Practice question · Match the pairs
Match each level of the ministerial structure to its role.
- Minister
- Secretary of State
- Under-secretary
- Director-General
- Political appointee heading a major policy area
- Senior official responsible for internal management
- Political head of the department
- Head of a functional unit
Hints
- The four run from the most political to the most administrative.
- The post responsible for the ministry's internal running is the third.
Show the answer
- Minister → Political head of the department
- Secretary of State → Political appointee heading a major policy area
- Under-secretary → Senior official responsible for internal management
- Director-General → Head of a functional unit
Why
The ladder is worth learning because it recurs in every Spanish ministry with the same names, which makes an unfamiliar department navigable. The Under-secretary is the hinge: the most senior post normally held by a career official and the point where political direction meets permanent capacity.
Practise The Spanish Central Administration
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