Secretary of State for Defence (Spain)

The Secretary of State for Defence (SEDEF) is the second-highest-ranking official in the Ministry of Defence of Spain. The SEDEF is a civilian which is appointed by the King with the advice of the Defence Minister. In spite of being the second authority of the Ministry, it is behind the Chief of the Defence Staff as far as military control is concerned.

Secretary of State for Defence
Secretario de Estado de Defensa
Coat of Arms used by the Government
Incumbent
Amparo Valcarce
since 11 May 2022
Ministry of Defence
StyleThe Most Excellent (formal)
Mr./Ms. Secretary of State (informal)
AbbreviationSEDEF
Reports toMinister of Defence
SeatMinistry of Defence HQ, Paseo de la Castellana no. 109
NominatorMinister of Defence
AppointerThe King
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrumentRoyal Decree 135/1984
PrecursorUndersecretary of Defence
FormationJanuary 25, 1984
First holderEduardo Serra Rexach
Salary€ 113,166.19 per year[1]
Websitedefensa.gob.es

The duties of the SEDEF are related to management and control of the economic resources, the armament policy and the defence infraestructures.

The current Secretary of State for Defence, since May 11, 2022, is Ms. Amparo Valcarce, former Undersecretary of Defence.[2]

Functions

The current functions are regulated by a Royal Decree of 2017, and are the following:[3]

The Secretary of State for Defense is the highest body of the Department responsible for the direction, promotion and management of weapons and material policies, and for the research, development and industrial, economic, infrastructure, environmental and systems, technologies and security of information innovation in the field of Defence.

Apart from these, SEDEF can carry out all those functions delegated to it by the Minister of Defense.

Structure

From the Secretary of State for Defence depends:

  • The Directorate-General for Armament and Material (DGAM).
    It is the department responsible for the planning and development of the armament and material policy of the Ministry, as well as the supervision and direction of its execution.
  • The Directorate-General for Economic Affairs (DIGENECO).
    It is the governing body responsible for the planning and development of the economic and financial policy of the Ministry, as well as the supervision and direction of its execution.
  • The Directorate-General for Infrastructure (DIGENIN).
    It is the body responsible for the planning and development of the infrastructure, environmental and energy policies of the Ministry, as well as the supervision and direction of its execution.
  • The Centre for Systems and Technologies of the Information and Communications.
    To which corresponds the planning and development of the policies of the systems, technologies and information security of the Department, as well as the supervision and direction of its execution. For these purposes, the competent bodies in the aforementioned matters of the Armed Forces and the autonomous agencies of the Department depend functionally on this center.
Insignia of the Military Constructions Service

The following agencies also depends from the SEDEF:

  • The National Institute for Aerospace Technology.
    It is the defense agency in charge of research and technological development in the fields of aeronautics, space, hydrodynamics, security and defense. It is commonly considered as Spain's Space Agency, but Spain has not have a Space Agency.
  • The Institute for Housing, Infrastructure and Defense Equipment.
    It is the agency of the Ministry of Defense responsible for administering the assets of the ministry as well as ensuring that all military personnel and their families have a place to live.
    • The Military Constructions Service.
      It is a department of the Institute for Housing, Infrastructure and Defense Equipment responsible for the construction of military installations and other constructions of national security interest.

List of secretaries of state

Before this office was created, all its duties were carried out by the Undersecretary of Defence.

No. Image Name Term of office Ministers of Defence
serving under:		 Prime Minister appointed by:
Began Ended Days of service
1º Eduardo Serra Rexach 9 February 1984 18 July 1987 1255 Narcís Serra i Serra Felipe González
2º Rafael de la Cruz Corcoll 23 April 1988 12 October 1991 1267 Narcís Serra i Serra
Julián García Vargas
3º José Miguel Hernández Vázquez 12 October 1991 3 October 1992 357 Julián García Vargas
4º Antonio Flos Bassols 10 October 1992 29 April 1995 931 Julián García Vargas
5º Juan Ramón García Secades 8 july 1995 11 May 1996 308 Julián García Vargas
Gustavo Suárez Pertierra
6º Pedro Morenés 25 May 1996 6 May 2000 1442 Eduardo Serra Rexach José María Aznar
7º Fernando Díez Moreno 6 May 2000 20 April 2004 1445 Federico Trillo
8º Francisco Pardo Piqueras 20 April 2004 21 April 2007 1096 José Bono
José Antonio Alonso		 José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
9º Soledad López Fernández 21 April 2007 15 April 2008 360 José Antonio Alonso
10º Constantino Méndez Martínez 15 April 2008 31 December 2011 1355 Carme Chacón Piqueras
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba
11º Pedro Argüelles Salaverría 6 January 2012 19 November 2016 1779 Pedro Morenés Mariano Rajoy
12º Agustín Conde Bajén 19 November 2016 9 June 2018 567 María Dolores de Cospedal
13º Ángel Olivares Ramírez[4] 9 June 2018 24 June 2020 746 Margarita Robles Pedro Sánchez
14º Esperanza Casteleiro[5] 1 July 2020 11 May 2022 679
15º Amparo Valcarce 11 May 2022 Incumbent 516

References
  1. "Retribuciones para el año 2017 para el organismo Ministerio de Defensa". transparencia.gob.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  2. InfoDefensa, Revista Defensa. "Amparo Valcarce, nueva secretaria de Estado de Defensa". Infodefensa - Noticias de defensa, industria, seguridad, armamento, ejércitos y tecnología de la defensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  3. "Royal Decree 998/2017, of November 24, by which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Defense is developed". boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  4. "Angel Olivares Ramirez sworn-in as the new Secretary of State for Defence". epa european pressphoto agency b.v. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  5. Infodefensa.com, Revista Defensa (2020-07-01). "Robles renueva la cúpula civil del Ministerio de Defensa - Noticias Infodefensa España". Infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
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