List of heads of state of Spain

The list of heads of state of Spain includes the kings and presidents of Spain , from the unification of the Kingdom of Castile with Aragon in the 16th century until today.

Kingdom of Spain

House of Habsburg (Casa de Austria)

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Charles I el César Carlos (* February 24, 1500 † September 21, 1558)	March 14, 1516 - January 16, 1556	As the son of Queen Joan the Mad , Charles the heir to the crowns of Castile and Aragon, along with the kingdoms associated with them. After the death of his maternal grandfather, Ferdinand II of Aragón , was crowned King of Castile and Aragón in 1516, thus sealing the unification of Spain. After the death of his paternal grandfather, Emperor Maximilian I , he became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire as Charles V in 1519 . Abdicated two years before his death.
		Philip II (May 21, 1527 - September 13, 1598)	January 16, 1556 - September 13, 1598	Son of the predecessor. He was the first to call himself “King of Spain” and in 1580 also became King of Portugal (Philip I). Main epoch of the expansion of the Spanish colonial empire in America. Loss of the Dutch provinces and defeat by England at sea ( sinking of the Armada in 1588 ). Builder of the El Escorial .
		Philip III (April 14, 1578 - March 31, 1621)	September 13, 1598 - March 31, 1621	Son of the predecessor. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal.
		Philip IV (April 8, 1605 - September 17, 1665)	March 31, 1621 - September 17, 1665	Son of the predecessor. When Philip III. at the same time King of Portugal, who broke away from the Spanish dynasty in 1640.
		Charles II (November 6, 1661 - November 1, 1700)	September 17, 1665 - November 1, 1700	Son of the predecessor. Designated his great-nephew Philip of Anjou as heir.

House Bourbon-Anjou

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Philip V (December 19, 1683 - July 9, 1746)	November 1, 1700 - January 14, 1724	Great-grandson of Philip IV. Had to defend the throne in the War of the Spanish Succession against the House of Habsburg. Archduke Karl Franz Joseph of Austria was proclaimed anti-king (Karl III) in 1703 and was able to occupy Catalonia from 1705. His successor as Roman-German Emperor (Charles VI), however, favored the House of Bourbon, which was finally confirmed by the Spanish crown in the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 . However, Sardinia, Sicily and Naples had to be ceded to Habsburg and Savoy. Resigned in favor of his eldest son.
		Ludwig I. (* August 25, 1707; † August 31, 1724)	January 14, 1724 - August 31, 1724	Son of the predecessor. Died on the throne after just a few months.
		Philip V (December 19, 1683 - July 9, 1746)	August 31, 1724 - July 9, 1746	Ascended the throne a second time. Recovered Sicily and Naples for the House of Bourbon in 1735.
		Ferdinand VI. (September 23, 1713 - August 10, 1759)	July 9, 1746 - August 10, 1759	Second son of Philip V.
		Charles III (January 20, 1716 - December 14, 1788)	August 10, 1759 - December 14, 1788	Brother of the predecessor. Previously King of Sicily and Naples.
		Charles IV (born November 11, 1748 - † January 20, 1819)	December 14, 1788 - March 19, 1808	Son of the predecessor. Left the government to his favorite Manuel de Godoy and was therefore forced to abdicate by his own son with the support of Napoleon Bonaparte . Protected the painter Francisco de Goya .
		Ferdinand VII (October 14, 1784 - September 29, 1833)	March 19, 1808 - May 6, 1808	Son of the predecessor. If his father overthrew his father with the help of French troops, he himself was forced to abdicate by Napoleon Bonaparte only a few weeks later.

House Bonaparte

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Joseph I. (7 January 1768 - 28 July 1844)	June 6, 1808 - December 11, 1813	Brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and appointed King of Spain by him.

House Bourbon-Anjou (first restoration)

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Ferdinand VII (October 14, 1784 - September 29, 1833)	December 11, 1813 - September 29, 1833	Re-enthroned as king after the expulsion of the French from Spain in March 1814. The entire Spanish colonial empire in South America is lost in the South American Wars of Independence .
		Isabella II (October 10, 1830 - April 9, 1904)	September 29, 1833– September 30, 1868	Daughter of the predecessor. When she is almost three years old, she is proclaimed queen. Her right of succession is contested by her uncle Don Carlos and his followers ( Carlist ), which leads to the Carlist Wars. The affairs of state were run by her mother Maria Christina until 1840 , followed by the regent Baldomero Espartero, elected by parliament . In 1843 she was declared of legal age. When the September Revolution broke out in 1868, Isabella had to flee the country and did not return until her son took office.

interregnum

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Francisco Serrano Domínguez (born September 18, 1810 - † November 26, 1885)	October 3, 1868 - January 3, 1871	Ruler of the kingdom

House of Savoy

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Amadeus I (May 30, 1845 - January 18, 1890)	December 4, 1870 - February 11, 1873	Descendant of Philip II. Appointed king by the Cortes, he abdicated voluntarily after only two years.

