15, approving the Internal Rules of the Solicitor General of the State's Office.]. www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- ^ "Royal decree about the General Directorate of the Contentious of 1849 (Spanish)" (PDF). Gazeta de Madrid (Official State Gazette).
- ^ "Royal order approving the Regulation of the State Lawyers Corps of 1881 (Spanish)" (PDF). Gazeta de Madrid (Official State Gazette).
Notes
- ^ Francisco García López was named the 13th Solicitor General on October 27, however he did not accept the office.