Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs
The under-secretary of foreign affairs, called in the past under-secretary of state, is a government official within the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for assisting the minister in the daily management of the department. In this regard, the under-secretary supervises the department's policies concerning legal and consular assistance, human resources, protocol, budget and training of new diplomats. As responsible for human resources, the under-secretary is the head of the Diplomatic Service and has the rank and honors of ambassador. It is appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the foreign minister.
Until the establishment of the position of secretary of state for foreign affairs in 1979, the under-secretary was second-in-command to the minister, having political responsibilities. Nowadays, it is a technical position, held by a diplomat or a senior civil servant. This position is comparable to the permanent secretary in some countries or the Under Secretary of State for Management in the United States.
The under-secretary is the chancellor of the Ministry's orders: the Order of Isabella the Catholic and the Order of Civil Merit.
History
The office of under-secretary was established by Royal Decree of Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, The Queen Regent, of 16 June 1834. This norm created the position for all government departments in order to assist and lighten the minister's workload. On June 26, Andrés Villalba, introducer of ambassadors, was appointed the first under-secretary of the Ministry of State.For much of its history, the Undersecretariat has been structured around two sections: one for Policy and another for Trade and Consulates. Over time, these two sections were divided and specialized by subject. By the end of the 19th century, we can find up to eleven different sections, some dedicated to foreign policy and others to technical and administrative matters.
In the 1930s the sections were renamed as directorates-general and the political ones were directly attached to the minister, although, as the second highest ranking official, the under-secretary continued to act as coordinator of the rest of the department's senior officials. The creation of the secretariats of state —foreign affaris, European Union and international cooperation— between the 1970s and the 1980s relegated this officer to a mere internal affairs manager.