Secretary of State for Budget and Expenditure
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The secretary of state for budget and expenditure is a senior minister of the Spanish Ministry of Finance responsible for coordinating actions related to planning, programming and budgeting of the State public sector and its personnel costs.[1]
Mr./Ms. Secretary of State (informal)
| Secretary of State for Budget and Expenditure | |
|---|---|
| Secretario de Estado de Presupuestos y Gastos | |
Coat of Arms used by the Government | |
 | |
.jpg) Incumbent since 9 June 2018María José Gualda Romero | |
| Ministry of Finance Secretariat of State for Budget and Expenditure | |
| Style | The Most Excellent (formal) Mr./Ms. Secretary of State (informal) |
| Abbreviation | SEPG |
| Member of | Government Delegated Committee for Economic Affairs |
| Nominator | The Finance Minister |
| Appointer | The Monarch |
| Precursor | Secretary-General for Planning and Budget |
| Formation | May 7, 1996 |
| First holder | José Folgado |
| Website | sepg.pap.hacienda.gob.es |
In this sense, the secretary of state establishes the budgetary stability targets and the non-financial spending limit, monitors compliance with targets for budgetary stability, public debt, and the spending rule across the public sector, and proposes corrective measures to address any deviations.[1]
History
The Secretariat of State for Budget and Expenditure was established by prime minister José María Aznar in May 1996.[2] At that time, the Secretary of State for Finance was directly responsible for budget management, through a secretary-general, known from 1982 to 1984 as Secretary-General for Budget and Public Spending and from 1986 to 1996 as Secretary-General for Planning and Budget.
In 1996, the prime minister raised the administrative rank of this body and separated it from the State Secretary of Finance.[2] As explained by the first budget secretary José Folgado at the Congress of Deputies Budget Committee:[3]
"the new Secretariat for State for Budget and Expenditure assumes administrative units previously held primarily by the Secretariat of State for Finance, the General Secretariat for Planning and Budget, and also by the Secretariat of State for Economy, specifically the now-defunct Directorate-General for Regional Economic Incentives. The reorganization and consolidation of all units related to budget planning and the monitoring and control of expenditures by State Administration bodies aims to lay the groundwork for a more efficient use of public resources, a pressing need for Spanish society"
— FOLGADO, J., Congress of Deputies Journal, Thursday, June 18, 1996.
In 2004, prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero merged the state secretaries for finance and budget and the new State Secretariat for Finance and Budget assumed this responsibilities, through the General Secretariat for Budget and Expenditure[4] until December 2011,[5] when prime minister Mariano Rajoy returned to the 1996–2004 structure that today exists.
Since its creation in 1996, the Secretariat of State had managed the European Union funds, however, in December 2023 finance minister María Jesús Montero assumed this powers directly through a General Secretariat for European Funds. In exchange, the secretary of state was given back authority over the Office of the Comptroller General, which since 2018 had been the responsibility of the Ministry's under-secretary.[6]
Organization
The secretary of state is the head of the Secretariat of State and, by the minister's delegation, is the ultimate authority responsible for budgetary affairs and expenditure. The secretary of state is assisted by two directors-general and supervises the Comptroller General of the State, with the rank of under-secretary.[1]
| Secretariat of State Organization (2026) | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of State | Cabinet (Chief of Staff) |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Economic Analysis and Programming | |
| Directorate-General for Budget |
Deputy Directorate-General for Budet |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Budgetary Policy | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Budgetary Programs in General Activities | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Budgetary Programs in Economic Activities | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Budgetary Programs in Social Security and Protection | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Budgetary Programs in Education, Culture and Other Public Policies | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Financial Programming of the Public Enterprise Sector | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Cross-Cutting Budget Analysis and Resource Management | |
| Directorate-General for Personnel Costs |
Deputy Directorate-General for Regulatory Oversight and Administrative Appeals |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Studies and Analysis | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Cost Management | |
| Comptroller General of the State |
Technical Cabinet |
| National Audit Office | |
| National Accounting Office | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Comptrollership and Auditing | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Studies and Coordination | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Resources Organization, Planning and Management | |
| Budgetary Informatics Office | |
| National Anti-Fraud Coordination Service | |
List of secretaries of state
| Officeholder | Term | Government | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Duration | ||||||
| 1 | .jpg) |
José Folgado[7] | 8 May 1996 | 29 April 2000 | 3 years, 357 days | José María Aznar |  Juan Carlos I .jpg) (1975–2014) | |
| 2 | .jpg) |
Elvira Rodríguez[8] | 6 May 2000 | 8 March 2003 | 2 years, 306 days | |||
| 3 |  |
Ricardo Lorenzo Martínez Rico[9] | 8 March 2003 | 20 April 2004 | 1 year, 43 days | |||
| Responsibilities merged into the Secretariat of State for Finance | ||||||||
| 4 | .jpg) |
Marta Fernández Currás[10] | 31 December 2011 | 12 November 2016 | 4 years, 317 days | Mariano Rajoy | ||
Felipe VI -2.jpg) (2014-present) | ||||||||
| 5 | .jpg) |
Alberto Nadal[11] | 12 November 2016 | 9 June 2018 | 1 year, 209 days | |||
| 6 | |
María José Gualda Romero | 9 June 2018[12] | Incumbent | 7 years, 325 days | Pedro Sánchez | ||