Secretary of State for International Cooperation
in Spain, second highest-ranking official within the ministry
The secretary of state for international cooperation (SECI) is a senior minister of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for the international cooperation for development and humanitarian aid policies—especially focused on Latin America and Africa.
The SECI is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the foreign minister and, as the highest official in charge of the Spanish international cooperation, the SECI is also the president of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
History
The international cooperation and development policy of Spain exists since the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and the relations with Latin America since the independence of their current states.
During the first years of democracy, the competences over this matters were attached to bodies with the rank of directorate-general or less, however, during the premiership of Felipe González in 1985 the current Secretariat of State was established, with the aim to get an "effective cooperation with all the peoples of the Earth", a mandate collected in the preamble of the Spanish Constitution (Constitution § Preamble).
Although international cooperation for development is destined for countries around the world, due to historical and cultural ties most of this Spanish cooperation goes to Latin America and the former Spanish territories of Africa like Equatorial Guinea, Morocco or Western Sahara, and also to Asian countries such as the Philippines, also former Spanish territories.
The most significant change since its creation was in 2004, when the competencies of the foreign policy of Spain in Ibero-American were transferred to the Secretariat of State for Foreign Affairs, competences that were recovered in very late 2011.
In 2017 the name was extended to include the Caribbean in the denomination in order to target the objective of at-that-time Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis to impulse the relations with that geographical area. In 2020, the Secretariat of State lost is responsibilities over Ibero-American affairs.
In 2023, the Cortes Generales approved a new International Cooperation Law that strengthened the policy evaluation system, creating an independent office for this purpose.
Name
Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America (1985-2004)
Secretary of State for International Cooperation (2004-2011)
Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America (2011-2017)
Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean (2017–2020)
Secretary of State for International Cooperation (2020–present)
Organization
The Secretariat of State is divided in two departments:
The Directorate-General for Sustainable Development Policies.
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