View source for Mariano Rajoy

{{short description|Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{family name hatnote|Rajoy|Brey|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Mariano Rajoy
| image               = Mariano Rajoy in 2018.jpg
| caption             = Rajoy in 2018
| office              = [[Prime Minister of Spain]]
| monarch             = [[Juan Carlos I]]<br />[[Felipe VI]]
| deputy              = [[Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría]]
| term_start          = 21 December 2011
| term_end            = 1 June 2018
| predecessor         = [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]]
| successor           = [[Pedro Sánchez]]
| office1             = [[People's Party (Spain)#Leadership|President of the People's Party]]
| 1blankname1         = {{nowrap|Secretary-General}}
| 1namedata1          = {{Unbulleted list|[[Ángel Acebes]]|[[María Dolores de Cospedal]]}}
| term_start1         = 2 October 2004
| term_end1           = 21 July 2018
| predecessor1        = [[José María Aznar]]
| successor1          = [[Pablo Casado]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Other offices held|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}
| office2             = [[Leader of the Opposition (Spain)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| monarch2            = Felipe VI
| primeminister2      = Pedro Sánchez
| term_start2         = 2 June 2018
| term_end2           = 21 July 2018
| predecessor2        = Pedro Sánchez
| successor2          = Pablo Casado
| monarch3            = Juan Carlos I
| primeminister3      = José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
| term_start3         = 17 April 2004
| term_end3           = 21 December 2011
| predecessor3        = José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
| successor3          = [[Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba]]
| office4             = [[People's Party (Spain)#Leadership|Secretary-General of the People's Party]]
| president4          = José María Aznar
| term_start4         = 4 September 2003
| term_end4           = 2 October 2004
| predecessor4        = [[Javier Arenas (politician)|Javier Arenas]]
| successor4          = Ángel Acebes
| office5             = [[Deputy Prime Minister of Spain|First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain]]
| primeminister5      = José María Aznar
| term_start5         = 28 April 2000
| term_end5           = 4 September 2003
| predecessor5        = [[Francisco Álvarez Cascos]]
| successor5          = [[Rodrigo Rato]]
| office6             = [[Spanish government|Spokesperson of the Government]]
| primeminister6      = José María Aznar
| term_start6         = 10 July 2002
| term_end6           = 4 September 2003
| predecessor6        = [[Pío Cabanillas Gallas]]
| successor6          = [[Eduardo Zaplana]]
| office7             = [[Ministry of the Presidency (Spain)|Minister of the Presidency]]
| primeminister7      = José María Aznar
| term_start7         = 10 July 2002
| term_end7           = 4 September 2003
| predecessor7        = [[Juan José Lucas]]
| successor7          = Javier Arenas
| primeminister8      = José María Aznar
| term_start8         = 28 April 2000
| term_end8           = 28 February 2001
| predecessor8        = Francisco Álvarez Cascos
| successor8          = Juan José Lucas
| office9             = [[Ministry of the Interior (Spain)|Minister of the Interior]]
| primeminister9      = José María Aznar
| term_start9         = 28 February 2001
| term_end9           = 10 July 2002
| predecessor9        = [[Jaime Mayor Oreja]]
| successor9          = Ángel Acebes
| office10            = [[Ministry of Education (Spain)|Minister of Education and Culture]]
| primeminister10     = José María Aznar
| term_start10        = 19 January 1999
| term_end10          = 28 April 2000
| predecessor10       = [[Esperanza Aguirre]]
| successor10         = [[Pilar del Castillo]]<br />([[Ministry of Education (Spain)|Education, Culture and Sport]])
| office11            = [[Ministry for Territorial Administrations|Minister of Public Administrations]]
| primeminister11     = José María Aznar
| term_start11        = 6 May 1996
| term_end11          = 19 January 1999
| predecessor11       = [[Joan Lerma]]
| successor11         = Ángel Acebes
| office12            = [[Xunta de Galicia|Vice President of Galicia]]
| president12         = [[Gerardo Fernández Albor]]
| term_start12        = 4 November 1986
| term_end12          = 26 September 1987
| predecessor12       = {{ill|José Luis Barreiro|es}}
| successor12         = José Luis Barreiro
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| office13            = Member of the [[Congress of Deputies]]
| term_start13        = 20 November 1989
| term_end13          = 15 June 2018
| constituency13      = [[Madrid (Congress of Deputies constituency)|Madrid]]<br />(2004–2018)<br />[[Pontevedra (Congress of Deputies constituency)|Pontevedra]]<br />(1989–2004)
| term_start14        = 22 June 1986
| term_end14          = 4 December 1986
| constituency14      = Pontevedra
| office15            = President of the [[Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra|Deputation of Pontevedra]]
| term_start15        = 11 June 1983
| term_end15          = 10 December 1986
| predecessor15       = Federico Cifuentes Pérez
| successor15         = Fernando García del Valle
| birth_name          = Mariano Rajoy Brey
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1955|3|27|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Santiago de Compostela]], Spain
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[People's Party (Spain)|People's]] (since 1989)
| otherparty          = [[People's Alliance (Spain)|People's Alliance]]<br>(before 1989)<br>[[Spanish National Union]] (1970s)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Elvira Fernández Balboa]]|1996}}
| children            = 2
| parents             = [[Mariano Rajoy Sobredo]]<br />Olga Brey López
| alma_mater          = [[University of Santiago de Compostela]]
| signature           = Firma de Mariano Rajoy.svg
| website             = {{URL|rajoy.es|Official website}}
}}
'''Mariano Rajoy Brey''' ({{IPA|gl|maɾiˈanʊ raˈʃoj|lang}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dicionario de pronuncia da lingua galega |url=https://ilg.usc.es/pronuncia/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=ilg.usc.es}}</ref> {{IPA|es|maˈɾjano raˈxoj|lang}}; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as [[Prime Minister of Spain]] from 2011 to 2018. A member of the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]], he served as the party's president from 2004 to 2018. At a total of nearly 15 years, Rajoy was the longest-serving politician in the [[Government of Spain|Spanish government]] since the [[Spanish transition to democracy|transition to democracy]], having held ministerial offices continuously from 1996 to 2004 and from 2011 to 2018.

Born in [[Santiago de Compostela]], Rajoy studied law and graduated from the [[University of Santiago de Compostela]] in 1977. In 1979, he became a property register at the age of 24, one of the youngest in Spain at the time. He then entered politics during Spain's transition to democracy, initially as a member of the [[Regional Government of Galicia]]. In 1986, Rajoy was elected a member of the [[Congress of Deputies]] but shortly resigned his seat later that year to be appointed [[Xunta de Galicia|Vice President of Galicia]], a role that he served in until the following year. In the [[1989 Spanish general election|1989 elections]], Rajoy was reelected as a member of the Congress of Deputies and from 1996 to 2004 held several ministers during the [[Premiership of José María Aznar]]. In 2004, Rajoy ran as the People's Party for the [[2004 Spanish general election|general election]] but his party narrowly lost to the [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] (PSOE), something repeated in the [[2008 Spanish general election|general election]]s held four years later. Three years later in 2011, Rajoy won the [[2011 Spanish general election|general election]]s by a majority and was sworn in as prime minister on 21 December.

Rajoy's first term was heavily marked by the [[2008–2014 Spanish financial crisis]] and oversaw a major restructuring of the Spanish financial system as well as a major labour reform. The financial crisis peaked with a bailout of the Spanish banking system in June 2012. [[unemployment in Spain]] peaked at 27% in 2012, which led to an initial drop of the People's Party in the polls, which was aggravated by the revelations of a series of [[Corruption in Spain|corruption]] cases that seriously damaged the party's reputation. This, among other factors, led to a profound shift in the Spanish party system, with the rise of new political parties from the left and the right: [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|Podemos]] and [[Citizens (Spanish political party)|Citizens]]. Rajoy also oversaw the [[2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis]] marked by the Catalan independence referendum of 2017 and the [[Catalan declaration of independence|Catalan unilateral declaration of independence]] on 27 October 2017 that led to the imposition of direct rule in Catalonia. 

On 1 June 2018, Rajoy and his government was [[2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy|ousted]] by the opposition parties led by the opposition leader [[Pedro Sánchez]], the [[secretary-general]] of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, which only held 84 seats at the time and Sánchez was sworn in the following day. Four days later, Rajoy resigned as president of the People's Party and retired from politics shortly after and he was succeeded as his party's president by [[Pablo Casado]] a month later. While credited for lifting Spain out of the economic crisis, the austerity measures Rajoy and his government took and as well its handling of the Catalonia crisis was heavily criticized and also corruption scandals in the People's Party further damaged the party and Rajoy's reputation.

