Generalitat de Catalunya

The Presidency of Catalonia

The Catalonia Statute of Autonomy forms the Generalitat into a complex entity comprised of three institutions: the Parliament, the Presidency of the Generalitat and the Executive Council or Government.

The president is elected by the members of Parliament and appointed by the king, and performs two types of functions: representative and governmental.

Representative functions

The president of the Generalitat holds the highest office in the Generalitat and acts as ordinary representative of the State. The president is also responsible for relations with other State institutions and the other autonomous regions, calling the elections for the Parliament of Catalonia and appointing the senior posts stipulated by law.

As ordinary representative of the State in Catalonia, he passes the laws of Catalonia on behalf of the king.

Governmental functions

The president forms part of the Executive Council, directing and coordinating it and establishing the general directives for government action. In this regard, he appoints councillors, calls and presides Government meetings and signs decrees agreed upon by the Executive Council and orders them to be published. He can also call for the Parliament to meet in an extraordinary session and, if necessary, he can dissolve the Parliament and call for a general debate to be held.

The president of the Generalitat also coordinates the Government’s legislative programme and draws up the general rules, calling and presiding Executive Council commissions and providing any information the Parliament may request from the Government.