The
Generalitat de Catalunya ("Government of Catalonia" ) is the institution under which the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
Autonomous CommunityThe Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution...
of
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Executive Council or Government of Catalonia.
The
GeneralitatGeneralitat is the name of the autonomous systems of government of two of the present Spanish autonomous communities: Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The term is also used for the government of the semi-autonomous comarca of Val d'Aran, the Generalitat a l'Aran.Generalitat refers to all...
of Catalonia stems from the medieval institution which ruled, in the name of the King of the
Crown of AragonThe Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon.At the height of its power by the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain, Southwestern France, as well as...
, some aspects of the administration of the
Principality of CataloniaThe Principality of Catalonia , from the Latin Principatus Cathaloniae, is a historic territory in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, mostly in Spain and with an adjoining portion in southern France....
.
The
Generalitat de Catalunya ("Government of Catalonia" ) is the institution under which the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
Autonomous CommunityThe Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution...
of
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Executive Council or Government of Catalonia.
Medieval origins
The
GeneralitatGeneralitat is the name of the autonomous systems of government of two of the present Spanish autonomous communities: Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The term is also used for the government of the semi-autonomous comarca of Val d'Aran, the Generalitat a l'Aran.Generalitat refers to all...
of Catalonia stems from the medieval institution which ruled, in the name of the King of the
Crown of AragonThe Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon.At the height of its power by the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain, Southwestern France, as well as...
, some aspects of the administration of the
Principality of CataloniaThe Principality of Catalonia , from the Latin Principatus Cathaloniae, is a historic territory in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, mostly in Spain and with an adjoining portion in southern France....
. The first
Catalan constitution- Origin: The Corts of Barcelona:The Catalan constitutions were promulgated by the Corts of Barcelona . The first constitution was promulgated by the court of 1283. The last ones were promulgated by the court of 1702...
is that of the Corts of Barcelona from 1283. The last was promulgated by the Corts of 1702. The Generalitat was, in the
Late Middle AgesThe Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th and 15th centuries . The Late Middle Ages were preceded by the High Middle Ages, and followed by the Early Modern era ....
, the chief governing institution of Catalonia after the Monarch himself.
First abolition
Catalonian institutions which depended on the Generalitat were abolished in what is currently known in Catalonia as
Northern CataloniaNorthern Catalonia is a term which is sometimes used,particularly in Catalan writings, to refer tothe territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyreneesin 1659. The equivalent term in French,...
, one year after the signature of the
Treaty of the PyreneesThe Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
in the 17th century, which transferred the territory from Spanish to French sovereignty.
Then, by the early 18th century, as the Decretos de Nueva Planta were passed in Spain, the institution was abolished in the Spanish territory as well.
First restoration
The Generalitat of Catalonia was restored in
Spanish Catalonia and given its modern political and representative function as the regional government of Catalonia in 1932, during the
Second Spanish RepublicThe Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14, 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas and April 1, 1939, when the last of the Republican ...
.
After the right wing coalition won the Spanish elections in 1934, the leftist leaders of the Generalitat of Catalonia rebelled against the Spanish authorities, and was temporarily suspended from 1934 to 1936.
Second abolition
In 1939, as the
Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...
finished with the defeat of the Republican side, the institution was abolished and remained so during all the Francoist dictatorship.
Second restoration
The succession of presidents of the Generalitat was maintained in exile from 1939 to 1977, when Josep Tarradellas returned to Catalonia and was recognized as the legitimate president by the Spanish government. Tarradellas, when he returned to Catalonia, made his often quoted remark
Ciutadans de Catalunya: ja sóc aquí (
Citizens of Catalonia: I am back here, now!), reassuming the autonomous powers of Catalonia, one of the historic nationalities of present-day Spain.
After this, the powers given to the autonomous Catalan government according to the
Spanish Constitution of 1978The Constitution of Spain is regarded as the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. It was enacted after a referendum on 6 December 1978 after approval by 88% of voters.-Origins:...
were transferred and the
Statute of Autonomy of CataloniaThe Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia , the political institutions of the Catalan nationality, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain and the financing of the...
(
Estatut d'Autonomia) was passed after being approved both by referendum in Catalonia and by the Spanish
Cortes GeneralesThe Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
.
Current status
José MontillaJosé Montilla Aguilera is the current president of the Generalitat de Catalunya. He has been the First Secretary of the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya since 18 June 2000, and a member of the Federal Executive Committee and the Federal Committee of the PSOE since 23 July 2000...
is the president-elect of the Generalitat (also leader of the Socialist Party), and is backed up by a
tripartiteTripartite means composed of or split into three parts, or refers to three parties. Specifically, it may also refer to any of the following:* 3 * Tripartite body, soul and spirit* Tripartite language* Tripartite motto...
coalition of left-wing and Catalan nationalist political parties. His party actually won fewer seats in parliament than
the main opposition partyCIU may refer to:*Convergència i Unió, a Catalan political party*Crash Investigation Unit, an Australian factual television program*Working Men's Club and Institute Union, a group of clubs in the United Kingdom...
in the
2006 electionElections to the Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain, were held on November 1 2006.-Background:The November 2006 Catalan parliament election was an early one...
, but as he gathered more support from MPs from other parties in the parliament, he was able to repeat the same coalition government that his predecessor (Pasqual Maragall) had formed in order to send CiU to the opposition for the first time after 23 years of Jordi Pujol's government.