== Early life and education ==
Born 27 March 1955 in [[Santiago de Compostela]], in the Galician [[province of A Coruña]], in [[Spain]],<ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://www.abc.es/20111224/estilo-gente/abci-marianito-presidente-201112240015.html Marianito, el niño que llegó a ser presidente (Marianito, the child who became president)]</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3201363.stm |title=Spanish right chooses new leader |work=bbc.co.uk |date=2 September 2003}}</ref> Rajoy is the grandson of [[Enrique Rajoy|Enrique Rajoy Leloup]], one of the architects of the [[Galician Statute of Autonomy (1936)]] (''Estatuto de autonomía de Galicia''), who was removed from university teaching by the [[Franco dictatorship]] in the early 1950s. He is the son of Olga Brey López and [[Mariano Rajoy Sobredo]], a jurist, and president of the Provincial Court of [[Pontevedra]], the city where he grew up.

Later on, his father was transferred to [[León, Spain|León]] and the whole family moved there. He was duly enrolled, together with his brothers Luis and Enrique, and spent ten years there before moving to the Jesuit school in [[Vigo]]. After finishing secondary school he started university, enrolling in the Law Faculty in Santiago de Compostela.

Rajoy graduated from the [[University of Santiago de Compostela]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thebusinessyear.com/ecuador-2014/stronger-together/guest-speaker |title=GUEST SPEAKER Mariano Rajoy Stronger Together |publisher=www.thebusinessyear.com |date=February 2014 |access-date=21 June 2017 |archive-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617220133/https://www.thebusinessyear.com/ecuador-2014/stronger-together/guest-speaker |url-status=dead }}</ref> and passed the competitive examination required in Spain to enter into the civil service, becoming the youngest-ever property [[Recorder of deeds|registrar]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/4304f0ba-5efc-11e2-9f18-00144feab49a |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322045056/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/4304f0ba-5efc-11e2-9f18-00144feab49a.html#axzz2Pu8qIrH6 |archive-date=22 March 2013 |url-access=subscription |title=Spanish PM insists his reform programme will begin to bear fruit this year |author=Tom Buck, Lionel Barber |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |date=15 January 2013 |access-date=8 April 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

He was assigned to [[Padrón]] (A Coruña), [[Villafranca del Bierzo]] ([[province of León|León]]) and [[Santa Pola]] ([[province of Alicante|Alicante]]), a position he still holds. In that year, Rajoy sustained facial injuries in a traffic accident. Since then, he has always worn a beard to cover the scars from these injuries.

Rajoy married [[Elvira Fernández Balboa|Elvira "Viri" Fernández Balboa]] on 28 December 1996, on [[La Toja Island]] (Pontevedra). The couple have two children.

While on the campaign trail in 2011, Rajoy published his autobiography, ''En Confianza'' (''In Confidence'').

== Political career ==

=== Early political career ===
Earlier member of the [[Spanish National Union]] (UNE),<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Prada Rodríguez|first=Julio|year=2004|title=Orígenes y gestión del proceso autonómico gallego|issn=0212-6559|journal=Anales de Historia Contemporánea|volume=20|publisher=[[University of Murcia|Ediciones de la Universidad de Murcia]]|location=Murcia|url=http://revistas.um.es/analeshc/article/viewFile/55321/53301|page=242|archive-date=23 October 2017|access-date=5 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023182316/http://revistas.um.es/analeshc/article/viewFile/55321/53301|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rajoy joined the right-wing party [[People's Alliance (Spain)|People's Alliance]] (AP), becoming a deputy in the inaugural legislature of the [[Galician Parliament]] in 1981. In 1982, he was appointed by Galician regional president, [[Xerardo Fernández Albor]], as Minister of Institutional Relations of the [[Xunta de Galicia]]. On 11 June 1983, Rajoy was elected President of the [[Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra]], a position he held until 10 December 1986.<ref>{{in lang|es}} [[Faro de Vigo]]: [http://www.losgenoveses.net/Rajoy/ideas/Rajoy.Faro%20de%20Vigo%2004.03.83.pdf Mariano Rajoy: Igualdad humana y modelos de sociedad (Human equality and social models)]</ref><ref>{{in lang|es}} [[Faro de Vigo]]: [http://www.losgenoveses.net/Rajoy/ideas/Rajoy.Faro%20de%20Vigo.24.07.84.pdf Mariano Rajoy: La envidia igualitaria (Egalitarian Envy)]</ref><ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://laradiodelsur.com/?p=56385 Mariano Rajoy en 1983: "la desigualdad natural del hombre viene escrita en el código genético" ("Natural inequality of man is written in the genetic code")] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102190749/http://laradiodelsur.com/?p=56385 |date=2 January 2014 }}</ref>

In the [[1986 Spanish general election|General Elections]] of 22 June 1986, he won a seat in the Congress of Deputies as the head of the AP's list for [[Pontevedra (Congress of Deputies constituency)|Pontevedra]], although he resigned in November to take up the post of vice-president of the Xunta of Galicia following the resignation of Xosé Luis Barreiro and the rest of the ministers. He occupied this latter position until the end of September 1987. In May 1988 he was elected General Secretary of the AP in Galicia during an extraordinary congress of the regional party.

When in 1989 the AP merged with other parties to form the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]] (PP), with [[Manuel Fraga]] as its president, Rajoy was named a member of its National Executive Committee and delegate for Pontevedra. He was reelected to parliament in 1993. Before the PP's triumph in the 1996 elections, he was a PP-designated member of the Commission of Parliamentary Control of the [[RTVE]].

In April, the former president of Castile and León and presidential candidate of the government general elections in 1989, [[José María Aznar]], was elected president of the PP. Confirmed in the National Executive, Mariano Rajoy was appointed deputy secretary general of the party. He was re-elected in Pontevedra in the election on 6 June 1993.

=== Ministerial career (1996–2003) ===
On 3 March 1996, the PP won the [[1996 Spanish general election|early parliamentary elections]] and formed a government with the support of the [[Basque Nationalist Party]] (EAJ-PNV), [[Convergence and Union]] (CiU) and the [[Canarian Coalition]] (CC). Rajoy, a long-time associate of newly elected prime minister José María Aznar, made the move into national politics in Aznar's first government when he was appointed Minister of Public Administration on 6 May. His term was marked by the adoption, in 1997, of the Law on organization and operation of the general administration of the State (LOFAGE), which regulates the organization and functions of central government, and the Law on Government.

He changed his portfolio on 20 January 1999 and replaced [[Esperanza Aguirre]] as [[Ministry of Education (Spain)|Minister of Education and Culture]]. Just after his appointment, he was reelected vice-secretary general of the PP during its thirteenth national conference.

In 2000 he led the People's Party election campaign for the elections on 12 March, in which they won absolute majority. On 28 April 2000, Rajoy was appointed Senior Vice President of Government and Minister of the Presidency.

Less than a year later, on 28 February 2001, he replaced [[Jaime Mayor Oreja]], candidate for President of the Government of the Basque Country, as Interior Minister. In this role, he passed legislation including the Organic Law on the right of association, approved the decree implementing the Organic Law on the rights and duties of foreigners, and presented the draft law on the prevention of [[alcoholism]].

In the major cabinet reshuffle of 9 July 2002, he became minister of the presidency, retained his vice presidency and was appointed spokesman of the government. In his new role, he faced two very difficult times of Aznar's second term: the [[Prestige oil spill|Prestige oil tanker disaster]] off the coast of [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], and the participation of Spain in the [[Iraq War]], at the request of [[George W. Bush]].

Approached, with [[Rodrigo Rato]] and Jaime Mayor Oreja, to succeed José Maria Aznar at the direction of the PP and as presidential candidate of the government in the 2004 general elections, he was chosen as future PP leader on 1 September 2003 and left the government two days later.

=== Leader of the People's Party ===
On 30 August 2003, Aznar announced that he would retire from politics in the 2004 elections and proposed Rajoy as his successor. Rajoy was elected Secretary General of the party the following day, and led the party into the [[2004 Spanish general election|2004 elections]]. However, the PP's large lead evaporated in the wake of the [[2004 Madrid train bombings|11-M bombings]] and the subsequent crisis management, and the PP was heavily defeated by the PSOE.

However, Rajoy was not held responsible for the defeat, and was elected party president at the PP's 14th congress in October 2004.

=== Leader of the Opposition (2004–2011) ===

==== 2004 election ====
[[File:Rajoy.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Mariano Rajoy during a party meeting in Bilbao, 2005]]
On 11 March 2004, three days before the [[2004 Spanish legislative election|2004 general elections]], Madrid was struck by [[11 March 2004 Madrid attacks|terrorist attacks]], which the government initially blamed on the armed Basque separatist organisation, [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]]. Aznar's government and government party leaders insisted on accusing ETA of the attacks, and on 13 March, Rajoy claimed to believe this because he was convinced of their will and capability for committing such crimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.es/papel/2004/03/13/espana/1606169.html |title=Ahora sería bueno que hubiera un gobierno con mayoría absoluta|work=El Mundo  |access-date=21 November 2011|language=es}}</ref> The government was accused of attempting to blame ETA for the attacks in order to stay on track to win the elections (as they were favored to do), but then the [[PRISA|Prisa]] center-left media company broke news that [[Al-Qaeda|Al‑Qaida]], rather than ETA, was responsible.

