Pedro Sánchez underlines feminist leadership with four vice-presidencies of the government in new cabinet composition

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced on Tuesday, after notifying the Head of State, King Felipe VI, the changes in the composition of the Government of Spain as a result of the departure of the Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Social Rights and 2030 Agenda, Pablo Iglesias.

Nadia Calviño will become the Second Vice-President of the Government, while maintaining her position as the Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

Yolanda Díaz will replace Pablo Iglesias and becomes the Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Work and Social Economy.

Ione Belarra, the current State Secretary for the 2030 Agenda, will become the new Minister for Social Rights and 2030 Agenda.

Following this cabinet reshuffle, all of the vice-presidencies of the government will be headed up by women, with Carmen Calvo as First Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Presidency, Parliamentary Relations and Democratic Memory; Nadia Calviño as Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation; Yolanda Díaz, as Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Work and Social Economy and Teresa Ribera as Fourth Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.

The decisive weighting of women in the new government is a "source of pride for women, and also for men", according to Pedro Sánchez, and thus positions Spain as the sixth-ranked country in the world in terms of the highest proportion of women in the government and the fourth in the European Union.

"Regardless of anyone's political preferences, all the people of Spain can feel proud of seeing how our country has once again become an international benchmark in rights and liberties", stated the President of the Government.

The President of the Government declared that with this new composition, the Government of Spain will continue to attend to the health, economic and social emergency as a result of Covid-19 as its top priority, and continue to address the four transformations that the country needs: a green, digital, cohesive and feminist Spain, offering Spain stability through a progressive coalition government until 2023.

Recognition of Second Vice-President of the Government

The cabinet reshuffle is a necessary readjustment to comply with the progressive coalition agreement following the resignation of Pablo Iglesias - the Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Social Rights and 2030 Agenda until now - to contest the regional elections in Madrid on 4 May

The President of the Government expressed his gratitude to Pablo Iglesias for his work over the last year in which the first coalition government in the history of Spain was faced with the challenge of bringing the country out of a stalemate and offering Spanish society a path of stability and progress.

"I have to say that, from the different visions of our political parties and our proposals, unity, responsibility and the general interest have always prevailed in this coalition government", stated Pedro Sánchez.

Non official translation