The Council of Ministers (Spanish: Consejo de Ministros) is the main collective decision-making body of the Government of Spain, and it is exclusively composed of the Prime Minister, the deputy prime ministers and the ministers (22 as of 2024). Junior or deputy ministers such as the Secretaries of State are not members of the Council (although according to the Constitution they could be, if the Government Act included them, a constitutional provision that until today has not been used). The Monarch may also chair the Council when needed on the invitation of the Prime Minister.
The ministers are proposed by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the King. There is no requirement for the Prime Minister nor the ministers to be MPs. The ministers are the heads of a ministerial department and receive the title of "Minister". In addition to the ministers who are the heads of departments, there may be ministers without portfolio, who are entrusted responsibility with for certain government functions.