[[File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Summit 24 March 2007 (23).jpg|thumb|right|Rajoy with Chancellor of Germany [[Angela Merkel]] in March 2007]]
On 14 March 2004 the PSOE, under the leadership of [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]], won the elections with a majority of 1,300,000 votes over the PP, and obtained 164 deputies, while the PP obtained 9,763,144 votes but 148 deputies, 35 less than they obtained in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electionresources.org/es/congress.php?election=2004&province= |title=Election Resources on the Internet: Elections to the Spanish Congress of Deputies – Results Lookup |publisher=Electionresources.org |access-date=8 June 2012}}</ref> Rajoy was elected for the province of [[Madrid (Congress of Deputies constituency)|Madrid]].

[[File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN MADRID (6-7 FEBRUARY 2008) (168).jpg|thumb|left|Rajoy at the EPP convention on climate change in February 2008]]
On 1 December 2005, Rajoy survived a helicopter accident, along with Madrid Regional Government President [[Esperanza Aguirre]]; he broke a finger in the accident.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/12/01/madrid.crash/ CNN.com – Opposition leader survives Madrid helicopter crash – 1 December 2005] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051205020019/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/12/01/madrid.crash/ |date=5 December 2005 }}</ref>

His criticisms of the [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero|Zapatero]] administration were focused on what he perceived as:
* The derogation of ambitious plans of the previous executive
* The ''Plan Hidrológico Nacional'' (National Hydrological Plan)
* The ''LOCE'' Organic Law on the Quality of Education
* The alleged "unnecessary" statutory reforms which devolved competences to the autonomous communities, such as submitted in the [[Catalonia|Catalan]], and [[Andalusia]]n referendums with low turn-outs. According to Rajoy, some of those reforms constituted concealed changes of the autonomous communities towards a confederation, endangering the integrity of the State
* Zapatero's view of Spain, which, Rajoy proposed, would require a reform of the [[Spanish Constitution]]. Such a reform that would need approval in a national referendum.
* The alleged weakness facing the peace process opened as a result of the permanent ceasefire declared by ETA on 30 December 2006, broken by the [[2006 Madrid Barajas International Airport bombing|Madrid Barajas International Airport bombing]] and arms robbery
* The legalization of [[Abortion in Spain|abortion]] until 14 weeks of pregnancy, a law that Mariano Rajoy considered "criminal" and against the will of large sectors of the Spanish society
In [[foreign policy]]:
* The alleged cold relations with United States and [[Poland]].
* The alliances with Latin American left-wing leaders: [[Hugo Chávez]], from [[Venezuela]], [[Fidel Castro]], from [[Cuba]] and [[Evo Morales]], from [[Bolivia]].

==== 2008 election ====
Rajoy faced a serious situation within his party when he came under public pressure from the electorally successful [[Alberto Ruiz Gallardón]] (Madrid's Mayor) to be included in the PP&nbsp;lists for the [[2008 Spanish general election|March 2008 general election]]. Gallardón represents a more centrist sector within the party, whereas Rajoy, [[Angel Acebes]] and [[Eduardo Zaplana]] are widely accepted{{Vague|date=March 2008}} as representing a more conservative wing of the party, closer to Aznar{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}. Rajoy's final decision was to leave Gallardón out of the list for those elections, an action which provoked concern about the alienation of potential PP voters. Some experts and newspapers even argued that it could cost Rajoy the elections{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}. In any case, the power struggle for succession created a tense situation for him and for the party.<ref>{{cite web|last=Crawford |first=Leslie |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a00a6290-c451-11dc-a474-0000779fd2ac |title=Madrid mayor barred by own party |work=Financial Times |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=8 June 2012}}</ref>

On 30 January 2008, Rajoy received the support of Germany's [[Angela Merkel]] and France's [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] for the March 2008 general election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elimparcial.es/contenido/2087.html |title=Sarkozy y Merkel desean de "todo corazón" el triunfo de Mariano Rajoy |publisher=Elimparcial.es |date=30 January 2008 |access-date=21 November 2011|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elpais.com/videos/espana/Sarkozy/Merkel/le/desean/gran/exito/Rajoy/elpvidnac/20080130elpepunac_12/Ves/ |title=Video: Sarkozy y Merkel le desean "un gran éxito" a Rajoy |work=El País  |date=30 January 2008 |access-date=21 November 2011|language=es}}</ref> The PP was defeated in the general election, however, it gained votes and seats, and Rajoy continued to lead his party in opposition.

==== 2011 election ====
The [[2011 Spanish general election|2011 general election]] campaign was dominated by economic issues. "Election campaign begins, crushed by the economic situation", was the headline in ''[[El País]]'' on 2 September 2011;{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} the same day, ''[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]'' claimed that "the unemployment election campaign [had begun]".{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} The high rate of unemployment was a major issue in the campaign. Close to 5&nbsp;million people were out of work at the time of the election, and 1.5&nbsp;million households had no wage earners.

Rajoy slammed Spain's unemployment rate as "unbearable and unacceptable" as data showed 4,350 people per day losing their jobs in October 2011. The Socialists, he said, "did not know how to manage [[Spain's economy]], and now the Spanish people are paying the price for that".{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} He promised he would shepherd Spain out of its [[crisis]] and recover the shaky confidence of international investors and reduce the government's ominously high borrowing costs. The [[Greek government-debt crisis|debt crisis in Greece]] had raised concerns over the solvency of other weak economies like Spain. The PP&nbsp;campaign slogan called on voters to "Join the change!" and the party manifesto stressed its commitment to cutting the country's budget deficit in line with EU requirements. It proposed tax breaks for savers and small firms who hired staff; benefits for those who took on young employees; more flexible labour contracts and wage negotiations and major cuts in [[red tape]], to encourage entrepreneurs to set up businesses. At the same time, it pledged to protect public healthcare and education, saving money through efficiency and better management.

[[File:ALERTA! Se colaron los fachas (17009742580).jpg|thumb|Anti-[[Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership|TTIP]] protests in [[Barcelona]], 18 April 2015]]

== Premiership (2011–2018) ==
{{Main|Premiership of Mariano Rajoy}}

===First term (2011–2015)===
[[File:Secretary Kerry Meets With Spanish President Rajoy at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid (22114902899).jpg|thumb|Prime Minister Rajoy meets with U.S. Secretary of State [[John Kerry]]]]
In November 2011, Rajoy's right-wing [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]] won its biggest majority since the country's return to representative democracy in the 1970s, securing 186 out of the 350&nbsp;seats in the lower house of Parliament. Voters turned to him in hopes of alleviating the pain of [[European sovereign-debt crisis|Europe's debt crisis]].{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} Following the [[2011 Spanish general election|general election]] held in 2011, Rajoy was elected prime minister by the [[Congress of Deputies (Spain)|Congress of Deputies]] on 20 December 2011.

====Inauguration====
Rajoy, designated candidate for Prime Minister of the government of [[King Juan Carlos&nbsp;I]], appeared before the Congress of Deputies on 19 December 2011. He stated that to achieve the objective of a deficit of 4.4% of GDP in 2012, an investment of €16,500,000,000 would be needed. He added that his only increased public spending would be the revaluation of pensions, beginning 1 January 2012, and that he would not create any new jobs in the public sector, except for security forces. He stated an intention "to reduce the size of the public sector" and also wanted to reform [[Public holidays in Spain|public holidays]] so as to avoid encouragement of popular four-day weekends. This would be accomplished by incorporating the use of the nearest Monday for most public holidays. He also announced his desire to end the practice of early retirement.

Rajoy was chosen by Parliament two days later with 187 votes in favor, 149 votes against and 14 abstentions, receiving the support of the People's Party, the Forum of Asturias (FAC) and the Navarrese People's Union (UPN), with Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Convergence and Union (CiU), the United Left (IU) and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) dissenting. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), the coalition Amaiur and the Canary Coalition (CC) abstained. He was appointed a few hours later as prime minister by Juan Carlos&nbsp;I and sworn in the next day at the [[Zarzuela Palace]], before the King and Queen, Zapatero, the outgoing prime minister, and the Presidents of the Cortes Generales, and others.

