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According to the Constitution of 1978, Spain is a parlamentary hereditary monarchy. King Juan Carlos has been in power since 22 November 1975, two days after the dictator (El Caudillo) Francisco Franco had died. His son Don Felipe, Prince of Asturias is first in the line of succession to the Spanish throne. The Royal Familiy is living in Palacio de la Zarzuela in Madrid.
The Cortes Generales (Spanish for General Courts) is the legislature of Spain. This bicameral parliament is composed of the Congreso de los Diputados (Congress of Deputies, the lower house) and the Senado (Senate, the upper house). These two chambers serve normally for a period of 5 years. However, as Spain has been member of the European Union since 1986, the Cortes Generales share their legislative authority with the council and parliament of the EU. There are two main differences between those two chambers: first of all, they are elected in a different way. Indeed, they are both elected on a provincial level, but as far as the number of seats is concerned, the Congreso de los Diputados is eleceted on a proportional level whereas the Senado is not. Second of all, there is a difference in power. Normally, each law is approved by the votes of Congreso de los Diputados. It is possible for the Senado to make changes or refuse laws, but on the other hand, the Congreso de los Diputados has the right to ignore these amendments.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of the Government, has been in power with its party PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party since March 14, 2004.
Spain is a State of Autonomies, and similar to the german federal system with its 16 Bundesländer. However, Spain is regarded by many as the most decentralised nation in Europe. The fifty different spanish Provincias (provinces) are grouped into seventeen Comunidades Autónomas (autonomous communities): Andalucía, Aragón, Asturias, Islas Baleares, Islas Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Cataluña, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra and País Vasco.
As far as the executive power in Spain is concerned, it lies on the Consejo de Ministros (Council of Ministers). Head of this Council is the president of the governement, who is at the same time Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is nominated by the king and afterwards confirmed by a vote of the lower house of parliament. After this procedure, the Prime Minister is appointed by the king.
As for the members of the Council, they are designated by the Prime Minister and later also appointed by the king. The main task of the Prime Minister is to direct the government's activities as a whole.
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