# First government of José María Aznar

The first government of José María Aznar was formed on 6 May 1996, following the latter's election as Prime Minister of Spain by the Congress of Deputies on 4 May and his swearing-in on 5 May, as a result of the People's Party (PP) emerging as the largest parliamentary force at the 1996 Spanish general election. It succeeded the fourth González government and was the Government of Spain from 6 May 1996 to 28 April 2000, a total of 1,453 days, or 3 years, 11 months and 22 days.
The cabinet comprised members of the PP and a number of independents. It was automatically dismissed on 13 March 2000 as a consequence of the 2000 general election, but remained in acting capacity until the next government was sworn in.

## Investiture

Investiture José María Aznar (PP) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 4 May 1996 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 176 out of 350 Y |
| | Yes • PP (156) • CiU (16) • PNV (5) • CC (4) | 181 / 350 |
| | No • PSOE (141) • IU–IC (21) • BNG (2) • ERC (1) • EA (1) | 166 / 350 |
| | Abstentions • UV (1) | 1 / 350 |
| | Absentees • HB (2) | 2 / 350 |
| Sources |||

## Cabinet changes

Aznar's first government saw a number of cabinet changes during its tenure:
* On 16 July 1998, Josep Piqué was assigned the functions of Spokesperson of the Government after the resignation of Miguel Ángel Rodríguez as Secretary of State for Press on 10 July. The office had been vacant de jure since the new government was sworn into office in May 1996, but Rodríguez exercised as de facto spokesperson by attending press conferences held after the councils of ministers until his resignation and Piqué's subsequent appointment.
* On 19 January 1999, following the nomination of Javier Arenas and Esperanza Aguirre to become new secretary-general of the People's Party (PP) and President of the Senate of Spain, respectively, a cabinet reshuffle ensued which saw Manuel Pimentel being named as new Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, whereas Mariano Rajoy replaced Aguirre in Education and Culture. Ángel Acebes was appointed to fill Rajoy's vacancy in the Public Administrations ministry.
* On 30 April 1999, Jesús Posada replaced Loyola de Palacio in the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food portfolio after the latter was nominated on 22 April to run as the PP leading candidate in the 1999 European Parliament election.
* On 21 February 2000, Manuel Pimentel resigned as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs as a result of a scandal involving irregularities conducted by one of his closest collaborators, Juan Aycart, leading Aznar to appoint Juan Carlos Aparicio as a replacement.

## Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers was structured into the offices for the prime minister, the two deputy prime ministers, 14 ministries and the post of the spokesperson of the Government.
← Aznar I Government → (6 May 1996 – 28 April 2000) :
| Portfolio | Name | Party | Party | Took office | Left office | Ref. |
| Prime Minister | José María Aznar | | PP | 5 May 1996 | 27 April 2000 | |
| First Deputy Prime Minister Minister of the Presidency | Francisco Álvarez-Cascos | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | [21] [22] |
| Second Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Economy and Finance | Rodrigo Rato | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | [21] [23] |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Abel Matutes | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Minister of Justice | Margarita Mariscal de Gante | | PP (Ind.) | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Minister of Defence | Eduardo Serra Rexach | | PP (Ind.) | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Minister of the Interior | Jaime Mayor Oreja | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Minister of Development | Rafael Arias-Salgado | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Minister of Education and Culture | Esperanza Aguirre | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 19 January 1999 | |
| Minister of Labour and Social Affairs | Javier Arenas | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 19 January 1999 | |
| Minister of Industry and Energy | Josep Piqué | | PP (Ind.) | 6 May 1996 | 15 July 1998 | |
| Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | Loyola de Palacio | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 30 April 1999 | |
| Minister of Public Administrations | Mariano Rajoy | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 19 January 1999 | |
| Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs | José Manuel Romay Beccaría | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Minister of Environment | Isabel Tocino | | PP | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Spokesperson of the Government | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez | | PP | 8 May 1996 | 10 July 1998 | |
| Changes July 1998 |||||||
| Portfolio | Name | Party | Party | Took office | Left office | Ref. |
| Minister of Industry and Energy Spokesperson of the Government | Josep Piqué | | PP (Ind.) | 16 July 1998 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Changes January 1999 |||||||
| Portfolio | Name | Party | Party | Took office | Left office | Ref. |
| Minister of Education and Culture | Mariano Rajoy | | PP | 19 January 1999 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Minister of Labour and Social Affairs | Manuel Pimentel | | PP | 19 January 1999 | 20 February 2000 | |
| Minister of Public Administrations | Ángel Acebes | | PP | 19 January 1999 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Changes April 1999 |||||||
| Portfolio | Name | Party | Party | Took office | Left office | Ref. |
| Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | Jesús Posada | | PP | 30 April 1999 | 28 April 2000 | |
| Changes February 2000 |||||||
| Portfolio | Name | Party | Party | Took office | Left office | Ref. |
| Minister of Labour and Social Affairs | Juan Carlos Aparicio | | PP | 21 February 2000 | 28 April 2000 | |

## Departmental structure

José María Aznar's first government was organised into several superior and governing units, whose number, powers and hierarchical structure varied depending on the ministerial department.