First Spanish Republic

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Estanislao Figueras y Moragas (born November 13, 1819 - † November 11, 1882)	February 11, 1873 - June 11, 1873
		Francisco Pi i Margall (born April 29, 1824 - † November 29, 1901)	June 11 , 1873 - July 18, 1873
		Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso (April 10, 1838 - September 20, 1908)	July 18, 1873 - September 7, 1873
		Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (7 September 1832 - 25 May 1899)	September 7, 1873 - January 3, 1874
		Francisco Serrano Domínguez (born September 18, 1810 - † November 26, 1885)	January 3, 1874 - December 30, 1874	Ruled dictatorially and dissolved the Cortes. General Arsenio Martínez-Campos successfully launched a coup against him . The Sexenio Revolucionario ends with the subsequent restoration of the kingdom .

Kingdom of Spain

House Bourbon-Anjou (second restoration)

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Alfonso XII (November 28, 1857 - November 25, 1885)	December 30, 1874 - November 25, 1885	Son of Isabella II.
		Alfonso XIII (May 17, 1886 - February 28, 1941)	May 17, 1886 - April 14, 1931	Is already de jure king at birth , since his father Alfonso XII. died before he was born. His mother Maria Christina ruled as regent until her son came of age in 1902 . Spain lost the last overseas colonies in the Spanish-American War in 1898 . In 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera established a military dictatorship with the king's approval. The municipal elections in 1931 and the proclamation of the republic on April 14th were followed by the king's flight.

Second Spanish Republic

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Niceto Alcalá Zamora (* July 6, 1877 - February 18, 1949)	December 10, 1931 - May 11, 1936
		Manuel Azaña (born January 10, 1880 - † November 3, 1940)	May 11, 1936 - March 3, 1939	1936 Outbreak of the Spanish civil war , on July 24th General Emilio Mola proclaims a nationalist counter-government in Burgos , the Junta de Defensa Nacional .

The Francoist state

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Francisco Franco (December 4, 1892 - November 20, 1975)	October 1, 1936 - November 20, 1975	Wins the civil war by 1939 and eliminates the republic. Ruled dictatorially over the Spanish state until his death, which he restored as a kingdom in 1946 without designating a king.

Kingdom of Spain

House Bourbon-Anjou (third restoration)

image	coat of arms	Name (life data)	Reign	Remarks
		Juan Carlos I. (born January 5, 1938)	November 22, 1975 - June 19, 2014	Grandson of Alfonso XIII. Appointed heir to the throne by General Franco in 1948, ascended to the throne after his death in 1975. Supported the democratization of Spain in the following years and opposed the 1981 coup attempt by parts of the Guardia Civil and the military on February 23 ( 23-F ). Thanks in 2014 in favor of his son Felipe.
		Felipe VI. (* January 30, 1968)	June 19, 2014 - officiating	Son of Juan Carlos I.

Heir to the throne

The current Crown Princess and thus designated heir to the Spanish throne is the eldest daughter of Felipe VI, Infanta Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz (born October 31, 2005).

See also

To the kings in medieval Spain:

• List of Visigoth kings
• List of the kings of Asturias
• List of the kings of Galicia
• List of the kings of León
• List of the kings of Castile
• List of the kings of Navarre
• List of the kings of Aragon
• List of kings of Mallorca
• List of kings of Valencia
• List of the Counts of Barcelona

The Spanish kingdoms

• Visigoth Empire
• Kingdom of Asturias
• Kingdom of Galicia
• Kingdom of León
• Kingdom of Castile
  • Kingdom of Toledo (Crown of Castile)
  • Kingdom of Murcia (Crown of Castile)
  • Kingdom of Cordoba (Crown of Castile)
  • Kingdom of Jaén (Crown of Castile)
  • Kingdom of Seville (Crown of Castile)
  • Kingdom of Granada (Crown of Castile)
• Kingdom of Aragon
  • Principality of Catalonia ( Crown of Aragon )
  • Kingdom of Mallorca ( Crown of Aragon )
  • Kingdom of Valencia ( Crown of Aragon )
• Kingdom of Navarre

See further:

• List of heads of government of Spain
• List of Carlist pretenders to the throne