====First days====
Rajoy's government was formed on 21 December 2011 with thirteen ministers—the lowest number in Spanish democratic history. [[Soraya Saenz de Santamaria]], Vice President of the Government, Minister of the Presidency, and government spokesperson, and [[Ana Pastor Julián]], Minister of Equipment, were appointed. The Ministries of Culture, Science, and Territorial Policy were ended, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance was split into two new ministries. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was kept intact, despite statements made by Rajoy speech before Congress that indicated the opposite intention. Among the ministers, [[Cristóbal Montoro Romero]], Minister of Finance, and [[Miguel Arias Cañete]], Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, had been members of the previous Aznar government and continued to occupy the same posts.

====Spending cuts====
[[File:EPP Congress Madrid - 22 October (22201866610).jpg|200px|thumb|right|Rajoy in the 2015 PP Congress]]
{{expand section|date=January 2017}}
On 30 December 2011, the [[Cabinet of Spain|Council of Ministers]] approved a cuts plan (called an austerity plan) amounting to €8,900,000,000 in savings and €6,200,000,000 in new revenues. Salaries of public workers were frozen, the workweek in public administration was reduced to 37.5 hours, and recruitment of new public employees was halted, except in the areas of security, health and education. A programme which provided rent assistance for young people was abolished, and the [[minimum wage]] was frozen—something that had not happened since 1966. The [[income tax]] and tax on [[Spanish property bubble|real estate]] was also increased for 2012 and 2013. Pensions were adjusted up 1%, however, and the tax deduction for the purchase of homes was reinstated. The premium of €400 for the long-term unemployed (due to a lack of industry) at the end of law was maintained but only for those registered as jobseekers with the public employment service for at least twelve months out of the previous eighteen and whose income amounts were less than three quarters of the net minimum wage.<ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/08/24/espana/1345829064.html]</ref> A 4% [[value-added tax]] was expanded to include new home purchases.

====Lawsuit====
On 4 January 2013 the association Democracia Real Ya (DRY), created after the 15 May 2011 protest movement, brought charges against Mariano Rajoy and another 62 deputies (including four ministers) before the [[Supreme Court of Spain|Supreme Court]], accusing them of diversion of public funds and misappropriation. Mariano Rajoy was accused of receiving a subsistence allowance despite the fact that he was living in the [[Palace of Moncloa|Moncloa Palace]] in Madrid. The lawsuit before the Supreme Court was a consequence of the data which had appeared in the media providing information about several deputies who had houses in [[Madrid]] but at the same time were receiving extra funds for lodging. According to the association DRY, these representatives, who could be lodged at no cost to the public purse, were paid a monthly subsistence allowance valued at €1,823.36. Furthermore, if they had been elected by the constituency of Madrid and had a house in this city, they were allowed €870 a month to cover accommodation and food expenses resulting from the exercise of their functions that, with respect to Rajoy, were already covered – from the state budget – in the Moncloa Palace. DRY therefore accused them of diversion of public funds and misappropriation. Additionally, DRY demanded that they return all the money that didn't belong to them, particularly bearing in mind that "the cuts are making most Spaniards' life a misery".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://imagenes.publico.es/resources/archivos/2013/1/4/1357312359258Querella.pdf|title= Querella contra Rajoy|work=Público  |access-date=4 January 2013|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.publico.es/448356/la-asociacion-dry-se-querella-contra-63-diputados-que-perciben-dietas-teniendo-casa-en-madrid|title="Democracia Real Ya" se querella contra Rajoy |work=Público  |date=4 January 2013 |access-date=4 January 2013|language=es}}</ref>

On 24 April 2013, having found no irregularity in the existing regulation and discarding the existence of constituents elements of offense, the [[Supreme Court of Spain|Supreme Court]] rejected the lawsuit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/04/24/actualidad/1366812496_106535.html  |title= El Supremo rechaza la querella de DRY contra Rajoy y 62 diputados |work=El País |date= 24 April 2013 |access-date=28 April 2013|language=es}}</ref>

====Corruption scandals====
{{See also|Bárcenas affair|Gürtel case}}
[[File:Protesta en contra del Partido Popular ante su sede en la calle Génova de Madrid (1 de febrero de 2013) (2).jpg|thumb|Demonstration in front of the People's Party headquarters protesting against the Barcenas' affair (2 February 2013).]]
The newspaper ''[[El País]]'' published in its edition of 30 January 2013 a series of documents, under the title of "[[Luis Bárcenas|Bárcenas]]' secret papers", referring to the accounts of the conservative party from 1999 to 2009. According to those hand-written documents, Mariano Rajoy and [[María Dolores de Cospedal]] had received extra payments in "black" money from the former treasurer of the People's Party, Luis Bárcenas.
These documents state that both Bárcenas and his predecessor, [[Álvaro Lapuerta]], managed cash donations from businessmen and private builders (three of whom are additionally accused in the Gürtel case), cited as sources of undeclared income of the PP. Expenditure included, apart from allocations for the effective functioning of the party, payments made to members of the leadership of the party during those years with no explicitly stated purpose.
Barcenas' accounts show yearly payments of 25,200 euros for 11 years to the President, in addition to smaller amounts for a total estimated at 33,207 with purposes such as "Mariano's suits", "Mariano's ties", or "M.R.'s suits". PP Secretary-General María Dolores de Cospedal appears in the papers of these payments, as well as other leaders, such as former ministers [[Javier Arenas (politician)|Javier Arenas]], [[Jaime Mayor Oreja]] and [[Francisco Álvarez-Cascos]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/politica/rajoy-cospedal-cobraban-sobresueldos-barcenas-segun-pais-2307076|title=The newspaper ''El País'' publishes documents from the People's Party former treasurer Bárcenas that set out payments to the leadership of the People´s Party |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 30 January 2013|work= El Periódico|publisher= elperiodico.com |access-date=4 February 2013|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/01/30/actualidad/1359583204_085918.html|title=Bárcenas' papers |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 30 January 2013|work= El País|publisher= elpais.com |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elcomercio.es/20130203/mas-actualidad/nacional/rajoy-barcenas-papeles-201302031430.html |title=Rajoy and the Bárcenas case |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 3 February 2013|work= El Comercio|publisher= elcomercio.es |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref>

By 7 February, just one week after publication of the documents, one million people had signed a petition launched by the organization [[Change.org]] asking for the immediate resignation of Mariano Rajoy.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/02/07/actualidad/1360254981_941027.html |title= Una plataforma recoge un millón de firmas para pedir la dimisión de Rajoy|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 8 February 2013|work= El País|publisher= elpais.es |access-date=7 February 2013|language=es}}</ref>

On 8 July, the center-right newspaper ''[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]'', usually a support of the Popular Party, published a four-hour interview with Luis Bárcenas, which had taken place a few days before he was put behind bars on 27 June,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/06/27/actualidad/1372318704_472889.html |title=Bárcenas ya está en la cárcel |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 28 June 2013 |work=El País |publisher=elpais.com |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref> in which the former party treasurer revealed that the People's Party had been illegally financed for 20 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/07/07/espana/1373186360.html |title=Cuatro horas con Bárcenas |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 8 July 2013 |work=El Mundo |publisher=elmundo.es |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref> The following day,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23238531|title=Spain Barcenas affair: Documents 'implicate PM Rajoy'|work=BBC News|date=9 July 2013}}</ref> the same newspaper published the originals of Barcenas' papers which reflected overpayments to Mariano Rajoy in 1997, 1998 and 1999, when he was a minister in the Aznar cabinet. These payments violated the Incompatibilities Act of 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/07/08/espana/1373316663.html |title=Los originales de Bárcenas incluyen pagos de sobresueldos a Rajoy cuando era ministro |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 9 July 2013 |work=El Mundo |publisher=elmundo.es |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref> On 14 July, ''El Mundo'' published several text messages between Rajoy and Bárcenas, the latest dating from early 2013, after the discovery of Bárcenas' bank accounts in Switzerland and after some media had pointed to illegal payments within the PP. In those messages, Rajoy expressed his support to Bárcenas and asked him to keep quiet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/07/14/espana/1373779073.html |title=Los SMS entre Rajoy y Bárcenas |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 14 July 2013 |work=El Mundo |publisher=elmundo.es |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref>

[[File:Madrid - Fuera mafia, hola democracia - 131005 202927.jpg|thumb|170px|Anti-corruption rally in Madrid, 5 October 2013]]
In light of these new revelations, High Court judge [[Pablo Ruz]] summoned Bárcenas to appear before him on 15 July. In this new appearance, Bárcenas admitted the payment of 50,000 euros in 2010 to Rajoy and Dolores de Cospedal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/07/15/actualidad/1373888280_387879.html |title=Bárcenas dice que pagó a Cospedal y Rajoy 50.000 euros en 2010 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 15 July 2013 |work=El País |publisher=elpais.com |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref> As a result of the scandal, all the opposition parties urged Rajoy to give an explanation to parliament, with the opposition [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] threatening him with a [[Motion of no confidence|censure motion]] should he refuse to come out and explain himself, and demanding his immediate resignation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.libertaddigital.com/espana/politica/2013-07-14/rubalcaba-pide-la-inmediata-dimision-de-rajoy-1276495165/ |title=Rubalcaba pide "la inmediata dimisión" de Rajoy |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 14 July 2013 |work=Libertad Digital |publisher=libertaddigital.com |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/07/16/espana/1373974338.html |title=El PSOE presentará una moción de censura si Rajoy no va al Congreso |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 16 July 2013 |work=El Mundo |publisher=elmundo.es |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref>

