page_title: Bilbao
section_title: Municipal government
hierarchical_section_title: Bilbao / Government / Municipal government
caption_attribution_description: Español: Ayuntamiento de Bilbao
context_page_description: Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of 345,141 as of 2015. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in northern Spain; with a population of 875,552 the comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region.
  Bilbao is situated in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometres south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres. Its climate is shaped by the Bay of Biscay low-pressure systems and mild air, moderating summer temperatures by Iberian standards, with low sunshine and high rainfall. The annual temperature range is low for its latitude.
context_section_description: Bilbao is a municipality and has a mayor-council government system. The municipal government is elected for four-year terms by universal suffrage and it is divided into two branches, executive and legislative. The legislative side consists of a municipal plenum composed of 29 councillors. These councillors represent the different political parties elected in the local elections, for which can vote all residents registered in the city who are citizens of Spain or of any member state of the European Union. The executive branch is composed of the mayor and a board of governors. The number of members of the board cannot be more than a third the number of members of the legislative plenum and the mayor can appoint them at his or her own discretion.
  Since 1892 the seat of the government has been the Bilbao City Hall, located on the centric Ernesto Erkoreka plaza and by the Estuary of Bilbao. It is the fourth city hall building to have been used since the year 1300. The first three city halls were located by the San Antón Church but were destroyed due to floodings. The current building was designed by the Spanish architect Joaquín Rucoba in Baroque style and was built in the former site of the San Agustín Monastery, which was destroyed during the First Carlist War. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, the city has been governed by the Basque Nationalist Party, often with support of the Socialist Party of the Basque Country. Iñaki Azkuna served as mayor from 1999 until his passing in 2014, when he was replaced by Ibon Areso. Azkuna was awarded the World Mayor prize in 2012. Since the 2019 municipal election, the councillors of the plenum have the following political distribution: 14 seats for the Basque Nationalist Party, 5 seats for the Socialist Party of the Basque Country, 4 seats for the EH Bildu coalition, 3 seats for Udalberri and 3 seats for the People's Party. The mayor is Juan Mari Aburto, chosen with 19 votes from the Basque Nationalist Party and the Socialist party.
  In 2008 and 2010, Bilbao won the Municipal Transparency Prize, awarded by the Spanish division of Transparency International. In 2009 it came second, after Sant Cugat del Vallés.
caption: The Bilbao City Hall
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