### Unit/body rank

* (■) Secretary of state
* (■) Undersecretary
* (■) Director-general
* (●) Autonomous agency
* (◆) Military & intelligence agency
| Office (Original name) | Name | Took office | Left office | Alliance/party | Ref. |
| Prime Minister's Office |||||||||
| Prime Minister (Presidencia del Gobierno) | José María Aznar | 5 May 1996 | 26 April 2000 | PP | [32] [33] [34] |
| [32] [33] [34] |||||||
| First Deputy Prime Minister (Vicepresidencia Primera del Gobierno) | Francisco Álvarez-Cascos | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | |
| Second Deputy Prime Minister (Vicepresidencia Segunda del Gobierno) | Rodrigo Rato | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs |||||||||
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores) | Abel Matutes | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [36] [37] |
| [35] [36] [37] |||||||
| Ministry of Justice |||||||||
| Ministry of Justice (Ministerio de Justicia) | Margarita Mariscal de Gante | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP (Independent) | [35] [38] |
| [35] [38] |||||||
| Ministry of Defence |||||||||
| Ministry of Defence (Ministerio de Defensa) | Eduardo Serra Rexach | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP (Independent) | [35] [39] [40] |
| [35] [39] [40] |||||||
| Ministry of Economy and Finance |||||||||
| Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda) | Rodrigo Rato | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [41] [42] [43] |
| [41] [42] [43] |||||||
| Ministry of the Interior |||||||||
| Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio del Interior) | Jaime Mayor Oreja | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [41] [44] |
| [41] [44] |||||||
| Ministry of Development |||||||||
| Ministry of Development (Ministerio de Fomento) | Rafael Arias-Salgado | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [45] [46] |
| [35] [45] [46] |||||||
| Ministry of Education and Culture |||||||||
| Ministry of Education and Culture (Ministerio de Educación y Cultura) | Esperanza Aguirre | 6 May 1996 | 19 January 1999 | PP | [35] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] |
| Ministry of Education and Culture (Ministerio de Educación y Cultura) | Mariano Rajoy | 19 January 1999 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] |
| [35] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] |||||||
| Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs |||||||||
| Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales) | Javier Arenas | 6 May 1996 | 19 January 1999 | PP | [35] [53] [54] [55] |
| Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales) | Manuel Pimentel | 19 January 1999 | 20 February 2000 (resigned) | PP | [35] [53] [54] [55] |
| Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales) | Juan Carlos Aparicio | 21 February 2000 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [53] [54] [55] |
| [35] [53] [54] [55] |||||||
| Ministry of Industry and Energy |||||||||
| Ministry of Industry and Energy (Ministerio de Industria y Energía) | Josep Piqué | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP (PP from Jan 1999; Indep. until Jan 1999) | [35] [56] [57] [58] |
| [35] [56] [57] [58] |||||||
| Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food |||||||||
| Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación) | Loyola de Palacio | 6 May 1996 | 30 April 1999 | PP | [35] [59] [60] |
| Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación) | Jesús Posada | 30 April 1999 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [59] [60] |
| [35] [59] [60] |||||||
| Ministry of the Presidency |||||||||
| Ministry of the Presidency (Ministerio de la Presidencia) | Francisco Álvarez-Cascos | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [41] [61] [62] |
| [41] [61] [62] |||||||
| Ministry of Public Administrations |||||||||
| Ministry of Public Administrations (Ministerio de Administraciones Públicas) | Mariano Rajoy | 6 May 1996 | 19 January 1999 | PP | [35] [63] [64] [65] |
| Ministry of Public Administrations (Ministerio de Administraciones Públicas) | Ángel Acebes | 19 January 1999 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [63] [64] [65] |
| [35] [63] [64] [65] |||||||
| Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs |||||||||
| Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs (Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo) | José Manuel Romay Beccaría | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [66] |
| [35] [66] |||||||
| Ministry of Environment |||||||||
| Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente) | Isabel Tocino | 6 May 1996 | 28 April 2000 | PP | [35] [67] |
| [35] [67] |||||||
| Spokesperson of the Government |||||||||
| Spokesperson of the Government (Portavoz del Gobierno) | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (de facto) | 8 May 1996 | 10 July 1998 (resigned) | PP | [24] [26] |
| Spokesperson of the Government (Portavoz del Gobierno) | Josep Piqué | 16 July 1998 | 28 April 2000 | PP (PP from Jan 1999; Indep. until Jan 1999) | [24] [26] |