In his appearance before Congress, on 1 August, Rajoy admitted that he had made "a mistake" in trusting Bárcenas<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23526439|title=Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy admits 'mistake' over scandal|work=BBC News|date=August 2013}}</ref> and criticised the opposition for trying to "criminalize" him by believing the word of an "offender", stating that he wasn't resigning nor calling new elections.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/08/01/actualidad/1375343839_654943.html |title=Rajoy asume su error en "confiar" en Bárcenas pero ni dimite ni hay elecciones |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 1 August 2013 |work=El País |publisher=elpais.com |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref> Rajoy also stated that Bárcenas was no longer a member of the PP when he, Rajoy, was appointed prime minister (in December 2011). However, on 11 August, ''El Mundo'' published a paysheet, dated May 2012, issued by the PP for the ex-treasurer, as well as a letter sent by Bárcenas himself to Rajoy in April 2010 (just a few days after he [Bárcenas] had been officially "removed" from his duties as treasurer) informing Rajoy of his "re-incorporation" in the party.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/08/10/espana/1376161506.html |title=La nómina de Bárcenas pone en cuestión el relato de Rajoy |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 11 August 2013 |work=El Mundo |publisher=elmundo.es |access-date=11 August 2013|language=es}}</ref>  On 26 November 2014, [[Ana Mato]], [[Ministry of Health (Spain)|Minister of Health]], resigned due to the involvement of herself and her husband Jesús Sepúlveda in the [[Gürtel case]].<ref name="resign">{{cite news|url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2014/11/26/actualidad/1417012981_141230.html |title=Dimite Ana Mato tras su implicación en el 'caso Gürtel' por el juez Ruz |language=es |newspaper=El País |date=26 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30220258|title=Spain minister resigns over scandal|work=BBC News|date=26 November 2014|access-date=2 June 2018}}</ref>

He testified in [[Audiencia Nacional (Spain)|Audiencia Nacional]] as a witness in the framework of the investigation into the [[Gürtel case|Gürtel corruption scandal]], of the illegal financing of his party. He is the first PM in Spain in service to attend a trial. Although he benefited from this corruption scheme, he denied any knowledge. This situation prompted a [[2017 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy|no-confidence motion against Rajoy's government]], which was debated on 13 June and defeated as expected on 14 June.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40728431 Mariano Rajoy is first Spanish PM to testify in court] {{in lang|es}}</ref> [[Pío García-Escudero]], the [[President of the Spanish Senate|President of the Senate]] also testified as a witness in the same investigation.<ref>[http://www.abc.es/espana/abci-garcia-escudero-citado-declarar-juicio-gurtel-201707051240_noticia.html Pío García-Escudero, citado a declarar en el juicio de Gürtel] {{in lang|es}}</ref>
On 26 April 2018, his former [[Ministry of Justice (Spain)|Minister of Justice]], [[Alberto Ruiz Gallardón]], was imputed by the judge for his involvement in the corruption scandal Case Lezo, which involves leaders of the [[People's Party (Spain)|PP]] in the [[Community of Madrid]].<ref>[https://politica.elpais.com/politica/2018/04/26/actualidad/1524759005_587173.html El juez cita a Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón como investigado en el ‘caso Lezo’] {{in lang|es}}</ref>

[[File:Rajoy refrenda la ley orgánica de abdicación.jpg|thumb|Rajoy is countersigning the [[Organic Law (Spain)|organic law]] for the [[Abdication of Juan Carlos I|abdication of King Juan Carlos I]] (18 June 2014).]]
[[File:180714ConsejoZarzuela04.JPG|thumb|right|[[Felipe VI]] chairing his first [[Council of Ministers (Spain)|Council of Ministers]] at direct request of Rajoy, an extraordinary responsibility to which the Monarch is entitled according to the article 62 of the [[Spanish Constitution]] (18 July 2014).]]

===2015 general election and deadlock===
The [[2015 Spanish general election|2015 general election]] was held on 20 December, the latest possible day.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2015/10/01/actualidad/1443726596_360140.html |title=Rajoy announces that the general election will be on 20 December |language=es |newspaper=El País |access-date=1 October 2015}}</ref> The result was that the People's Party remained the most voted-for party, but it lost 64 of its 187 seats and thus its majority. The election produced a fragmented parliament and an uncertain political situation<ref name="BBC15">{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35147266 | title =Spanish election: Political uncertainty after split result| work =bbc.co.uk| date =21 December 2015}}</ref> that led to another election in 2016, as neither Rajoy nor the left-wing opposition could form a [[coalition government]]. During the electoral campaign, on 16 December, he was punched in the face by a teenager, breaking his glasses. All the political parties, unanimously, condemned the attack.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-35117673/spanish-pm-mariano-rajoy-punched-during-campaign-appearance|title=Spanish PM punched on campaign trail|work=BBC News|access-date=2 June 2018}}</ref> [[File:Theresa May meets with Spanish PM Rajoy.jpg|thumb|Rajoy with British prime minister [[Theresa May]] on 13 October 2016]]
[[File:Treaty of Rome anniversary group photograph 2017-03-25 02.jpg|thumb|Rajoy during a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the [[Treaty of Rome]] on 25 March 2017]] 
[[File:President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.jpg|thumb|Rajoy with U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] on 26 September 2017]]

===Second term (2016–2018)===
[[File:Mariano Rajoy attended the One Planet Summit (3).jpg|left|thumb|Rajoy with French president [[Emmanuel Macron]] on 12 December 2017]]

====2016 general election====
In the general election of 26 June 2016, the PP increased its number of seats in parliament, while still falling short of an overall majority. Eventually on 29 October Rajoy was re-appointed as prime minister, after the majority of the PSOE members abstained in the parliamentary vote rather than oppose him.<ref>[http://www.historiaelectoral.com/congresovota.html ''Congreso de los Diputados: Votaciones más importantes''], Historia Electoral</ref>

In February 2016, Rajoy was declared 'persona non grata' of [[Pontevedra]], his adopted city, because of his cabinet's decision to extend the operating license of a controversial cellulose factory by 60 years (see List of people declared persona non grata).<ref name="lne">{{cite web|url=http://www.lne.es/espana/2016/02/22/rajoy-sera-hoy-nombrado-persona/1886661.html |title= Pontevedra declara a Mariano Rajoy ´persona non grata´|date= 22 February 2016 |author=La Nueva España|publisher=lne.es|access-date=13 March 2016}}</ref>

====2017 witness and no confidence-motion====
On 26 July, Rajoy was due to appear as a witness in the [[Gürtel case|Gürtel corruption case]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2017/05/30/592d4b0846163fed548b45b1.html|title=Rajoy tendrá que testificar físicamente y no por videoconferencia en el juicio de Gürtel el 26 de julio|work=ELMUNDO|access-date=13 June 2017|language=es}}</ref> This situation prompted a [[2017 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy|no-confidence motion against Rajoy's government]], which was debated on 13 June and defeated as expected on 14 June.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-politics-idUSKBN19416N|title=Spanish parliament debates no-confidence motion against PM Rajoy|work=Reuters}}</ref>

[[File:Atentados de Barcelona - Manifestación en apoyo a las víctimas de los atentados de Barcelona y Cambrils (02).jpg|thumb|Rajoy, Spanish King [[Felipe VI of Spain|Felipe]] and Catalan President [[Carles Puigdemont]] attended the Barcelona rally in response to [[2017 Barcelona attacks|terror attacks]] in August 2017]]

====Terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils====
{{Missing information|section|This section does not mention Rajoy at all, when as the prime minister he would have reacted to the attack in statement or in policy|date=March 2022}}
On the afternoon of 17 August 2017, Younes Abouyaaqoub murdered 15 people and wounded 130 in an attack on [[Las Ramblas]] in Barcelona through [[vehicle-ramming attack]] and stabbed one person while fleeing.<ref name="BBCWhatVictims">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40973119|title=Spain attack: What do we know about the victims?|date=21 August 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40998300|title=Barcelona attack suspect 'hijacked car to escape' | journal=[[BBC]]|access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref><ref name=cell>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/21/police-searching-barcelona-van-driver-shoot-man|title=Barcelona attack: four suspects to face court after van driver is shot dead| journal=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref>

Few hours later, five men from the same terrorist cell drove into pedestrians in [[Cambrils]], a coastal town one hour from Barcelona. One woman was fatally stabbed and six persons injured. All five attackers were killed by the police.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/17/van-crashes-into-crowd-of-people-barcelona-las-ramblas|title=Cambrils: five terror suspects killed as second attack follows Las Ramblas|date=18 August 2017|work=The Guardian|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref>

====Catalan independence referendum====
{{See also|2017 Catalan independence referendum|2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis|Catalan declaration of independence}}

[[File:President_Puigdemont,_"Ciutadans_de_Catalunya,_vénen_hores_en_què_a_tots_ens_pertocarà_de_mantenir_el_pols_del_nostre_país"_02.jpg|thumb|Catalan president, [[Carles Puigdemont]], addresses to the crowd following the unilateral declaration of independence on 27 October]]
[[File:Rajoy_anuncia_elecciones_en_Cataluña_03.jpg|thumb|Rajoy announcing the effects of the direct rule and the call for regional elections for 21 December.]]

