Leader of the Opposition (Spain)

Leader of the Opposition of Spain Líder de la oposición
Logo of the largest opposition party
Incumbent Pedro Sánchez since 26 July 2014
Residence	No official residence
Appointer	None The title is automatically awarded to the leader of the largest parliamentary party in the Congress of Deputies not in government.
Term length	No fixed term General elections to the Congress of Deputies are held every four years at most. As it is not an official title, its hold is not subject to law. The holder usually remains as such for the duration of its tenure as party leader.
Formation	1977
First holder	Felipe González

The Leader of the Opposition (Spanish: Líder de la oposición) is an unofficial title traditionally held by the leader of the largest parliamentary party not in government in the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish parliament, the Cortes Generales. The Leader of the Opposition is invariably seen as an alternative to the incumbent Prime Minister of Spain at the time.

Despite its non-official character, the figure of Leader of Opposition has gained importance over the years because of its symbolism, usually receiving much more attention from the media in parliamentary sessions and activities, such as in the yearly-held State of the Nation Debate.

There is some ambiguity regarding the 'leader of the largest opposition party' definition. Usually, Leaders of the Opposition are both the official chairmen of the party as well as the candidate for Prime Minister, yet there has been one instance where both positions were held by different people. As such, in 1998–1999 Joaquín Almunia was the de facto party chairman, because of his position as Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (then-largest opposition party), but it was Josep Borrell who held the title of Leader of Opposition in parliament, as he had been elected as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate. For instance, the Leader of the Opposition is usually the person who is expected to lead the party in the next general election.

Leaders of the Opposition of Spain under the 1978 constitution

Names in bold indicate leaders that went on to become Prime Ministers. Acting leaders names are in italics, unless the acting leader subsequently became a full leader during a continuous period as leader.

Parties

      UCD       PSOE       AP       PP

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Political Party	Date			PM (Term)
				Start date	End date	Days
		Felipe González (1942–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	13 July 1977	2 December 1982	1968		Adolfo Suárez (1976–1981)
								Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo (1981–1982)
		Manuel Fraga (1922–2012)	AP People's Alliance	2 December 1982	8 February 1987	1529		Felipe González (1982–1996)
		Antonio Hernández Mancha (1951–)	AP People's Alliance	8 February 1987	20 January 1989	712
		Manuel Fraga (1922–2012)	PP People's Party	20 January 1989	4 September 1989	227
		José María Aznar (1953–)	PP People's Party	4 September 1989	4 May 1996	2434
		Felipe González (1942–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	4 May 1996	21 June 1997	413		José María Aznar (1996–2004)
		Joaquín Almunia (1948–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	21 June 1997	24 April 1998	307
		Josep Borrell (1947–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	24 April 1998	14 May 1999	385
		Joaquín Almunia (1948–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	14 May 1999	12 March 2000	303
		Luis Martínez Noval (1948–2013)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	12 March 2000	22 July 2000	132
		José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (1960–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	22 July 2000	16 April 2004	1364
		Mariano Rajoy (1955–)	PP People's Party	16 April 2004	21 December 2011	2805		José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2004–2011)
		Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (1951–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	21 December 2011	26 July 2014	948		Mariano Rajoy (2011–)
		Pedro Sánchez (1972–)	PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	26 July 2014	Incumbent	529

See also

• List of political parties in Spain
• Congress of Deputies