On June 18, 2006, a
reformed version was approvedA referendum on the new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia was held in Catalonia, Spain, on June 18, 2006. The referendum was successful and the new statute came into effect on August 9, 2006....
of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and went into effect in August. In its inception, the reform was promoted by both the leftist parties in the government and by the main opposition party (CiU), which were united in pushing for increased devolution of powers from the Spanish government level, enhanced fiscal autonomy and finances, and explicit recognition of Catalonia's national identity; however the details of its final redaction were harshly fought and the subject became a major controversial issue in the Catalan political scenario.
An autonomous system of government
The Generalitat consists of the Executive Council, the President and the Parliament. Some people wrongly apply this name only to the Council as if it were the same as
Cabinet only; however,
Generalitat de Catalunya is the (autonomous) Catalan system as a whole.
The region has gradually achieved a greater degree of autonomy since 1979. After
NavarreNavarre is a region in northern Spain, constituting one of its autonomous communities - the "Chartered Community of Navarre" .-History:...
and the
Basque CountryThe Basque Country is an Autonomous Community of northern Spain.The Basque Country was granted the status of historical region within Spain with the Spanish Constitution of 1978...
regions, Catalonia has the greatest level of self-government in Spain. The
GeneralitatThe Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution under which the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia is politically organised...
holds exclusive and wide jurisdiction in various matters of culture, environment, communications, transportation, commerce, public safety and local governments.
http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/competencies/exclusives.jsp In many aspects relating to education, health and justice, the region shares jurisdiction with the Spanish government.
http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/competencies/concurrents.jsp
One of the examples of Catalonia's degree of autonomy is its own police force, the
Mossos d'EsquadraMossos d'Esquadra is the police force of Catalonia, one of the autonomous communities of Spain, along with the Policía Municipal...
, which is currently taking over most of the police functions in Catalonia which used to be served by the
Guardia Civil and the
Policía NacionalThe Cuerpo Nacional de Policía is the national civilian police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst countryside policing is generally the responsibility of the Guardia Civil, the Spanish gendarmerie. The CNP is under the authority of Spain's Ministry of...
.
With few exceptions, most of the justice system is administered by national judicial institutions. The legal system is uniform throughout the Spanish State, with the exception of so-called
civil lawCivil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law, the primary feature of which is that laws are written into a collection, codified, and not determined, as in common law, by judges. The principle of civil law is to provide all citizens with an accessible and written collection of the laws which...
. This is administered separately within Catalonia.
http://civil.udg.es/normacivil/catalunya.htm As another institution stemming from the Generalitat, but independent from it in its check and balance functions, there is a
Síndic de Greuges (
ombudsmanAn ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing the broad scope of constituent interests....
)
http://www.sindicgreugescat.org to address problems that may arise between private citizens or organizations and the
GeneralitatThe Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution under which the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia is politically organised...
or local governments.
International presence
As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia has no recognition as a sovereign state from any UN member or any
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
state. However, as Catalonia has progressively gained a greater degree of self-government in recent years, the Catalonian Government, has established nearly bilateral relationships with foreign bodies. For the most part, these relationships are with the governments of other self-styled stateless nations such as
QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
http://www.mdeie.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=4201 or powerful sub-national administrations like
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
http://www.sen.ca.gov/soir/sister/scr71.htm. In addition, like most Spanish autonomous communities, Catalonia has permanent delegations before international organizations, such as the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
http://www.copca.cat/infoglueDeliverLive/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=247&languageId=1&contentId=-1 among others.
Altogether, Catalonia has well over 40 representative offices worldwide
http://www20.gencat.cat/portal/site/Departament-de-la-Vicepresidencia/menuitem.9a6dd4d7cef8efc12b121577b0c0e1a0/?vgnextoid=9a588f43a9e31210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9a588f43a9e31210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default http://www.copca.cat/infoglueDeliverLive/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=97&languageId=1&contentId=1143. Most of these offices are located in major world cities like
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
,
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
and others. Each office has specific duties assigned by their ministry or department agency. Generally, the functions of these are the representation of specific interests of the Government of Catalonia, trade and foreign investment, Catalan culture and language support, tourist promotion and international cooperation activities.
http://www.copca.cat/infoglueDeliverLive/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=97&languageId=1&contentId=1143 http://www20.gencat.cat/portal/site/Departament-de-la-Vicepresidencia/menuitem.1bd9513103ff0c512b121577b0c0e1a0/?vgnextoid=d586d2bd5ce31210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=d586d2bd5ce31210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
There are no specific Catalonian political institutions in
Northern CataloniaNorthern Catalonia is a term which is sometimes used,particularly in Catalan writings, to refer tothe territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyreneesin 1659. The equivalent term in French,...
, the French
département of
Pyrénées-OrientalesPyrénées-Orientales is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. It also surrounds the tiny Spanish enclave Llívia, and thus has two distinct borders with Spain.- History :...
. However, since September 5, 2003, there has been a
Casa de la Generalitat in
PerpignanPerpignan is a commune and the capital of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France...
, which aims to promote the Catalan culture and facilitate exchanges between each side of the
FrancoFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
-
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
border.
http://www10.gencat.net/sac/AppJava/organisme_fitxa.jsp?codi=13599
See also
- Autonomous communities of Spain
The Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution...
- Composition of the Catalan Government
- List of Presidents of Catalonia
- Mancomunitat de Catalunya
The Mancomunitat de Catalunya was an institution which covered the four Catalan diputacions...
- Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya
The Palau de la Generalitat houses the offices of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is one of the few buildings of mediaeval origin in Europe that still functions as a seat of government and houses the institution that originally built it...
- Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
External links