On 1 October 2017, an illegal referendum took place in [[Catalonia]] that descended into chaos after the police attempted to halt voting by forcibly and violently removing voters from polling stations. Although Governments around the world refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the vote, Rajoy was widely criticized by political analysts around the world for his response, with most suggesting that he should simply have ignored the referendum. Rajoy oversaw the [[2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis]] marked by this referendum, and the [[Catalan republic (2017)|Catalan]] [[Catalan declaration of independence|unilateral declaration of independence]] that led to the imposition of direct rule in Catalonia on 27 October 2017.

====2018 motion of no confidence====
{{main|2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy}}
The first definitive court ruling on the [[Gürtel case|Gürtel corruption scandal]] convicted a series of former PP party officials. Former treasurer [[Luis Bárcenas]] was sentenced to 33 years of prison and a fine of 44 million euros for hiding a fortune of an uncertain amount in Swiss banks.<ref name="EM">{{cite web|author=Marisa Recuero Madrid |url=http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2018/05/24/5b06838522601d864f8b4599.html |title=Sentencia Gürtel: La Audiencia Nacional condena a Bárcenas a 33 años por blanqueo y al PP por beneficiarse de Gürtel &#124; España |date=24 May 2018 |publisher=Elmundo.es |access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref> The 1,687-page ruling also said that it was settled that there was a "network of institutionalised corruption" and that the PP "financially benefited" from the Gürtel affair, something for which it was fined 245,492 euros. The sentence also recognised that it was proven that the PP had a [[slush fund]] since 1989, consisting of a "financial and accounting structure that was parallel to the official one".<ref name="EM"/> More court rulings are pending, as this ruling only covered the 1999-2005 period of the Gürtel scandal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elespanol.com/espana/tribunales/20180508/primera-sentencia-gurtel-ts-confirma-carcel-correa/305720071_0.html |title=Primera sentencia firme del caso Gürtel: el TS confirma 13 años de cárcel para Correa |date=8 May 2018 |publisher=Elespanol.com |access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Mariano Rajoy felicita al nuevo presidente del Gobierno Pedro Sánchez (2018-06-01).jpg
| caption1 = Rajoy congratulates Sánchez on his successful no-confidence motion.
}}

Following the court ruling, the leader of [[Spanish Socialist Workers Party|PSOE]], [[Pedro Sánchez]], promoted a [[motion of no confidence]] against Rajoy to be voted on 1 June. 176 votes were needed to get it approved. In the debate of the previous day, a sufficient number of deputies expressed their intention to support it.<ref>[https://politica.elpais.com/politica/2018/05/31/actualidad/1527743879_094425.html?rel=lom Moción de censura del PSOE a Rajoy, últimas noticias en directo] in elpais.com {{in lang|es}}</ref> Rajoy lost this motion<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/world/europe/spain-mariano-rajoy-no-confidence.html|title=Mariano Rajoy Ousted in Spanish No-Confidence Vote|work=The New York Times |date=June 2018 |last1=Minder |first1=Raphael }}</ref> (with 180 votes in favour of the motion, 169 against, and 1 abstention), was forced to resign, and was succeeded as prime minister by Sánchez.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rajoy pierde la moción de censura y Pedro Sánchez será nuevo presidente del Gobierno |url=http://www.europapress.es/nacional/noticia-rajoy-pierde-mocion-censura-pedro-sanchez-sera-nuevo-presidente-gobierno-20180601113458.html |date=1 June 2018 |access-date=1 June 2018 |newspaper=[[Europa Press (news agency)|Europa Press]] |language=es |location=Madrid}}</ref>

On 5 June 2018, Rajoy announced his resignation as President of the People's Party.<ref>{{cite news |last=I. Gracia |first=Ana |title=Rajoy deja la Presidencia del PP: "El partido tiene que seguir con otra persona" |url=https://www.elespanol.com/espana/politica/20180605/rajoy-anuncia-celebracion-congreso-extraordinario-pp-liderazgo/312719137_0.html |date=5 June 2018 |access-date=11 June 2018 |newspaper=El Español |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hernández |first=Marisol |title=Rajoy se va: "Es lo mejor para mí, para el PP y para España" |url=http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2018/06/05/5b16558ce2704ec8278b45de.html |date=5 June 2018 |access-date=11 June 2018 |newspaper=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]] |language=es |location=Madrid}}</ref> On 15 June, he resigned his seat as [[Congress of Deputies|Deputy]] after thirty years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rajoy renuncia a su acta de diputado |url=https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20180615/rajoy-renuncia-acta-diputado-6879795 |date=15 June 2018 |access-date=15 June 2018 |newspaper=[[El Periódico de Catalunya|El Periódico]] |location=Barcelona}}</ref> The vacant seat was taken by [[Valentina Martínez Ferro]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europapress.es/nacional/noticia-toma-posesion-escano-congreso-diputada-sustituta-rajoy-20180619151334.html|title=Toma posesión de su escaño en el Congreso la diputada sustituta de Rajoy|date=2018-06-19|publisher=Europa Press|access-date=2019-10-09}}</ref>

== Later activity ==
On 20 June 2018, Rajoy was reinstated to his position as property registrar in [[Santa Pola]] after 29 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://elpais.com/ccaa/2018/06/20/valencia/1529479306_112496.html |date=20 June 2018 |newspaper=[[El País (Spain)|El País]] |location=Madrid|title=La nueva vida del ciudadano Rajoy |last1=Sánchez |first1=Manrique C. }}</ref>

On 27 February 2019 he was declared a witness at the [[trial of Catalonia independence leaders]] before the [[Supreme Court of Spain|Supreme Court]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/27/catalan-trial-rajoy-blames-police-violence-on-separatists Catalan trial: Rajoy blames police violence on separatists]</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/world/europe/spain-rajoy-testimony-catalan-separatists.html Spain's former Premier testifies against Catalan separatists]</ref><ref>[https://www.euronews.com/2019/02/27/spains-former-pm-rajoy-testifies-in-catalan-trial Spain's former PM Rajoy testifies in Catalan trial]</ref>

He was summoned by the courts in March 2021 to explain the "B fund" that the PP has allegedly maintained for more than 20 years. This would have been used to receive anonymous donations from business leaders in order to pay "additional salaries" to party executives, including "Mariano" and "M.Rajoy".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-03-09 |title=Spain's former PM 'was paid illegal bonuses', trial hears |url=https://www.thelocal.es/20210309/spains-former-pm-was-paid-illegal-bonuses-trial-hears/ |access-date= |website=The Local Spain |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Gallardo">{{cite news |last1=Gallardo |first1=Cristina |title=¿Qué fue de 'M. Rajoy' y por qué nunca se supo quién era? |url=https://www.epe.es/es/politica/20211031/m-rajoy-papeles-barcenas-12497038 |access-date=26 June 2024 |work=El Periódico de España |date=31 October 2021 |language=es-ES |quote=Según el análisis realizado en su día por la UDEF sobre los apuntes el tal "Mariano" o "M.Rajoy" habría percibido un total de 163.507 euros entre 2003 y 2008.}}</ref>

He supported [[Javier Milei]] in [[2023 Argentine general election]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://elpais.com/argentina/2023-11-12/los-expresidentes-rajoy-pinera-duque-y-calderon-piden-el-voto-para-el-ultraderechista-milei-en-argentina.html | title=El Nobel Vargas Llosa y los expresidentes Rajoy, Duque y Piñera piden el voto para el ultraderechista Milei en Argentina | date=12 November 2023 }}</ref>

== Political positions ==
{{Conservatism in Spain|Politicians}}
{{expand section|date=January 2017}}
[[File:Visita oficial de Mariano Rajoy a Andorra 03.jpg|200px|thumb|Rajoy visiting Andorra in 2015]]

=== Social issues ===

==== Immigration ====
Rajoy declared himself a strong supporter of allowing migrants to enter Spain, saying Spain would support those seeking [[Asylum seeker|asylum]]. In 2015, he criticised the [[Third Orban Government|Hungarian government]] for taking steps to deter migration into their country.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spanish PM says disagrees with immigration policies in Hungary|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-spain/spanish-pm-says-disagrees-with-immigration-policies-in-hungary-idUSKCN0RM0O520150922|access-date=3 November 2017|work=[[Reuters]]|date=2015}}</ref> Despite making these statements, the [[Second Rajoy Government|Government of Rajoy]] was highly criticized for taking anti-immigration measures such as cutting budget to immigration observatories,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Álvarez|first1=Pilar|title=El PP apaga los observatorios de la inmigración y contra el racismo|url=https://politica.elpais.com/politica/2015/03/16/actualidad/1426535560_383528.html|access-date=3 November 2017|agency=[[El País]]|date=16 March 2015|language=es}}</ref> and the reinforcement of the fence of [[Melilla]], with highly criticised "hot returns" - the illegal expulsion of migrants by the police without any legally established procedures or meeting the international obligations - with police violence eventually taking place. These acts were condemned by the [[European Court of Human Rights]] and the UN.<ref>{{cite news|title=La ONU vuelve a pedir a España el fin de las 'devoluciones en caliente'|url=http://www.elboletin.com/noticia/155551/nacional/la-onu-vuelve-a-pedir-a-espana-el-fin-de-las-devoluciones-en-caliente.html|access-date=8 November 2017|work=El Boletin|date=6 November 2017|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Estrasburgo condena a España por dos devoluciones en caliente en Melilla|url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20171003/431771029772/espana-devolucion-caliente-tribunal-derechos-humanos.html|access-date=3 November 2017|work=[[La Vanguardia]]|date=3 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Ferrer Arambarri|first1=Laura|title=José Palazón: "En ninguna frontera se practica tanta violencia policial como en la valla de Melilla"|url=http://www.diariodeibiza.es/cultura/2017/02/17/frontera-practica-violencia-policial-valla/896915.html|access-date=3 November 2017|agency=Diario de Ibiza|date=18 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hot returns. When the State acts outside the law. Legal report|date=27 June 2014|url=http://eprints.ucm.es/27221/1/HOT%20RETURNS.%20WHEN%20DE%20STATE%20ACTS%20OUTSIDE%20THE%20LAW.%20Legal%20report.pdf|access-date=25 August 2025|via=Universidad Complutense Madrid|id=27221}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Castedo|first1=Antía|title=España: Qué son las "devoluciones en caliente" y por qué son tan polémicas|url=http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2014/09/140915_devoluciones_caliente_espana_ac|access-date=3 November 2017|work=BBC Mundo|agency=[[BBC]] Mundo|date=16 September 2014}}</ref> The following months, the Rajoy executive refused to repeal the hot returns and appealed the sentence of Strasbourg.<ref>{{cite news|title=El PP rechaza derogar las devoluciones en caliente y recurre la condena de Estrasburgo|url=http://www.publico.es/sociedad/pp-rechaza-derogar-devoluciones-caliente-y-recurre-condena-estrasburgo.html|access-date=8 November 2017|work=[[Diario Público]]|date=8 November 2017|language=es-ES}}</ref>

==== Bullfighting ====
Rajoy is a strong supporter of [[bullfighting]]. He has said that "the tradition is an art form deeply rooted in Spanish history". He lifted the ban on live bullfights on state-run television and they are once again shown in the traditional 6&nbsp;pm slot on [[Televisión Española|TVE]].<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19487931 | title = Live bullfights return to Spanish TV after six-year ban | work = BBC News | date = 5 September 2012 | access-date = 7 September 2012}}</ref>

==== History ====
During the 2015 election campaign, Rajoy asserted that the PP "was the only party defending the unity of Spain." Among his electoral promises was the creation of a National Museum of Spanish History intended to "defend the unity of Spain."  The location chosen for making this announcement left little doubt about the nationalist undertones of that proposal: the site of the [[Battle of Covadonga]], in the northwestern region of [[Asturias]]. That battle is recognized as the first triumph by Christian military forces after the Muslim conquest of the Iberia Peninsula in 711–718. As befits this accomplishment, historians usually consider Covadonga as the site of the beginning of the [[Reconquista]], or the "reconquest" of the Iberian Peninsula by Christian rulers.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/spain/2018-02-05/why-spanish-nationalism-rise|title=Why Spanish Nationalism Is on the Rise|first=Omar G.|last=Encarnación|journal=Foreign Affairs |date=5 February 2018|access-date=2 June 2018|via=www.foreignaffairs.com}}</ref>

=== Foreign policy ===
{{Globalize|section|Anglosphere|date=July 2018}}
[[File:Cumbre de Líderes del G20 (35775677295).jpg|thumb|Rajoy at the [[2017 G20 Hamburg summit|G20 summit]] in Hamburg, 7–8 July 2017]]

==== Gibraltar ====
Rajoy wants British-controlled [[Gibraltar]] returned to Spain.<ref>"[https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/spain-protests-over-camerons-surprise-visit-to-gibraltar-f7rv6r8rr Rajoy furious at Cameron’s surprise visit to Gibraltar]". ''The Sunday Times.'' 16 June 2016.</ref> He described Gibraltar as an "anachronism", and "the last colony in Europe".<ref>"[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-referendum-brexit-would-hit-gibraltar-says-chief-minister-fabian-picardo-but-spain-can-stick-a7055501.html EU Referendum: Gibraltar chief minister says Spain can stick joint sovereignty 'where the sun doesn’t shine']". ''The Independent.'' 29 May 2016.</ref>

==== Scottish independence ====
[[Scotland]] held a [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on independence from the United Kingdom on Thursday 18 September 2014]]. In November 2013, Rajoy stated that an independent Scotland would have to reapply for membership of the [[European Union]], causing considerable irritation to the [[Scottish Government]] and criticism that Rajoy was interfering in the internal affairs of another state.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-25132026|title=Scottish independence: Mariano Rajoy says Scotland would be 'outside EU'|work=BBC News|date=28 November 2013 }}</ref> Relations between the Spanish and Scottish governments deteriorated further when the Scottish Government alleged that Rajoy invited a senior UK official to visit Madrid allegedly to co-ordinate British and Spanish opposition to the independence movements in Scotland and [[Catalonia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/salmond-spain-is-working-with-uk-to-thwart-yes-vote.23013356|title=Salmond: Spain is working with UK to thwart Yes vote|work=Herald Scotland|date=22 December 2013 }}</ref>

=== Anti-egalitarianism ===
During his early political life, Rajoy defended [[anti-egalitarian]] stances. In 1983, as the youngest member of the Parliament of Galicia, Rajoy wrote in a piece in the ''[[Faro de Vigo]]'' titled "Human equality and models of society" the notion that "all policies seeking to achieve equality were a fallacy".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Amat|author-link=Jordi Amat Fusté|first=Jordi|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/opinion/20180603/444025749994/en-el-origen-de-rajoy.html|journal=[[La Vanguardia]]|date=3 June 2018|title=En el origen de Rajoy}}</ref> As he wrote a year later in another piece for the ''Faro de Vigo'' titled "La envidia igualitaria" ("The egalitarian envy", 24 July 1984), when he was already president of the Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra: "Biological equality is not possible. But social equality isn't either. [...] As it is demonstrated in an undeniable way that nature, as hierarchic, engenders all human unequal, let's avoid exploiting envy and resent laying down the egalitarian dictatorship on such negative impulses".<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Miguel|last=Roig|url=https://www.eldiario.es/zonacritica/esperanza-vida-Mariano-Rajoy_6_231386878.html|journal=[[eldiario.es]]|date=22 September 2014|title=La esperanza de vida de Mariano Rajoy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author-link=Ana Pardo de Vera|first=Ana|last=Pardo de Vera|url=https://www.publico.es/politica/rajoy-negaba-1984-existiera-igualdad.html|journal=[[Público (Spain)|Público]]|title=Rajoy negaba en 1984 que existiera la igualdad y tildaba de 'envidiosos' a los que la defendían|date=27 June 2013}}</ref>

== Awards ==
* Gold Medal of the Spanish Council of the Professional [[Cycle sport|Cycling]] (25 April 2001).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vueltaciclistaespana.com/gente/rajoy_medalla_ciclismo.htm%7ctitle=vueltaciclistaespana.com%7cpublisher=|title=vueltaciclistaespana.com}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Honorary Doctorate in Law by the [[Sergio Arboleda University]] in [[Bogotá]], [[Colombia]] (21 April 2012).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldo.es/noticias/nacional/2012/04/19/rajoy_investido_como_doctor_honoris_causa_derecho_colombia_184698_305.html|title=Rajoy: "Pido un esfuerzo, unos pocos euros al mes"|author=Efe. Bogotá|date=19 April 2012|work=heraldo.es}}</ref>

==Honours==
===National honours===
* {{flag|Spain}} Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Charles III]] (12 September 2003).<ref name="boe">{{cite web|url=http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2003/09/13/pdfs/A34048-34048.pdf |title= Boletín Oficial del Estado |publisher=boe.es|access-date=13 March 2016}}</ref>
* {{flag|Spain}} Knight of the  Collar of the [[Order of Isabella the Catholic]] (3 August 2018).<ref name="boe2">{{cite web|url=https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2018-11195|title= Boletín Oficial del Estado |publisher=boe.es|access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref>

===Foreign honours===
* {{flag|Mexico}}: Sash of Special Category of the [[Order of the Aztec Eagle]] by the [[Mexican President]] [[Felipe Calderón]] Hinojosa (18 April 2012)<ref name="proceso">{{cite web|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=304742|title=Apoya Rajoy guerra anticrimen; pide a empresarios mexicanos invertir en España - Proceso|publisher=proceso.com.mx|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-date=8 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508170240/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=304742|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{flag|Peru}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Sun of Peru]] (2013)
* {{flag|Chile}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit (Chile)|Order of Merit of Chile]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.casareal.es/ES/Actividades/Paginas/actividades_actividades_detalle.aspx?data=12172|title=Casa de Su Majestad el Rey de España – Actividades y Agenda – Visita de Estado de Su Excelencia la Presidenta de la República de Chile, Sra. Michelle Bachelet Jeria}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://multimedia.farodevigo.es/fotos/sociedad/letizia-ortiz-recepcion-michelle-bachelet-27792_3.shtml|title=Letizia Ortiz, en la recepción a Michelle Bachelet|author=Agile Contents|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103235602/http://multimedia.farodevigo.es/fotos/sociedad/letizia-ortiz-recepcion-michelle-bachelet-27792_3.shtml|archive-date=3 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* {{flag|Serbia}}: [[Order of the Republic of Serbia]] (2013)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Politika/476971/Nikolic-ordenja-deli-u-tri-smene|title=Nikolić ordenja deli u tri smene|work=Blic.rs|date=26 November 2015 }}</ref>
* {{flag|Portugal}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Christ (Portugal)|Order of Christ]] (15 April 2018)

===Negative distinctions===
* Heart of Stone Award (2015).<ref>{{cite web|title=Mariano Rajoy, Premio Corazón de Piedra 2015|url=http://www.directoressociales.com/noticias/377-mariano-rajoy,-premio-coraz%C3%B3n-de-piedra-2015.html|website=Directores Sociales|access-date=4 November 2017|language=es}}</ref>
* [[Persona non grata]] in [[Pontevedra]] (2016).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Vizoso|first1=Sonia|title=Rajoy, nombrado persona 'non grata' en Pontevedra|url=https://politica.elpais.com/politica/2016/02/22/actualidad/1456132606_846361.html|access-date=4 November 2017|work=[[El País]]|date=24 February 2016|language=es}}</ref>

== Genealogy ==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= '''Mariano Rajoy Brey'''
|2= [[Mariano Rajoy Sobredo]]
|3= Olga Brey López
|4= Enrique Rajoy Leloup
|5= Mercedes Sobredo Brandáriz
|6= Manuel Brey Guerra
|7= Carmen López Mosquera
|8= Mariano Rajoy do Barro
|9= Rosa Leloup González
|10= Salvador Sobredo Bustelo
|11= Pilar Brandáriz Hernández
|12 = Don Manuel Maria Brey Barcala 
|13 = Dona Juana Guerra Fernandez 
|14 = Manuel Lopez Vigo 
|15 = Josefa Mosquera Otero  
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
*{{cite web|url=http://fr.euronews.com/2011/11/20/mariano-rajoy-je-ne-promets-aucun-miracle/ |title=Mariano Rajoy : "je ne promets aucun miracle" |publisher=Euronews }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.publico.es/espana/373519/el-cis-ja-en-10-puntos-la-ventaja-del-pp-sobre-zapatero |title=El CIS fija en 10 puntos la ventaja del PP sobre Zapatero |work=Público   |date=30 April 2011 }}
*{{cite news|url=http://elpais.com/diario/1999/01/19/espana/916700412_850215.html |title=Un gallego pragmático al frente de Educación |work=El País  |date=19 January 1999 |last1=Aizpeolea |first1=Luis R. }}
*{{cite news|url=http://elpais.com/diario/1999/01/30/espana/917650807_850215.html |title=El congreso del PP elige hoy la lista de 30 nombres dictada por Aznar &#124; Edición impresa |work=El País  |date=30 January 1999 |last1=Aizpeolea |first1=Luis R. }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/10/29/espana/1193663089.html |title=Rajoy: 'Uno habla mucho y a veces se puede equivocar' |work=El Mundo  |date=29 October 2007 }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/06/21/espana/1214081240.html |title=Rajoy, reelegido presidente del PP pese a no tener el apoyo del 21% de los compromisarios |work=El Mundo  |date=21 June 2008 }}
*{{cite web|author=Manuel M. Cascante / Enviado Especial A Bogotá |url=http://www.abc.es/20120419/espana/abci-rajoy-bogota-reformas-201204190831.html |title=Mariano Rajoy sostiene que su Gobierno ya ha planificado todas las reformas hasta el verano |work=ABC  |date=19 April 2012 }}
*(es) « Mariano Rajoy confirma que creará un Ministerio de Agricultura », dans El Día, 19 décembre 2011 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 22 décembre 2011)]
*{{cite web|url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/temas/mariano-rajoy/index.html |title=Mariano Rajoy |work=La Vanguardia  }}
*(es) Carlos Cué, « Un Gobierno de amigos y fieles », dans ''El País Política'', 22 décembre 2011 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 22 décembre 2011)]
*{{cite web |url=http://www.intereconomia.com/noticias/mariano%20rajoy |title=mariano rajoy &#124; Intereconomía &#124; |publisher=Intereconomia.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420230905/http://www.intereconomia.com/noticias/Mariano%20Rajoy |archive-date=20 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}
*↑ (es) María Jesús Güemes, « Rajoy incumple su palabra y sube los impuestos », dans Público, 30 décembre 2011 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 31 décembre 2011)]
*{{cite news|url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2012/04/19/actualidad/1334865385_051210.html |title=Montoro rechaza los planes de ajuste de Cataluña y Andalucía |work=El País  |date=19 April 2012 |last1=Piñol |first1=Àngels |last2=Lucio |first2=Lourdes }}
*{{cite web|url=http://politica.elpais.com/tag/ley_reforma_laboral/a/ |title=Noticias sobre Ley Reforma Laboral |work=El País  |date=8 July 2024 }}
*{{cite web|url=http://imagenes.publico.es/resources/archivos/2013/1/4/1357312359258Querella.pdf |title=Querella presentada por la asociación DRY |work=Público}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Spain|Conservatism}}
*[http://www.rajoy.es/ Profile page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424104429/http://www.rajoy.es/ |date=24 April 2021 }} {{in lang|es}}
*[http://www.cidob.org/biografias_lideres_politicos/europa/espana/mariano_rajoy_brey Extensive biography by CIDOB] {{in lang|es}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140109051828/http://www.ruyman.eu/arbol%20rajoy%20brey.htm Árbol Genealógico de Mariano Rajoy] {{in lang|es}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[José Luis Barreiro]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of [[People's Alliance (Spain)|People's Alliance in Pontevedra]]|years=1987–1991}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Xosé Cuiña]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Arturo Moreno]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Vicesecretary-General of the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]]|years=1990–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Javier Arenas (politician)|Javier Arenas]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Javier Arenas (politician)|Javier Arenas]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary-General of the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]]|years=2003–2004}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ángel Acebes]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]]|years=2004–2018}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Xunta de Galicia|Vice President of Galicia]]|years=1986–1987}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Interior (Spain)|Minister of the Interior]]|years=2001–2002}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Presidency (Spain)|Minister of the Presidency]]|years=2002–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Javier Arenas (politician)|Javier Arenas]]}}
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{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Spain]]|years=2011–2018}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Íñigo Méndez de Vigo]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Convocation Speaker of the [[College of Europe]]|years=2014}}
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{{s-end}}

{{People's Party (Spain)}}
{{Prime Ministers of Spain}}
{{Leaders of the Opposition (Spain)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajoy, Mariano}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Deputy prime ministers of Spain]]
[[Category:Politicians from Galicia (Spain)]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Spain]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the 3rd Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:Members of the 4th Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:Members of the 5th Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:Members of the 6th Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
[[Category:Members of the 7th Congress of Deputies (Spain)]]
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[[Category:Prime ministers of Spain]]
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[[Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents]]